Experimental and normalized sensitivity based numerical analyses of a novel humidifier-assisted highly efficient indirect evaporative cooler. (June 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jamil, Muhammad Ahmad; Xu, Ben Bin; Dala, Laurent; Sultan, Muhammad; Jie, Lin; Shahzad, Muhammad Wakil
• Is Part Of: International communications in heat and mass transfer. Volume 125(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-06
• Subjects: Indirect evaporative cooler (IEC) -- Space cooling -- Humidifier assisted IEC -- Normalized sensitivity analysis; AC Air conditioning -- COP Coefficient of performance -- EES Engineering equation solver -- EER Energy efficiency ratio -- HVAC Heat ventilation and air conditioning -- IEC Indirect evaporative cooler -- NSC Normalized sensitivity coefficient -- RC Relative contribution -- RH Relative humidity, % -- SC Sensitivity coefficient; Heat -- Transmission -- Periodicals; Mass transfer -- Periodicals; Chaleur -- Transmission -- Périodiques; Transfert de masse -- Périodiques; Heat -- Transmission; Mass transfer; Periodicals; 621.4022
• DOI: 10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2021.105327
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0735-1933

Abstract

Abstract: Indirect evaporative cooling technology has emerged as an energy-efficient, low-cost, and sustainable alternative to conventional air conditioning systems for space cooling. This is because of its significant (40–50%) energy-saving potential compared to ventilation, vapor compression cooling, and desiccant cooling systems. The current paper presents a novel humidifier-assisted regenerative indirect evaporative cooler that eliminates the use of hydrophilic surfaces within the system and mitigates the fouling propensity and water management issues. A generic cell of the proposed system is fabricated and tested for different operating scenarios along with the uncertainty propagation analysis. Thereafter, a normalized sensitivity analysis is performed to identify the most influential parameters on the cooler performance. The experimental data shows an effective cooling performance with a temperature drop of 20 °C of outdoor air and cooling capacity of 175 watts of 1800 mm × 300 mm generic cell. The cooling coefficient of performance was calculated as 44 and maximum effectiveness of 83.82% for the proposed configuration. The sensitivity analysis reveals scaling trends of the coefficient of performance in the following order of primary air inlet temperature > primary air outlet temperature > primary air velocity and the cooler effectiveness as secondary air outlet temperature > primary air inlet temperature > primary air humidity > primary air outlet. Graphical abstract: Unlabelled Image