ABSTRACT
In current study, experimental setup is integrated with calcium chloride (CaCl2)-based rotating desiccant material and solar heating arrangement to make system eco-friendly. The experimental finding of current study is also validated with mathematical model. Proposed experimental scheme enhances the temperature & absolute humidity from 286–294 K & 6–8 g H2O/kg air to 298–303 K & 10–13 g H2O/kg air, respectively. The proposed mathematical model is used to determine the relationship of final temperature and absolute humidity of air with different depending operating parameter such as atmospheric air inlet velocity, humidity, solar heating, and temperature. The modeled relation predicts temperature deviation in the range of 0.5–1.5%, 0.8–4.2%, and 1–6.3% with experimental output of process, heating, and regeneration section, respectively, for variable air flow rate. Proposed CaCl2-based desiccant wheel display wheel effectiveness in the range of 0.67–0.95 and 0.51–0.90 for regeneration and process section, respectively, which is very effective to maintain the temperature and humidity in control area. Based on current finding and proposed mathematical model, CaCl2-based desiccant wheel can be effective to maintain the lower temperature and humidity in the winter season, especially in sensible area such as hospital, school, and many storing buildings.
Abbreviation
CPT | = | Specific heat of air; J kg−1 K−1 |
FF,Air | = | Flow rate of air; kg s−1 |
F1 | = | Air flow rate at Inlet of process section; kg s−1 |
F2 | = | Air flow rate at Outlet of process section; kg s−1 |
= | Humidity at inlet of process section; g H2O/kg dry air | |
= | Humidity at outlet of process section; g H2O/kg dry air | |
mps | = | Amount of moisture adsorb at process section; g |
ΔQ | = | Heat generation due to adsorption in process section; J |
ΔH | = | Heat of water adsorption in the process section; J mole−1 |
MH2O | = | Mol Wt. of H2o; J mole−1 |
T1 | = | Air temp at inlet of process section; K |
T2 | = | Wet bulb temp at outlet of process section; K |
dw | = | Diameter of desiccant wheel; m |
tw | = | Thickness of desiccant wheel; m |
δw | = | Density of desiccant wheel; kg m−3 |
Cw | = | Specific heat of desiccant wheel; J kg−1 K−1 |
C1 | = | Specific heat at inlet of process section; J kg−1 K−1 |
C2 | = | Specific heat at outlet of process section; J kg−1 K−1 |
T3 | = | Temperature of air at outlet of solar system; K |
Qss | = | Rate of heat transfer to the dehumidified air by Solar System; J |
Tf | = | Final temperature (targeted temp.); K |
= | Final Humidity (targeted Humidity); g H2O/kg dry air | |
mcs | = | Rate of water added; g H2O/kg dry air |
C3 | = | Specific heat at outlet of solar system; J kg−1 K−1 |
Cw | = | Specific heat of water; J kg−1 K−1 |
L | = | latent heat of water; J kg−1 |
Fp | = | Flow of purged air; kg s−1 |
Tm | = | Modelled temperature; K |
Ta | = | Actual temperature); K |
AT | = | Ambient temperature |
AH | = | Ambient humidity |
RT | = | Regeneration temperature |
SAT | = | Supplied air temperature |
SAH | = | Supplied air humidity |
MRC | = | Moisture removal capacity |
IRH | = | Inlet relative humidity |
ORH | = | Outlet relative humidity |
IAT | = | Inlet air temperature |
OAT | = | Outlet air temperature |
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).