NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF A SOLID DESICCANT WHEEL

Abstract

The rotary desiccant dehumidifier is an important component which can be used in air conditioning systems in order to reduce the electrical energy consumption and introduce renewable energy sources. In this study a one dimensional gas side resistance model is presented for predicting the performance of the desiccant wheel. Measurements from two real sorption wheels are used in order to validate the model. One wheel uses silica gel as desiccant material and the other lithium chloride. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The model is used to compare the counter flow with the co-current wheel arrangements and to explain why the counter flow one is more efficient for air dehumidification.

Keywords

Dates

  • Submission Date2014-04-04
  • Revision Date2015-01-20
  • Acceptance Date2015-03-06
  • Online Date2015-04-04

DOI Reference

10.2298/TSCI141118041K

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