The Effect of Geometrical Characteristics of Desiccant Wheel on its Performance

Abstract

Desiccant wheels are widely used in buildings to control humidity and reduce energy consumption. A model is presented based on transient coupled heat and mass transfer, to model, design and analyze the effects of geometrical characteristics of a honeycombed rotary desiccant wheel and its performance. Governing equations are solved numerically using finite volume method and the model is validated using experimental measurements. It is shown that increasing desiccant wheel length will increase the latent and sensible effectiveness. Also, there is an optimum value for the ratio of dehumidification to regeneration area, which maximizes the latent heat effectiveness. Also the optimum hydraulic diameters of desiccant wheel channels depend on air mass flow rate.