FABRICATION AND EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF REGENERATION TEMPERATURE, ROTATIONAL SPEED AND INLET AIR HUMIDITY ON THE PERFORMANCE OF A DESICCANT WHEEL

Abstract

Due to climate changes in recent years, in order to attain comfort and convenience, demands for heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems have been increased around the world, which has led to increases in emissions and power. Desiccant cooling systems (DCSs) are designed and built to reduce moisture and power consumption, create comfortable conditions for people in a building, and environmental protection. Evaluation and study of desiccant wheels (DWs) is vital as they are one of the most important components of DCSs and their performances have a direct impact on the total system. So, the primary purpose of this research is to design a DW by focusing on the operational parameters of the wheel. In this regard, an experimental study was conducted to investigate the effect of regeneration temperature, rotation speed and inlet air humidity ratio on the performance of a DW in a hot and humid climate. The experimental results were obtained in the regeneration temperature between 70-100oC, wheel rotation speed 4-12 revolutions per hour (rev/h), 1:2 split between regeneration and process sides and different humidity.