A New Approach for the Heat and Moisture Transfer in Desiccant Wheels Concerning Air Stream Velocity

Zamzamian, Seyed Amir Hossein; Pahlavanzadeh, Hassan; Omidkhah Nasrin, Mohammad Reza

doi:10.22075/jhmtr.2023.28610.1395

A New Approach for the Heat and Moisture Transfer in Desiccant Wheels Concerning Air Stream Velocity

Document Type : Full Length Research Article

Authors

Seyed Amir Hossein Zamzamian ¹

Hassan Pahlavanzadeh ²

Mohammad Reza Omidkhah Nasrin ²

¹ Energy Department, Materials and Energy Research Center (MERC), Karaj, Iran

² Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

10.22075/jhmtr.2023.28610.1395

Abstract

Many investigators have presented mathematical work on desiccant wheels but there is a considerable discrepancy between published values and experimental values. A mathematical model based on the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation has been derived to show the dehumidification trend of desiccant dehumidifier concerning air stream velocity. In this model the effect of air stream velocity on wheel performance as a momentum equation combined with heat and mass transfer has been studied. The current model is capable of predicting the transient and steady-state transport in a desiccant wheel. It reveals the moisture and temperature in both the airflow channels and the sorbent felt, in detail, as a function of time. The predicted results are validated against the data taken from experimental results, with reasonable accuracy. Therefore, the numerical model is a practical tool for understanding and accounting for the complicated coupled operational process inside the wheel. Consequently, it is useful for parameter studies.

Keywords

Desiccant wheel

Heat transfer

Mathematical model

Mass transfer

Explicit program

Subjects

Computational Heat transfer

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