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Performance analysis of counter flow cooling tower using reciprocating desiccant mesh

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Abstract

In hot and humid climates, the evaporative cooling system not works effectively. To reduce the relative humidity of inlet air, the reciprocating desiccant mesh (RDM) is introduced before the cooling tower. The cooling tower is fabricated as per the Merkel’s theory and RDM is placed before the cooling tower. Experiments have been conducted to compare the performance of normal and RDM cooling towers at different operating conditions. The results of this study indicate that the most favorable velocity and water flow rate of the RDM cooling tower are 1.8 m/s and 17.3 L/min, respectively. At this condition, the cooling effect of the RDM cooling tower is 1.6°C greater than the normal cooling tower. Further, the maximum effectiveness of normal and RDM cooling tower are 0.72 and 0.82, respectively. At last, this study recommends that the RDM cooling tower reduces water consumption as compared to the normal cooling tower due to the lower temperature of cold water.

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Abbreviations

RH:

Relative humidity

RDM:

Reciprocating desiccant

WBT:

Wet-bulb temperature

DBT:

Dry bulb temperature

ETC:

Evacuated tube collector

EF:

Exhaust fan

DE:

Drift Eliminator

Symbol:

Description Units

w r :

Resultant uncertainty –

\( \dot{G} \) :

Mass flow rate of air in cooling kg/s

\( \dot{W} \) :

Mass flow rate of liquid water in cooling tower kg/s

T G2 :

Temperature of air at the exit of cooling tower °C

T G1 :

Temperature of air at the inlet of cooling tower °C

T W2 :

Temperature of water at the exit of cooling tower °C

T W1 :

Temperature of water at the inlet of cooling tower °C

\( {Y}_2^{\prime } \) :

Humidity ratio of air at the exit of cooling tower kg/kg

\( {Y}_1^{\prime } \) :

Humidity ratio of air at the inlet of cooling towerkg/kg

Y sat :

Humidity ratio at saturated conditionkg/kg

H 2 :

Enthalpy of air at the exit of cooling towerkJ/kg

H 1 :

Enthalpy of air at the inlet of cooling towerkJ/kg

H W1 :

Enthalpy of water at the inlet of cooling towerkJ/kg

H W2 :

Enthalpy of water at the exit of cooling towerkJ/kg

c wl :

Specific heat of liquid water kJ/kg K

c pg :

Specific heat of airkJ/kg K

∆H vap :

Enthalpy of vapourizationkJ/kg

C min :

Minimum heat capacityKJ/K

k y :

Mass transfer coefficientkg/m2s

a :

Perimeter of control volume dzm

h c :

Convective heat transfer coefficientW/m2K

\( {\dot{m}}_{cwr} \) :

Mass flow rate of water consumed in the condenserkg/h

ρ avg. water :

Average density of waterkg/m3

\( \dot{E} \) :

Evaporation losskg/h

H tg :

Height of enthalpy gas transfer unitvm

N tg :

Number of enthalpy gas transfer unit–

z:

Height of packing sectionm

H sat :

Enthalpy of air at the saturated conditionkJ/kg

\( {\dot{m}}_s \) :

Mass flow rate of steam in the condenser kg/s

p cond :

Saturation condenser pressurebar

∆T max :

Temperature difference between the saturation temperature of steam at condenser and inlet water temperature (outlet water temperature of cooling tower) of the shell and tube heat exchanger°C

NCT:

Normal cooling tower

RDMCT:

Reciprocating desiccant mesh cooling tower

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, MMMUT, Gorakhpur, India

    Sanjay & Amarjeet Kumar Prasad

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, NIT, Hamirpur, India

    Ashutosh Kumar Verma & Laxmikant Yadav

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, NIT, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India

    Avadhesh Yadav

Authors
  1. Sanjay
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  2. Ashutosh Kumar Verma
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  3. Amarjeet Kumar Prasad
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  4. Laxmikant Yadav
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  5. Avadhesh Yadav
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Correspondence to Laxmikant Yadav.

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Sanjay, Verma, A.K., Prasad, A.K. et al. Performance analysis of counter flow cooling tower using reciprocating desiccant mesh. Heat Mass Transfer 56, 2779–2799 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-020-02912-y

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