Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering (설비공학논문집)

The Society of Air-Conditioning and Refrigerating Engineers of Korea (대한설비공학회)
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Analysis of Cooling Performance of a Compact Regenerative Evaporative Cooler

밀집형 재생증발식 냉방기의 냉각 성능 분석

  • Park, Min-Hee (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Hanyang University) ;
  • Moon, Seung-Jae (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Hanyang University) ;
  • Lee, Dae-Young (Urban Energy Center, Korea Institute of Science & Technology)
  • 박민희 (한양대학교 대학원 기계공학과) ;
  • 문승재 (한양대학교 대학원 기계공학과) ;
  • 이대영 (한국과학기술연구원 도시에너지연구단)
  • Received : 2016.04.05
  • Accepted : 2016.07.13
  • Published : 2016.08.10
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Abstract

This study investigated a compact regenerative evaporative cooler (REC). To achieve practical applications of an REC, it is very important to consider the compactness as well as the cooling performance. Therefore, a prototype of the REC was designed and fabricated to improve the compactness by reducing the length through the insertion of fins in both the dry and wet channels. The REC prototype was tested in terms of performance evaluation under various operating conditions. An analytical model was also developed to analyze the effects of the axial conduction through the solid body of the REC, the wetness of the surface in the wet channel, and the thermal capacity of the evaporation water flow. The model was validated by comparing the results of a simulation with experimental data. The numerical simulation was based on the model to analyze the performance of the REC and to suggest methods to improve the cooling performance of the REC. Finally, the performance of the present REC was compared to that obtained in previous experimental studies. The results showed that the REC prototype in the present study is the most compact and achieves the highest cooling performance.

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References

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