International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:13 No:01

60

Application of Evaporative Air Coolers Coupled With

Solar Water Heater for Dehumidification of Indoor
Air
A S Alosaimy
Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering,
Taif University, KSA
alosaimy@yahoo.com
Abstract -- In the present work, novel configuration of solar
powered desiccant dehumidification system is investigated. The
proposed system comprises two evaporative air coolers. One of
the two coolers functions as an absorber and the second, which is
coupled with solar water heater, functions as a desiccant
regenerator. In the experimental part of this investigation,
Calcium Chloride is regenerated using solar energy. Hot water
from a solar collector is circulated through an air heater to
regenerate the liquid desiccant. Mathematical model, which can
be applied for analysis of the proposed system, is developed.
Absorption-regeneration cycle for the dehumidifier is described
and analyzed. An expression for the efficiency of the simple cycle
is introduced. Theoretical analysis shows that strong and weak
solution concentration limits play a decisive role in the value of
cycle efficiency. S ystem efficiency with consideration of heat and
work added to the system is well defined. The limits of
regeneration temperature and mass of strong solution per kg of
produced vapor are found highly dependent on the operating
concentration of desiccant. Experimental results show that
solution with 30% concentration can be regenerated up to 50%
using solar energy. Good agreement is found between the trained
data of the ANN model and the experimental measurements for
the whole range of the air inlet temperature.

Index Term--

Desiccant; humidification; absorption; air

conditioning; Calcium chloride.

1.
INTRODUCTION
In hot and humid areas ,interest in utilizing solar poweredcooling systems for air-conditioning and refrigeration purposes
has been growing continuously. Being considered as one path
towards more sustainable energy systems, solar-cooling is
comprised of many attractive features . This technology can
efficiently serve large latent loads and greatly improve indoor
air quality by allowing more ventilation wh ile t ightly
controlling humidity [1]. On the other hand, solar-powered air
conditioning has seen renewed interest in recent years due to
the growing awareness of environmental problems such as
global warming [2,3]. Solar collector/regenerator (C/R)
systems can achieve liquid regeneration at lower temperatures
which is suitable for buildings with high outdoor air
requirements in high humidity areas [4,5]. Several solar-driven
refrigeration systems

have been proposed and most of them are economically

justified. These systems include sorption systems containing
liquid/vapor or solid/vapor absorption/adsorption, vapor
compression systems, and hybrid desiccant vapor compression
systems [6].
The regenerator is one of the key components in liquid
desiccant air-conditioning systems, in wh ich desiccant is
concentrated and can be reused in the system. The heat
required for regenerating the weak desiccant solution is
supplied into the regenerator by either hot air or hot desiccant
solution. This heat can be provided by any form of low-grade
thermal energy which is suitable for solar thermal applications.
Different regenerator designs have been examined and a
variety of theoretical models have been employed to analyze
the regeneration process [7-9]. An analytical procedure for
calculating the mass of water evaporated from the weak
solution in the regenerator in terms of climatic conditions and
solution properties at the regenerator inlet has been developed
by Kakabayev and Khandurdyev[1].Alizadeh and Saman [10]
developed a computer model using Calciu m Chloride as the
working desiccant to study the thermal performance of a forced
parallel flo w solar regenerator. A parametric analysis of the
system has been performed to calculate the rate of evaporation
of water fro m the solution as a function of the system variables
and the climatic conditions. However, the solar radiation
intensity was assumed constant in the analysis. The effect of
regeneration temperature on the rate of water evaporation fro m
the liquid desiccant shows that an increase in solution
temperature increases the vapor pressure on the surface of the
solution and consequently the potential of mass transfer. Solar
water heaters can be applied for regeneration of the desiccant
solution if the heated water in the solar heater is used for
regeneration purposes. In this case, hot water can be used to
heat the regeneration air in an air heater and then blown to the
packing of the humidifier, where the solution is recalculated by
the solution pump. The main function of desiccant
dehumidification system is to pump humid ity fro m the
conditioned space, which has moisture sources, to the outsid e
space. Different design configurations for such systems are
available in literature [5,6]. These systems use solid or liquid
desiccant as sorbent. A new heat pump desiccant dehumidifier
for supermarket application is presented in [11]. It is a self -

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regenerating liquid desiccant cooling system able to

dehumidify, heating or cooling the ambient air by an electric
heat pump that is a part of the equipment. It appears in the
shape similar to a traditional air-handling unit but it puts
together inside in a new way a chemical dehumidification
system and an electric vapor co mpression heat pump: in such a
way it can be defined as a hybrid machine. A novel desiccant
based air conditioning system was designed and tested
experimentally to improve the indoor air quality and reduce
energy consumption [12]. In the system studied, the moisture
of the air sent to the place being air-conditioned was reduced
passing it through a solid desiccant wheel and then its
temperature was brought to the desired blowing temperature by
the dry coil of a vapor co mpression cycle. A liquid desiccant
based air-conditioning system is described in [13]. The
dehumidifier and regenerator used in the system are adiabatic.
The air flows upward and the solution flows downward in the
packing of the dehumidifier and the regenerator: that is, the airsolution is under counter flow. The coefficient of performance
(COP) of the liquid desiccant based system decreases sharply
when the fresh air ratio exceeds 60%. The results also show
that the proposed system can save power notably. The
maximu m power saving ratio is 58.9% when the fresh air ratio
is 20%. The application of commercially available air
humidifiers, which are used for evaporative cooling in desert
areas (dry zones), for the purposes of dehumidification of
humid air and regeneration of desiccant solution is proposed in
the present work. This application leads to a decrease in the
overall cost of the dehumidification system and there is no
need of specific design.
In the present work solar collector has been applied for
regeneration of Ca Cl2 solution. The proposed system
comprises a flat plate solar collector which is used for water
heating to heat the regeneration air in an air heater. The heated
air is used to regenerate the solution in the dehumidifier. In the
theoretical part, simp lified analysis of the performance of
desiccant operated humidity pump has been presented. Several
objectives are formulated to address the overall goal of the
present study; application of solar water heater coupled with
evaporative coolers to function as desiccant dehumidifier.
These objectives are to:
1- Design and installation of a solar water heating system
coupled with an air heater and evaporative cooler for
regeneration of calcium chloride (CaCl2) desiccant solution.
2- Study and discuss the operation of the proposed system
and evaluate the possibility of steady state operation with
application of hot water storage tank.

Alosaimy [11]. Isothermal operation of HP on the

psychrometric chart isdemonstrated in Fig. 1. As shown in fig.,
the system transfers moisture from the indoor air, which has
lower hu mid ity, to the outdoor airthrough the line R-O, where
the conditions R and O represent the room (dehumidified air)
and outside conditions, respectively. The system which carries
out this process is called a hu midity pump (HP). The statement
"humidity pump" comes fro m the similarity between pumping
heat from the cooled space to the hot outside air and pumping
humidity fro m an indoor air to a more humid outside air.
However, isothermal absorption of water vapor fro m air can be
carried out with continuous cooling of the desiccant during the
process. At the end of absorption the desiccant must be
regenerated to remove the absorbed water and re-concentrate
the solution.
The absorption-regeneration cycle, which can be applied,
for operation as a humidity pump, is shown in Fig. 2. The
theoretical cycle is plotted on the vapor pressure-concentration
diagram for the operating absorbent and consists of four
thermal processes which are [11,12]:
Process 1-2: isothermal absorption of water vapor from
room air;
Process 2-3: constant concentration heating of the
absorbent;
Process 3-4: constant vapor pressure regeneration of
absorbent and
Process 4-1: constant concentration cooling of absorbent.

2. OPERAT ION OF HUMIDIT Y PUMP (HP)

Desiccant dehumid ification system, in general, functions as
humidity pu mp. The function of the humidity pump is to
transfer the humidity of room air (indoor conditions) to the
outside air(outdoor conditions). The energy required to power
such systems is main ly the regeneration heat required to heat
the desiccant regenerator. The basic concept of isothermal
humidity pump is discussed and analyzed by Hamed and

The thermal processes of this cycle are carried out between

two concentration limits: x1 and x2 and the cycle has another
operation limits which are its maximu m regeneration
temperature, t4; condensation vapor pressure, pv,O and
maximu m absorption vapor pressure, pv,R. Evaluation of these
operation limits is important fro m the point of view of system
design and construction. Therefore, description of the effect of
air conditions on the cycle operation is presented as follows: if

ho
hR

wo

H
P

R
t=

Fig. 1. Isothermal Operation of Humidity Pump on the

C
Psychrometric Chart

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the room temperature is equal to t1 and strong solution
concentration is x1, absorption process starts only when the
vapor pressure on the absorbent surface is lower than the
vapour pressure in the room air pv,R (Fig. 2). Theoretically,
absorption continues from 1 to 2, i.e. ends at equilibriu m
condition when the pressure of vapor on the absorbent surface
is the same as that in room air. When the absorption process
ends, absorbent is pumped to the regenerator and heated from
an external source. Regeneration of weak absorbent can be
carried out at constant pressure. The vapour pressure on the
absorbent surface at point 2 is equal to pv,R which is
determined in terms of room relative humidity and temperature.
Constant pressure regeneration at this pressure requires that the
regeneration temperature is the saturation temperature of water
vapour corresponding to the vapor pressure of the outdoor air;
pv,O. When regeneration is assumed to be at ambient
temperature, weak solution must be heated from t2 to t3 where
as concentration is constant and vapour pressure increases from
pv,Rto pv,O, which is the saturation pressure of vapour
corresponding to ambient (outdoor) conditions . The increase
in temperature fro m t2 to t3 depends on the relative hu midity
of air or the weak solution concentration, x2, which depends
also on the relative humidity at the given ambient temperature.
During the constant pressure condensation, solution
concentration increases from x2 to x4. The maximu m
regeneration temperature depends on the available heat source
and the limits required of desiccant concentration. Strong
(regenerated) solution at point 4 is not able to absorb vapour
fro m room air due to its higher vapourpressure, therefore

4. THEORET ICAL A NALYSIS

In the theoretical part of this study, thermodynamic analysis
of the proposed system as well as artificial neural network
model will be considered and presented in the following
subsections.
4.1 THERMODYNAMIC ANALYSIS
An important aspect of any system simulation is the

3
tR

P v,R

2
t = Const.

Relative humidity = C

Vapor pressure on the desiccant surface

P v,o

pressure is reduced again to p1 by cooling from t4 to the room

temperature where the cycle ends at point 1.
3. THE PROPOSED SYST EM
The proposed system is presented in Fig.3. The system
comprises two air evaporative coolers. One of the two coolers
functions as an absorber (the indoor unit) and the second (the
outdoor unit), which is coupled with solar water heater,
functions as a desiccant regenerator. Calciu m Ch loride solution
is regenerated in the evaporative cooler (desiccant regenerator)
which is supplied with hot air fro m a finned tube air/water heat
exchanger. Water fro m the solar water heater is circulated
through the heat exchanger to heat the flowing air. Strong
solution fro m the outdoor unit is directed to the indoor unit and
weak solution from the indoor unit is pumped to the
regenerator via a solution pump. Roo m hu mid air is blown and
dehumidified in the indoor unit. This system actually functions
as humid ity pump. Direct contact between air and desiccant is
carried out in the packing used in the evaporative cooler to
increase the contact area. For the purpose of heat recovery,
solution heat exchanger is applied to cool the strong solution
coming out from the regenerator (outdoor unit).

to

62

Crystallization zone

Desiccant concentration by weight

Fig. 2. Operation processes of isothermal absorption humidity pump on the

Vapor pressure-concentration chart
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sys q v H

50

Temperature, C

determination of the conditions for optimized performance.

When sorption / desorption cycle is applied with absorption of
water vapour from air, system efficiency can be simply
evaluated from the mu ltiplication of the cycle efficiency by the
efficiency of the heat transfer equipment (ex. collector
efficiency, when solar energy is applied). In case of forced air
absorption, energy added to forced air stream must be
accounted in defin ition of system efficiency. Therefore, system
efficiency is defined as the ratio of heat added to generated
water vapour qv to the total equivalent heat added to the
system H, i.e

Date: 10/10/2010
Initial mass of solution =2 kg,
Initial concentration =0.3
Final concentration
=0.38

40

30

Air temperatures at
regenerator inlet&exit

(1)

The heat added to generated water vapor is assumed equal

to the latent load removed by the system fro m the dehumidified
space.
Fro m Fig. 2 ,during regeneration, heat must be applied to
the desiccant to accomplish the following:
heat the solution to minimu m regeneration temperature
(process 2-3, Fig. 2),;
vaporize the liquid water;
heat the solution to its final temperature in the (process 3-4,
Fig. 2 ), and
heat the regenerated vapour to its final temperature.

63

inlet temperature, C
outlet temperature, C

20
8

10

11

12

13

Time, hr

Fig. 6. variation of water and air temperatures at inlet and exit of the heat
exchanger and humidifier for the first group of tests

50
Air temperatures at regenerator inlet&exit
inlet temperature, C

The heat added to desiccant and water vapour during the

desorption process can be expressed as given in [12] as

(2)

where h is the enthalpy. Subscripts v, r and a denote

water vapour, desiccant condition at the end of regeneration
and desiccant condition at the end of adsorption, respectively.
60

Temperature, C

Qd mh v Md h r Md m h a

outlet temperature, C

40

30
Date: 11/10/2010
Initial mass of solution =3.684 kg,
Initial concentration
=0.3
Final concentration
=0.48

Water temperatures at
heater inlet&exit
inlet temperature, C

Temperature, C

50

outlet temperature, C

20
8

10

12

14

16

Time, hr

Fig. 7. Variation of water and air temperatures at inlet and exit of the heat
exchanger and humidifier for the first group of tests

40

30
Date: 10/10/2010
Initial mass of solution =2 kg,
Initial concentration =0.3
Final concentration
=0.38

20
8

10

12

14

Time, hr

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Air vent

Water tank
Solar water

Compe nsation

heater
l i ne

O utdoor unit

Packing

Air heater
Air outlet

Air inlet

Weak solution

Strong solution

Water circulating pump

Solution heat
exchanger

Indoor unit

Dehumidified
air out

Room
humid air
in

Solution
pump

Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of solar powered desiccant dehumidification system.

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Knowing desiccant concentration limits and mass of

desiccant Md one can evaluate the mass of adsorbed (or
regenerated) water vapour as follows,

X r Xa
Xa

Md (3)

where
Xr and Xa are desiccant concentration at the
end of regeneration and end of adsorption, respectively. As the
mass of desiccant changes during the processes, in eq.(3) M d is
taken at start of adsorption. The heat equivalent to energy
added to air stream, b lown through the desiccant packing, can
be evaluated by dividing the mechanical work by the Carnot
energy factor [14],

Qe

1
vo A P
Ca

(4)

wherevo is the air velocity at bed entrance, A is the face

area of packing in contact with air, P is the pressure drop
through the packing and Ca is the Carnot energy factor. This
factor is dependent on the operating temperature limits of the
cycle. As the temperature limits of the operating cycle are the
room temperature, wh ich is equal to the absorption temperature
Ta and maximu m regeneration temperature, which is equal to
the desiccant temperature at the end of regeneration process Tr.
Consequently, Carnot energy factor can be expressed as

Ca

Tr

Ta
Tr

(5)

The total equivalent heat added to the system is expressed

as

H Qd Qe

(6)

Room conditions (temperature and relative humidity) are

indoor controlling parameters, which determine the maximu m
possible mass of vapor absorbed by the desiccant (see fig. 2).
In other words, for specific sorbent the lower value of
desiccant concentration at the end of sorption process is
dependent on indoor parameters. When Calciu m Chloride is
the working desiccant, the lower concentration can be
expressed as given in [15] by

b o

X min ln p v a o
t

111.9

b1
a 1

111.9

(7)

65

In terms of desiccant parameters, cycle efficiency can be

expressed as given in [15],

cyc L

Xa h r Xr h a
h v

X r Xa

(11)

4.2 NEURAL NET WORK (ANN) MODEL

The artificial neural network (ANN) is a new form of
computing, inspired by biological models and composed of a
large number of processing elements organized into layers. A
computing system, made up of a nu mber of simp le, highly
interconnected processing elements, which processes
information by its dynamic state response to external inputs.
The ANN is supposed to consist of artificial neurons or
processing elements. Fig.4. shows the architecture of the
neural network model used in our previous work [16, 17]. The
basic structure is a mult ilayer ANN model where the chosen
six inputs are fed into the first layer of hidden units. There, the
circles represent the neurons (weights, bias, and activation
functions) and the lines represent the connections between the
inputs and neurons, and between the neurons in one layer and
those in the next layer. Several studies have found that a threelayered neural network, where there are three stages of neural
processing between the inputs and outputs, can approximate
any nonlinear function to any desired accuracy. Each layer of
the neural network consists of units which receive their input
fro m units from a layer directly below and send their output to
units in a layer directly above the unit. Each connection to a
neuron has an adjustable weighting factor associated with it.
The output of the hidden units is distributed over the next layer
of hidden units, until the last layer of hidden units, of which the
outputs are fed into a layer of no output units. Training of the
ANN model typically imp lies adjustments of connection
weights and biases so that the differences between ANN
outputs and desired outputs are minimized. Details of the ANN
model is presented and discussed in [17]
EXPERIMENT AL W ORK
In the experimental part of this investigation, calcium
chloride solution is regenerated in an air humidifier (desiccant
regenerator) which is supplied with hot air fro m a finned tube
air/water heat exchanger. Water fro m the storage tank of a
solar

where, t is the sorbent temperature, oC, ao, bo, a1, b1 are

regression constants given in [15]. The vapour pressure in
room air is dependent on the relative humidity and saturation
pressure of water, ps(t), i.e

pv pst

(8)

Cycle efficiency is defined as the ratio of heat added to

generate vapour to the heat added to desiccant, during
regeneration process, i.e.,

cyc qv Qd

(9)

where
qv = m L

(10)
Fig. 4. A schematic of multilayer neural network [17]
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Fig. 5. Air heater coupled with humidifier.

International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:13 No:01

are recorded during the experiments: heating water at inlet and

exit of the air heater; flowing air at inlet and exit of the
humidifier. A lso, the relative humidity of air at inlet and exit of
the humidifier are recorded during the experiments. At the end
of the experimental test, the mass and concentration of
regenerated solution are evaluated and the mass of evaporated
mass of water is determined. K-type thermocouples connected
to a digital thermo meter with a resolution of 0.1C are used for
temperature measurements. A digital hygrometer having a
resolution of 0.1% is used for measuring the relative humidity.
The solution density is evaluated by measuring the mass and
volume. A digital balance of 1 g mresolution and 7000 g m
measuring range is used for mass measurements. An infrared
thermo meter is used to check the temperatures of the tubes of
the air heat exchanger.

60
Outdoor temp. = 40 C

Minimum regeneration temperature,C

Outdoor temp. = 30 C
Outdoor temp. = 20 C

50

50%
0
H=4
or R
Indo

60%

70%

40
0%
H=4
or R
o
d
In

70%

30
0%
H=4
or R
o
d
In

70%

20
40

50

60

70

80

66

90

Outdoor humidity,%

Fig. 5. Minimum regeneration temperature versus outdoor relative humidity at

different values of indoor humidity and outdoor temperatures

water heater is circulated through the heat exchanger to heat

the flowing air. The south faced solar water heater connected
with the storage tank is installed on the roof of the Fluid
Mechanics Laboratory, Mechanical Department, Taif
University, Saudi Arabia. Hot water fro m the tank exit is
pumped by a water circulating pu mp through the air heater and
then returns to the tank in let. A mbient air which is drawn
through the heater is used to heat the solution which is
circulated in the humid ifier. The air heater is installed at the
inlet of the humidifier. So lution fro m a pan in the humidifier is
pumped to the top of the packing and flows downward,
whereas hot air fro m the air heart is blown across the packing.
The solar heater is connected to water compensation line and it
is equipped with an air vent near the top of the storage tank.
PVC tubes are used to connect the indoor units (air heater and
regenerator ) and the outdoor unit (solar heating system). The
air passage between the heater and the regenerator is insulated
using polyethylene layer.
A sample of solution with a specified initial mass and
concentration is put in the solution pan of the humidifier. The
solution concentration is evaluated by using the tables of
thermo-physical properties [18], by knowledge of the density
and temperature. To start the experiment, the water level in the
hot water storage tank is checked, then water pump, solution
pump and air fan are switched on. The following temperatures

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The minimu m limit of the regeneration temperature for the
applied desiccant, at indoor temperature of 20 C, is plotted in
Fig 5 at different values of room relative humidity, and outdoor
temperatures versus the outdoor relative humid ity. As shown in
the fig., it can be observed that the minimu m regeneration
temperature increases with decrease in the room relative
humidity, at constant values of ambient parameters
(temperature and humidity). This can be explained by the need
to a solution with higher concentration to absorb moisture fro m
air with lower values of relative humid ity at the same amb ient
temperature. In general, it can be stated that the temperature
potential required to pump humidity fro m the room condition
to the ambient air is directly proportional with the hu midity
potential between the room and the ambient air. On the other
hand, an increase in the outdoor temperature increases the
required regeneration temperature for constant values of room
and outdoor humidity.
For an in itial mass of solution of 2 kg and in itial
concentration of 30%, an experimental test is carried out for a
period of 5 hrs (fro m 8 am to 1 p m). For the first group of tests,
fig. 6 demonstrates the variation of water and air temperatures
at inlet and exit of the heat exchanger and humidifier,
respectively. Fro m the plot it can be noted that a maximu m
water temperature at heat exchanger inlet of about 57 C is
recorded at 9 a.m, whereas, this temperature fluctuates around
45 C for the last period of the test. This variation in heating
water temperature is limited due to the use of hot water
storage tank. The hot water accumulate the solar energy which
is variable with time and supply the regeneration unit with
water at an average temperature of 45 C during the variation
of solar radiation. In this test, water stored in the tank was
heated in the day before the test and kept at higher temperature.
The temperature of water at exit of the heat exchanger nearly
follows that of the inlet water with a variable temperature
difference. One of the most important factors affecting the
regeneration process is the temperature of air at hu midifier
(regenerator) inlet. As shown in Fig. 6, it can be noted that the
heating process, to some extent, is carried out at nearly steady
state condition for the period fro m 9 am to 1 p m . The variation
in hot air temperature is limited to about 5 C for this specific

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14
12
Humidity ratio, g/kg

period. During this period of experiments the radiation

intensity on the surface of the solar collector extremely
increases until reaching its maximu m value at noon time. For
the second group of tests, the test results of an operation period
of 8 hrs (fro m 8 a m to 4 p m) for an in itial mass of solution of
3.684 kg are plotted in Fig. 7. It can be noted that the
maximu m temperature is limited to 42 C at 1 p m and the
variation in heating water temperature fro m 8 am to 16 p m is
limited to about 5 C. The limited variation in the heating water
temperature, compared with the variation in radiation intensity
proofs the importance of the heat storage during the day time
for more stable and steady operation of the
solar system when coupled with the desiccant regenerator.
The heating air temperature increases from 30 C at 9 to about
38 at the end of the test. This increase in heating temperature
improves the operation of the regeneration system, where the
desiccant concentration increases also with time and the
increase in heating temperature is essential to build the
required mass transfer potential to continue the regeneration
process. Fig 8.demonstrates the humidity ratio of air at
regenerator exit, for the tests, with time. The fluctuation of the
measured data is explained by the error in the humidity
measuring instruments. The solid line in Fig.8 is the humidity
ratio of the ambient air. At the end of regeneration process,
desiccant concentration is evaluated by measuring its
temperature and density and using the tables of thermophysical properties[18]. For a regeneration period of 5 hours,
solution concentration increases up to 38% as shown in Fig. 6.
Data presented in Fig. 7shows that the regeneration of solution
takes place for 8 hours and as a result, solution concentration
reaches 48% at the end of regeneration process.
Fig. 9.shows a comparison between the trained data of the
ANN model and the experimental data for all the output
variables with respect to the air in let temperature. Good
agreement is found between the trained data of the model and
the experimental measurements for the whole range of the air
inlet temperature.

67

10
8
6
Inlet humidity ratio of regeneration air

4
Date: 11/10/2010
Initial mass of solution =3.684 kg,
Initial concentration =0.3
Final concentration
=0.48

2
0
8

10

12

14

16

Time, hr

Fig. 8. Humidity ratio of air at regenerator exit

Humidity ratio, g/kg

16

12

Fig. 9. ANN model training results.

8
Inlet humidity ratio of regeneration air

4
Initial mass of solution =3.684 kg,
Initial concentration
=0.3

0
32

36

40

44

48

52

Water inlet temperature,C

56

CONCLUSIONS
Novel design of solar powered desiccant operated humidity
pump has been presented and analyzed. In the proposed design,
air hu mid ifiers are applied for dehumid ification of processed
air and regeneration of liquid desiccant. The effects of
meteorological conditions and system design parameters are
well defined. Also, system efficiency is defined in terms of
operating cycle efficiency and system design parameters.
Effect of indoor and outdoor parameters on the required
regeneration temperature has been highlighted.
The
appropriate selection of desiccant concentration at the end of

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sorption has been discussed.Based on the obtained simulation
results, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1-Desiccant minimu m regeneration temperature is
proportional to the humidity potential between the indoor and
outdoor conditions (temperature and humidity).
2- Experimental results show that CaCl2 solution with 30%
concentration can be regenerated up to 48% using solar energy.
3- Stability of heating temperature is important. The
application of storage tank coupled with the solar water heater
limits the variation in the heating temperature in a range of 5
oC in the specified experimental conditions.
4-Good agreement between the outputs from the ANN
model and the corresponding results from the experimental
measurements are found. It is also concluded that the proposed
model can be successfully used for predicting the overall
performance of the system on the basis of experimental data
collected for different system parts from the literature.
A CKNOWLEDGM ENTS
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial
support of the University of Taif, Saudi Arabia.
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NOMENCLAT URES
Ca
Carnot factor, dimensionless
Cp
specific heat, J/kg.oC
h
enthalpy, J/kg
H
total equivalent heat, W
L
latent heat of evaporation of water, J/kg
m
mass flow rate of evaporated water during
regeneration, kg/s
M
mass flow rate of desiccant kg/s
p
vapour pressure, mmHg
q
heat added to vapour, W
Q
heat added, W
t
ambient temperature, o C
T
desiccant temperature, K
X
desiccant mass concentration
GREEK SYMBOLS

efficiency
relative humidity

Subscripts
a
b
d
cyc
e
o
r
s
sys
v

condition at the end of absorption

bed
desiccant
cycle
equivalent
initial, inlet
condition at the end of regeneration
saturation condition
system
vapor

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