International Journal of Sustainable Engineering

ISSN: 1939-7038 (Print) 1939-7046 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tsue20

Energy and exergy analysis of a PCM-based solar

powered winter air conditioning using desiccant
wheel during nocturnal

Neeraj Mehla & Avadhesh Yadav

To cite this article: Neeraj Mehla & Avadhesh Yadav (2017): Energy and exergy analysis of
a PCM-based solar powered winter air conditioning using desiccant wheel during nocturnal,
International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, DOI: 10.1080/19397038.2017.1370033

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19397038.2017.1370033

Published online: 08 Sep 2017.

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 International Journal of Sustainable Engineering, 2017
https://doi.org/10.1080/19397038.2017.1370033

Energy and exergy analysis of a PCM-based solar powered winter air conditioning
using desiccant wheel during nocturnal
Neeraj Mehla§ and Avadhesh Yadav§
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, India

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

In this paper, heating and humidification of air for space have been carried out by using a phase change Received 21 May 2016
material (PCM)-based solar-powered desiccant wheel air conditioning (SPDWAC) in winter. The analysis Accepted 13 July 2017
of the setup has been done at different air flow rates. At low and high air flow rates, system has mean
KEYWORDS
thermal coefficient of performance of 0.121 and 0.172, respectively, and mean exergy efficiency of 0.0787 ETSAC; desiccant wheel
and 0.0846, respectively. The mean thermal coefficient of performance of the system at high air flow rate
Downloaded by [Southern Cross University] at 10:09 04 October 2017

(DW); PCM; air flow

(127.23 kg h-1) is 1.42 times the low air flow rate (63.62 kg h-1) and average exergy efficiency of the system rate; regeneration;
at high air flow rate is 1.07 times the low air flow rate. It is observed that with an increase in air flow rate, dehumidification, heating
efficiency of the evacuated tube solar air collector (ETSAC) increases. The average efficiency of the ETSAC and humidification
at high air flow rate is 15.60%. The maximum average energy efficiency (17.80%) and exergy efficiency
(17.08%) of the PCM storage system have been obtained at high air flow rate. The overall performance of
the system showed that the use of PCM storage is feasible to run the system in winter during the hours of
darkness.

1. Introduction extreme coefficient of performance (COp = 1.4) accomplished

by the system during ventilation mode. Kanoglu, Bolatturk, and
The regular sources, for example, coal, wood, oil and natural gas
Altuntop (2007) studied a desiccant cooling system working in
are broadly utilised for space heating and humidification. The
two unique modes (ventilation and recirculation modes). It was
wasteful burning of these fuels produces hurtful particles which
reported that the thermal coefficient of performance (TCOP) in
are hazardous to the soundness of person. Hence, it exhibits
ventilation and recirculation modes were 1.17 and 1.28, respec-
that substitute strategy is required to beat the above-mentioned
tively. A second law analysis was additionally done and the
issues. The renewable energy resources such as solar energy is
reversible coefficient of performance (RCOP) of the system is
generally used for space heating and humidification. This original
2.63 in ventilation mode and 3.04 in recirculation mode. Kabeel
manuscript presents a desiccant humidifier system intended to
(2007) studied the impact of air flow rates on honeycomb rotary
produce heating and humidification of air amid off-sunshine
wheel. The observation demonstrated that system was more
hours. The phase change material (PCM)-based solar-powered
effective in the regeneration processes. Hurdogan et al. (2011)
desiccant wheel air conditioning (SPDWAC) system is utilised
investigated the performance analysis of the desiccant cooling
to fulfil the demand of heating and humidification in cold and
system utilising an exergy analysis method. It was observed that
dry climates. The demand for space heating is growing rapidly.
the exergetic efficiency of the entire system was diminished by
Hence, it turns out to be extremely fundamental to focus in this
varying the reference state temperatures. Li et al. (2011, 2012)
area. Sarbu (2014) concluded that for a situation of the con-
experimentally investigated a solar-driven desiccant cooling/
ventional heat pump, the real disadvantage is that it requires
heating system. It was analysed that for space heating in win-
high-grade energy. La et al. (2011) suggested that in cold and dry
ter, the average temperature distinction between the surround-
weather, simply warming of space does not satisfy the comfort
ing and room air was 13  °C, which ensure that solar heating
conditioning since relative humidity diminishes which prompt
is feasible. It was additionally announced that 40% solar heat
uneasiness condition. Henceforth to defeat these disadvantages,
from the Sun was utilised for cooling and heating. The thermal
the DW-based air conditioning system is a substitute of the con-
performance of a desiccant wheel (DW) was experimentally
ventional heat pump. Charoensupaya and Worek (1988) analysed
investigated by Angrisani et al. (2012). It was concluded that
the impact of different outline parameters on the performance of
dehumidification performance of the DW was highly depend-
an open-cycle solid desiccant cooling system. It was found that by
ent upon regeneration temperature. Yadav and Bajpai (2012)
optimising a mass fraction and isotherm shape of the system, it
experimentally investigated the performance of the DW by using
would result in an optimum coefficient of performance. The most

CONTACT  Neeraj Mehla  neerajmehla471@gmail.com Research scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology,  Kurukshetra 
136119, India.
§
Neeraj Mehla (Research Scholar) and Avadhesh Yadav (Assistant Professor) are equally contributed.
© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
 2   N. MEHLA AND A. YADAV
ETSAC and proposed that higher air flow rate provides higher
adsorption and regeneration rate. Uckan et al. (2013) analysed
the performance of desiccant-based evaporative air conditioning
system. It was concluded that outdoor air used as regeneration
air to increase the regeneration heat and the capacity of the DW
due to higher ambient air temperature and lower inlet absolute
humidity. Enteria et al. (2013) introduced the thermodynamic
analysis of the developed solar-desiccant air conditioning system.
The outcomes demonstrated that the solar collector component
had 35.56% energy loss and 55.30% exergy destruction of the
system. Ge, Dai, and Li (2013) described a self-cooled desiccant
cooling system dependent upon desiccant coated heat exchanger
(SCDHE) and developed a mathematical model to examine the
performance. It was found that SCDHE system had better per-
formance than the conventional desiccant-coated heat exchanger
(DCHE) cooling system and it had 30% more power than a con-
ventional DCHE cooling system. Guidara, Elleuch, and Bacha
(2013) developed a mathematical model for a solid desiccant
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solar air conditioning unit based on thermal and mass balances.
Three modes of functioning were simulated for three diverse
atmospheres such as relatively cold and humid, hot and dry and
moderate. It was suggested that the acquired conditioned air
for the diverse modes of operation had agreeable conditions for
the workplace space inhabitants. Zeng et al. (2014) numerically
analysed the performance of a solar hybrid one-rotor two-stage
desiccant cooling and heating system. It was concluded that
40% of the heating load were handled by solar energy. Sheng
et al. (2014) appraised the performance of the DW by utilising
a correlation method. It was concluded that dehumidification
was highly affected by regeneration temperature and specific
humidity of the outdoor air. As per Al-Kayiem and Lin (2014)
solar energy systems were not operated continuously  because
of non-availability of solar radiation during night-time. Hence,
Mahfuz et al. (2014) suggested that the thermal energy storage
was utilised to defeat this issue which acts as a thermal stor-
age to store solar heat. Summers, Antar, and Lienhard (2012)
studied the performance of the air heating solar collector inte-
grated with PCM. It was recommended that PCM was able to
produce hot air throughout the day and night. Yang, Zhang, and
Xu (2014) suggested that PCM has the higher energy storage
capacity when contrasted with sensible heat storage. Longo and
Gasparella (2015) compared the performance of traditional air
conditioning with the liquid desiccant-based air conditioning for
a flower greenhouse. It was reported that the H2O/KCOOH liq-
uid desiccant was less expensive and eco-friendly and in future,
it should become the alternate of H2O/LiCl. Chen et al. (2016)
experimentally investigated the performance of the composite
desiccant dehumidifier system. The released heat of the pump
was utilised to regenerate the composite desiccant material. It
was reported that composite desiccant dehumidifier system con-
sumed low energy when contrasted with traditional desiccant
dehumidifier system. Jani, Mishra, and Sahoo (2016) reported
that solid desiccant cooling system had an ability to save energy
and eco-friendly. It was observed that the further improvement
is needed for the reduction in cost and size.
Many researchers had experimentally investigated the use of
ETSAC for space heating during sunshine hours. But heating
and humidification during off-sunshine hours integrated with
PCM using ETSAC in Indian atmosphere have been infrequently
researched. In north India, the span from November to March is
cold and dry climate conditions. It implies SPSDAC for heating
and humidification is required amid these months.
In this paper, the performance of the desiccant humidification
system in winter season based on ETSAC integrated with PCM
storage unit is presented. The performance of the system has been
experimentally examined at different air flow rates. Likewise, the
thermal coefficient of performance (COPs) of the system has been
assessed. The test set-up has been installed at NIT, Kurukshetra,
India [29° 58′ (latitude) North and 76° 53′(longitude) East].
2.  System description
The schematic diagram and the photographic view of the PCM-
based SPDWAC are shown in Figure 1. The system consists of an
evacuated tube solar air collector subsystem (ETSAC integrated
with PCM), DW subsystem. The heating of the air has been done
using solar thermal evacuated tube subsystem and humidifica-
tion of air is done with the help of DW. The SPDWAC has been
utilised in the winter season to serve the purpose of space heating
and humidification during nocturnal. For achieving this purpose
the SPDWAC system has been integrated with PCM, which stores
solar energy during day time and this stored energy is utilised to
heat the air passing through the ETSAC during night-time when
no solar intensity available in the sky. Then this hot air is passed
through the DW and regeneration of DW takes place.
2.1.  ETSAC subsystem
Figure 2 shows the schematic representation of the ETSAC
subsystem. This subsystem having 40 evacuated tubes with the
collector area of 4.44 m2. Evacuated tube with two co-axial glass
tubes is used in this subsystem having a length of 1500  mm.
A header with two square cross section, namely outer square
cross section (220 mm × 220 mm) and inner square cross sec-
tion (186 mm × 186 mm) is used. While the former is used for
the flow of water, later is used to store the 50 kg of PCM. The
header is covered with an insulation of polyurethane, having
the thermal conductivity of 0.023 W m−1 °C−1, to avoid the heat
transfer from header to the environment. The header is 1500 mm
in length, having a hollow circular pipe (75 mm diameter) at the
centre through which the air passes. Solar thermal evacuated
tube subsystem has the capacity of 100 L of water. Heat is stored
in water by solar intensity, which is then transferred to PCM. The
stored heat in acetamide (PCM) is transferred to the air passing
through a hollow circular pipe. The melting temperature, latent
heat of fusion of acetamide are 81 °C and 263 kJ kg−1 with the
thermal conductivity of 0.5 W m−1 °C−1. A blower of 0.350 kW
(AC mains) is used to blow the air in the ETSAC.
2.2.  Desiccant wheel subsystem
The main part of the desiccant wheel subsystem is the DW
as shown in Figure 3. The DW is an air to air heat and mass
exchanger which rotates at low rotational speed. It is made up of
a sinusoidal matrix with the regular silica gel coating. The DW
has two equal zones, that is, regeneration zone and adsorption
zone, which are separated by a partition and flexible seal. The
DW is driven by a rotary motor of 6 W at different rotational
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING   3
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Figure 1a. Schematic diagram of the phase change material (PCM)-based solar powered desiccant wheel air conditioning (SPDWAC) system represents the sensor position.

Figure 1b. Photograph of the phase change material (PCM)-based solar powered desiccant wheel air conditioning (SPDWAC) system.

speed to alter the position of the adsorption and regeneration
zones. Table 1 shows the dimension and properties of the des-
iccant wheel.
2.3.  Operation description of the system
During the day of experiments, the ETSAC is exposed to Sun to
gain solar heat and the filled water inside the tubes get heat and
start to move towards the outer rectangular box of the header due
to thermosyphon phenomenon. Thereafter, hot water transfers
its heat to the PCM and PCM inside the inner rectangular box
starts to store the heat during day hours. Afterwards, the stored
heat of PCM is used to heat the air during off-sunshine hours
when no solar intensity is available. Hence, during day hours the
charging of PCM has been done and during off-sunshine hours
the heating of air has been done using ETSAC. Now, this hot air
is used to regenerate the DW. The DW has two equal zones as
shown in Figure 1(a), namely adsorption zone and regeneration
zone. In adsorption zone, the fresh air at point 1 moves inside
the DW and leaves at point 4 and dehumidification of air occurs
(stage 1–4). During this process, the adsorption heat released
which increased the temperature of process air at point 4. The
regeneration air is heated from point 1 to point 2 (shown in
Figure 1(a)) by using ETSAC (stages 1–2), then regeneration of
DW has been done from point 2 to point 3 (stages 2–3). Hence,
during this process, the humidification of air occurs. In the win-
ter season, this humid air is utilised to meet a comfort condition.
So all this operation has been done during consecutive charging
 4   N. MEHLA AND A. YADAV
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Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the evacuated tube solar air collector subsystem

Figure 3. (a) Schematic diagrams of rotary desiccant wheel (b) Cross section of air flow channel with sinusoidal matrix

and discharging of the PCM. During during consecutive charg- of discharging of the PCM from 18:00 to 24:00 h. When solar
ing and discharging of the PCM, the charging of PCM is done for radiation falls on the ETSAC, the filled water in it is heated and
the period of existing solar intensity, i.e. from 10:00 to 18:00 h, this heat energy is transferred to the PCM. Then PCM starts
later the heating and humidification of air is done for the period
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING   5

Table 1. Dimension and properties of DW [Yadav and Bajpai (2012)].

Dimension and properties Value

Length of wheel, Lw (m) 0.1
Wheel diameter, D (m) 0.37
Wall thickness, 𝛿 (m) 0.00034
Height of flow passage, 2a (m) 0.0018
Pitch of flow passage, 2b (m) 0.0032
The area ratio of air flow passage to the total area of one channel, 0.844
(Ar )
Volume ratio of desiccant, (𝛷) 0.48
Porosity, 𝜀 0.4
Density of silica gel, 𝜌d (kg m−3) 1129
Density of matrix material, 𝜌m (kg m−3) 625
Thermal conductivity of silica gel, kd (W m−1 K−1) 0.175
Specific heat of matrix materials, cm (J kg−1 K−1) 1030
Specific heat of silica gel, cd (J kg−1 K−1) 921
Pore radius, r (m) 11 × 10−10

storing the heat during day hours and it is utilised to heat the
air during nocturnal.
A psychrometric chart representation of the experimental Figure 4. Psychrometric diagram of experimental set-up
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set-up is shown in Figure 4. The working principle of the system

is summarised as follows: The night-time efficiency of the ETSAC with PCM during heat-
ing of the air has been shown in Equation (2) as:
• Process air: dehumidification (1–4)
ṁ air cpa (Tout − Tin )air
• Regeneration air: solar heating (1–2) → regeneration (2–3). 𝜂collector = mwater cwater Δt mPCM cPCM Δt mPCM L mPCM cPCM Δt
( )water + ( )s, PCM + ( )PCM + ( )l, PCM
Calibrated RTD PT100 thermocouples in combination with
3600 3600 3600 3600

digital temperature indicator are used to measure the temper- (2)

ature of working fluid, outlet air and PCM. Relative humidity The energy efficiency of the PCM storage system is given by
and temperature of air are measured by two digital Hygro- Equation (3) as follows:
thermometers (model: RHT–200C). A psychrometric calcu- mPCM cPCM ΔtPCM
lator is used to calculate the humidity ratio of the processed 3600
𝜂PCM = (3)
air for known dry bulb temperature and relative humidity. mwater cwater Δtwater

The mass flow rate of air is calculated from the air velocity, 3600

measured by an anemometer. The solar intensity on the col- Area of the ETSAC is given by Ma et al. (2010)
lector surface during the day is measured using a pyranometer Acollector = 2 × D × length of evacuated tube (4)
(Model-CM11). Table 2 shows the specification of the meas-
uring instruments. The dehumidification rate (DR) represents the rate of the mois-
ture extracted from the air in adsorption zone and given as
Kabeel (2007)
3.  Analysis of experimental data
DR = ṁ p (Yp,in − Yp,out ) (5)
The performance of the PCM-based SPDWAC has been eval-
uated in the winter season to achieve the heating and humid- where Yp,in is the humidity ratio of the inlet process air; Yp,out is
ification during night-time on the basis of energy and exergy the humidity ratio of the outlet process air: and ṁ p is the air flow
analysis. The full description of following parameters studied rate of process air.
during energy and exergy analysis have been given as: The regeneration rate (RR) represents the rate of the moisture
added to the air in regeneration zone and given as Kabeel (2007)
3.1.  Energy analysis RR = ṁ r (Yr,out − Yr,in ) (6)
The performance index such as efficiency of the ETSAC, dehu- where Yr,in is the humidity ratio of the inlet regeneration air; Yr,out
midification rate, regeneration rate, dehumidification effective- is the humidity ratio of the outlet regeneration air: and ṁ r is the
ness, regeneration effectiveness, thermal effectiveness of the DW, air flow rate of regeneration air.
thermal coefficient of performance of the system (COPs) and The dehumidification effectiveness (ɛD) indicates the ratio
exergy efficiency of the system (Esystem) are used to evaluate the of moisture change during the dehumidification process to the
performance of the system: moisture change when wheel is ideal as per Angrisani et al. (2012)
The daytime efficiency of the ETSAC with PCM during heat-
ing of the PCM has been shown in Equation (1). moisture change in process
𝜀D = (7)
( ) ( ) ( ) moisture change when wheel is ideal
mPCM cPCM Δt mPCM L mPCM cPCM Δt
3600
+ 3600
+ 3600
s, PCM PCM l, PCM
𝜂collector = ( ) (Yp,in − Yp,out )
mwater cwater Δt
GAcollector + 3600 𝜀D =
water
(1) (Yp,in − Yp,out , ideal) (8)
 6   N. MEHLA AND A. YADAV

Table 2. Specification of the measuring instruments.

S. No. Sensors Measurement Operating range Accuracy Resolution

1 RTD PT100 thermocouples Temperature 0 to 200 °C ±0.3 °C 0.1 °C
2 Hygro-thermometer Relative humidity 0 to 100% ±2% 0.1%
Temperature −10 to 60 °C ±0.3 °C 0.1 °C
3 Anemometer Velocity 0 to 45.0 m s−1 ±(2% + dpipe) 0.1 m s−1
4 Pyranometer Solar radiation intensity 0 to 1400 W m−2 ±2 W m−2 1 W m−2

In case of ideal wheel, Yp,out , ideal = 0 for adsorption, hence 3 to the exergy regeneration heat input from point 1 to point 2
dehumidification effectiveness is written as follows: (as shown in Figure 1) [Hurdogan et al. (2011)]
( )
Yp,in − Yp,out exergy heating capacity of the system
𝜀D = (9) Esystem = (16)
Yp,in exergy regeneration heat input

The regeneration effectiveness (𝜀RE) indicates the ratio of the

moisture change during the regeneration process to the initial [ ( )]
moisture as per Kabeel (2007) ṁ r h3 − h1 − T1 S3 − S1
Esystem = (17)
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[ ( )]
moisture change in regeneration ṁ r h2 − h1 − T1 S2 − S1
𝜀RE = (10)
initial moisture where S1, S2 and S3 are the entropy of the process air at the
inlet of ETSAC, regeneration air at the inlet of desiccant
(Yr,out − Yr,in ) wheel and regeneration air at the outlet of desiccant wheel,
𝜀RE = (11) respectively.
Yr,in
where specific entropy change is given by Park et al. (2014)
Thermal effectiveness (𝜀Th) indicates the ratio of the thermal as follows: ( )
T3
power related to process air heating through the wheel to the
( )
S3 − S1 = cp ln (18)
regeneration thermal power as per Angrisani et al. (2012) T1

Thermal power related to air heating through the wheel on the process side (12)
𝜀Th =
Thermal power suplied for the regeneration process

ṁ p (Tp,out − Tp,in ) (
T2
)
𝜀Th = (13) (19)
( )
ṁ r (Tr,in − Tp,in ) S2 − S1 = cp ln
T1
Tp,in and Tp,out are the temperature of the inlet and the outlet The exergy efficiency of the PCM storage system is given by
process air, respectively, and Tr,in is the temperature of the inlet Equation (20) as follows:
regeneration air.
t
Thermal coefficient of performance of the system (COPs) indi- [ (
Tin,PCM
)]
cates the ratio of the heating capacity of the system from point 1 ∫
mPCM cPCM (Tin,PCM − Tout,PCM ) − Tamb ln dt
Tout,PCM
to point 3 to the regeneration heat input (as shown in Figure 1) 0

[Kanoglu, Bolatturk, and Altuntop (2007)] EPCM = 3600

mwater cwater ∫ (Tin,water − Tout,water ) − Tamb ln

t [ ( )]
Tin,water
Tout,water
dt
Heating capacity of the system 0
COPs = (14) 3600
Regeneration heat input
(20)

ṁ r (h3 − h1 ) 4.  Results and discussion

COPs =
ṁ r (h2 − h1 )
where h1, h2 and h3 are the enthalpy of the process air process air
at the inlet of ETSAC, regeneration air at the inlet of DW and
regeneration air at the outlet of DW, respectively.
(15)
The performance of the experimental set-up for heating and
humidification has been conducted in the months of February
and March 2015. During the experiments, the rotational speed of
the DW is fixed (16 rph) and air flow rate varies from 63.62 kg h−1
to 127.23 kg h−1.

3.2.  Exergy analysis 4.1.  Case 1: performance analysis of the SPDWAC at low
The exergy efficiencies of the SPDWAC is evaluated as follows: air flow rate of 63.62 kg h−1 (27/02/2015)
Exergy efficiency of the system (Esystem) indicates the ratio of Figure 5 shows the variation of ambient temperature, PCM
the exergy heating capacity of the system from point 1 to point temperature, water temperature and solar radiation with time.
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING   7

Ambient air temperature PCM temperature

Water temperature Solar intensity
120 1200

100 1000

Solar intensity (W m-2)

Temperature (°C)
80 800

60 600

40 400

20 200

0 0

Time (Hrs)

Figure 5. Variation of temperatures and solar intensity with time at a flow rate of 63.62 kg h−1 (27/02/2015)

Initially, the temperature of PCM increases slightly, because Regeneration rate Dehumidification rate
water is gaining heat from the solar intensity and transfer a small

Regeneration temperature (°C)

Regeneration temperature
amount of heat to the PCM. Thereafter, the temperature of PCM
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0.2 60

Rate (kg h-1 )

increases sharply and achieved its maximum value (98.2  °C), 0.15 50
40
because water starts to transfer maximum heat to the PCM. The 0.1 30
20
duration from 9:00 to 18:00 h shows the charging of PCM and 0.05 10
0 0
duration from 18:00 to 24:00 h shows the discharging of PCM. 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00
From the variation of graph, it has been seen that PCM has an Time (Hrs)
adequate amount of temperature for the night operation. As
compare to the system presented by Yadav and Bajpai (2012), Figure 6.  Variation of regeneration rate, dehumidification rate and regeneration
temperature with time for a flow rate of 63.62 kg h−1 (27/02/2015)
the present system worked well during night-time and achieved
the temperature of water (63.4 °C) at 24:00 h. While as per Yadav
and Bajpai (2012) at 24:00 h the temperature of water becomes Regeneration effectiveness Dehumidification effectiveness
equal to the ambient temperature.

Regeneration temperature (°C)

Regeneration temperature
Figure 6 shows the variation of regeneration rate, dehumid-
0.4 60
ification rate and regeneration temperature with time. On 27
Effectiveness

0.3 40
February, after storing heat in PCM up to 18:00 h, the blower is 0.2
20
switched on and air starts to blow through a hollow circular pipe 0.1
of the collector. The performance of the SPDWAC has been eval- 0
18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00
0

uated for a flow rate of 63.62 kg h−1. It remarked that initially, the Time (Hrs)
regeneration rate is more as compared to the dehumidification
rate and at 21:00 h it started decreasing and became lower than Figure 7.  Variation of regeneration effectiveness, dehumidification effectiveness
the dehumidification rate. So, it indicates that regeneration rate and regeneration temperature with time for a flow rate of 63.62 kg h−1 (27/02/2015)
is more dependent upon regeneration temperature. The decre-
ment rate of regeneration rate is quicker than dehumidification Thermal effectiveness Regeneration temperature

Regeneration temperature (°C)

rate when regeneration temperature is approaching below 43 °C. 0.4 60
Thermal effectiveness

The regeneration rate and dehumidification rate changes from 50

0.3
0.168 to 0.048 kg h−1 and 0.145 to 0.075 kg h−1, respectively. It is 40
noted that the average regeneration rate and dehumidification 0.2 30
20
rate was 0.111 and 0.107 kg h−1, respectively, for the duration of 0.1
10
18:00 to 24:00 h. From Figure 6, it has been observed that with 0 0
the utilisation of PCM as a heat storage system the regeneration 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00
rate of desiccant wheel is obtained during night-time. Time (Hrs)

Figure 7 depicts the profile of regeneration effectiveness,
dehumidification effectiveness and regeneration temperature
with time. The regeneration effectiveness and dehumidification
effectiveness lies in the range of 0.363–0.095 and 0.314–0.149,
respectively. The average regeneration effectiveness and dehumid-
ification effectiveness are 0.234 and 0.224, respectively. Initially,
the regeneration effectiveness is more as compared with the
dehumidification effectiveness and at 21:00 h it started decreas-
ing and became lower than the dehumidification effectiveness.
As mentioned before that regeneration rate is more dependent
upon regeneration temperature, which directly influences the
Figure 8.  Variation of thermal effectiveness and regeneration temperature with
time for a flow rate of 63.62 kg h−1(27/02/2015)
regeneration effectiveness. Hence, regeneration effectiveness
is decreased quicker than dehumidification effectiveness when
regeneration temperature is approaching below 43  °C. Again
Figure 7 confirms the utilisation of PCM as a storage of heat
which makes the system feasible during hours of darkness.
Figure 8 illustrates the variation of thermal effectiveness and
regeneration temperature with time. It is seen that the thermal
 8   N. MEHLA AND A. YADAV

effectiveness increases with the decrease in regeneration temper- Figure 10 shows the profile of exergy efficiency of system and
ature. The maximum and minimum thermal effectivenesses are exergy heating capacity with time. The maximum and minimum
0.357 and 0.267, respectively, and the average thermal effective- exergy efficiencies of the system are 0.1133 and 0.0256, respec-
ness is 0.328 at an average regeneration temperature of 44.6 °C. tively, and the average exergy efficiency of the system is 0.0787.
From Figure 8 it has been observed that with the utilisation of The profile of exergy efficiency of the system decreases with time.
PCM as a heat storage system the adequate regeneration tem- The maximum exergy heating capacity of 241.2 W is achieved
perature to regenerate the desiccant wheel is obtained during and the average exergy heating capacity is 141.2  W. Also, the
off-sunshine hours and again the thermal effectiveness of the exergy heating capacity of 42.06 W is obtained at the end of the
system is obtained. experiment (24:00  h). So, all these results at low air flow rate
Figure 9 shows the profile of COPs of the system and heating established the feasibility of PCM to run the SPDWAC system
capacity with time. The maximum and minimum COPs of the during off-sunshine hours.
system are 0.153 and 0.0703, respectively, and the average COPs
is 0.121. The profile of COPs of the system decreases with time
4.2.  Case 2: performance analysis of the SPSDAC at low
because the temperature of outlet process air starts to decrease.
air flow rate of 127.23 kg h−1 (04/03/2015)
The maximum heating capacity of 475.7 W is achieved and the
average heating capacity is 334.3 W. Also, the heating capacity Figure 11 shows the variation of ambient temperature, PCM
of 175.3 W is obtained at the end of the experiment (24:00 h). temperature, water temperature and solar intensity with time.
Hence, it shows that the PCM as a storage medium is able to run Initially, the temperature of PCM increases slightly, because
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the SPDWAC system from 18:00 to 24:00 h. water is gaining heat from the solar intensity and transfer a small
amount of heat to the PCM. Thereafter, the temperature of PCM
Thermal coefficient of performance Heating capacity
increases sharply and achieved its maximum value (89.5  °C),
0.2 500
because water starts to transfer maximum heat to the PCM. The
Thermal coefficient of

duration from 9:00 to 18:00 h shows the charging of PCM and

Heating capacity (W)

450
0.15 400
duration from 18:00 to 24:00 h shows the discharging of PCM.
performance

350
300
0.1 250
200
From the variation of graph, it has been seen that PCM has an
0.05 150
100
adequate amount of temperature for the night operation.
0
50
0
Figure 12 shows the variation of regeneration rate, dehu-
18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00 midification rate and regeneration temperature with time. On
Time (Hrs) 4 March, the performance of the system has been evaluated for
a flow rate of 127.23 kg h−1. It remarked that initially the dehu-
Figure 9. Variation of thermal coefficient of performance of the system and heating
capacity with time for a flow rate of 63.62 kg h−1(27/02/2015) midification rate is more as compared to the regeneration rate
and starts decreasing below the value of regeneration rate after
22:00 h. So, it indicates that decrement rate of regeneration rate
Exergy efficiency Exergy heating capacity is more than the dehumidification rate for high air flow rate.
0.12 400 The regeneration rate and dehumidification rate changes from
Heating capacity (W)

350
Exergy efficiency

0.1
300 0.184 to 0.059 kg h−1 and 0.209 to 0.042 kg h−1, respectively. It
0.08 250 has been observed that the average regeneration rate and dehu-
0.06 200
0.04 150 midification rate are 0.113 and 0.135 kg h−1, respectively. The
100
0.02 50 dehumidification rate for high air flow rate is 1.26 times that at
0 0 low air flow rate and the regeneration rate for high air flow rate
18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00
Time (Hrs)
is 1.018 times that at low air flow rate. From Figure 12 it has
been observed that with the utilisation of PCM as a heat stor-
Figure 10. Variation of exergy efficiency of the system and exergy heating capacity age system the regeneration rate of desiccant wheel is obtained
with time for a flow rate of 63.62 kg h−1 (27/02/2015) during night-time.

Ambient air temperature PCM temperature

Water temperature Solar intensity
120 1200
Solar intensity (W m-2)

100 1000
Temperature (°C)

80 800
60 600
40 400
20 200
0 0

Time (Hrs)

Figure 11. Variation of temperatures and solar intensity with time for a flow rate of 127.23 kg h−1 (04/03/2015)
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING   9

Regeneration rate Dehumidification rate Regeneration temperature Thermal coefficient of performance Heating capacity
0.25 800

Regeneration temperature (°C)

Thermal coefficient of

Heating capacity (W)

0.25 60 700
0.2 600

performance
0.2 50
500
Rate (kg h-1 )

40 0.15
0.15 400
30 0.1 300
0.1 200
20 0.05
0.05 100
10 0 0
0 0 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00
18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00 Time (Hrs)
Time (Hrs)

Figure 15.  Variation of thermal coefficient of performance of the system and

Figure 12. Variation of regeneration rate, dehumidification rate and regeneration heating capacity with time for a flow rate of 127.23 kg h−1 (04/03/2015)
temperature with time for a flow rate of 127.23 kg h−1 (04/03/2015)

Exergy efficiency Exergy heating effect

Regeneration effectiveness Dehumidification effectiveness 0.14 400

Heating effect (W)

350

Regeneration temperature (°C)

0.12

Exergy efficiency
Regeneration temperature
0.1 300
0.2 60 0.08 250
200
Effectiveness

0.15 0.06 150

40
0.1 0.04 100
Downloaded by [Southern Cross University] at 10:09 04 October 2017

20 0.02 50
0.05
0 0
0 0 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00
18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 00:00 Time (Hrs)
Time (Hrs)

Figure 16. Variation of exergy efficiency of the system and exergy heating effect
Figure 13. Variation of regeneration effectiveness, dehumidification effectiveness with time for a flow rate of 127.23 kg h−1 (04/03/2015)
and regeneration temperature with time for a flow rate of 127.23  kg  h−1
(04/03/2015)
temperature to regenerate the desiccant wheel is obtained during
off-sunshine hours and again the thermal effectiveness of the
Regeneration temperature (°C)

Thermal effectiveness Regeneration temperature

system is obtained.
Thermal effectiveness

1 60
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0 0
18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00
Time (Hrs)
Figure 14. Variation of thermal effectiveness and regeneration temperature with
time for a flow rate of 127.23 kg h−1 (04/03/2015)
Figure 13 depicts the profile of regeneration effectiveness,
dehumidification effectiveness and regeneration temperature
with time. The regeneration effectiveness and dehumidification
effectiveness changes from 0.163 to 0.0569 and 0.185 to 0.039,
respectively. It has been concluded that the average regeneration
effectiveness and dehumidification effectiveness are 0.102 and
0.122, respectively. It has been observed that the dehumidifica-
tion effectiveness for low air flow rate is 1.84 times that at high air
flow rate and the regeneration effectiveness for low air flow rate is
2.29 times that at high air flow rate. Again Figure 13 confirms the
utilisation of PCM as a storage of heat which makes the system
feasible during hours of darkness.
Figure 14 shows the variation of thermal effectiveness and
regeneration temperature with time for an air flow rate of
127.23 kg h−1 in both zones. Initially, the thermal effectiveness
starts from 0.556 and reaches the maximum value of 0.789 at
20:00 h and then starts to decrease 0.749 at the end of the exper-
iment. The average thermal effectiveness is 0.714 at an average
regeneration temperature of 39.7 °C. It is noticed that the thermal
effectiveness for high air flow rate is 2.18 times that at low air
flow. From Figure 14, it has been observed that with the utilisa-
tion of PCM as a heat storage system the adequate regeneration
Figure 15 shows the variation of COPs of the system and
40 heating capacity with time at an air flow rate of 127.23 kg h−1.
20 The maximum and minimum COPs of the system are 0.211
and 0.129, respectively. The average COPs of the system is
22:00 23:00 00:00 0.172. The COPs for high air flow rate is 1.42 times that at
low air flow rate. The maximum heating capacity of 608.7 W
is achieved and the average heating capacity is 580.1 W. The
average heating capacity at high air flow rate is 1.74 times that
at low air flow rate.
Figure 16 shows the profile of exergy efficiency of the system
and exergy heating capacity with time. The maximum and min-
imum exergy efficiencies of the system are 0.1206 and 0.0619,
respectively, and the average exergy efficiency is 0.0846. The max-
imum exergy heating capacity of 337.2 W is achieved and the
average exergy heating capacity is 242.6 W. The average exergy
heating capacity at high air flow rate is 1.72 times that at low air
flow rate. So all these results at high air flow rate established the
feasibility of PCM to run the SPDWAC system during off-sun-
shine hours.
The performance analysis of PCM-based SPDWAC is pre-
sented in Table 3. It has been observed that the maximum
average collector efficiency is 15.60% at a high air flow rate of
127.23 kg h−1. Also, the maximum average energy efficiency and
exergy efficiency of the PCM storage system has been obtained
at high air flow rate. The advantages of PCM-based SPDWAC
over systems using no storage material is that it is worked well
during off-sunshine hours. Another advantage of it is that the
hot air is produced during off-sunshine hours up to 24:00 h. So
using PCM as storage material, the working hours of the exper-
imental set-up is increased. Hence, it has been seen that heating
and humidification during off-sunshine hours is possible with
the use of PCM-based SPDWAC system.
 10   N. MEHLA AND A. YADAV

Table 3. Performance analysis of PCM-based SPDWAC. (8) The system is highly efficient when it has been func-
Name of parameter Case-1 Case-2 tioned at high air flow rate. The maximum average
Range of ambient temperature 12.9–25 °C 12.3–20.9 °C energy efficiency (17.80%) and exergy efficiency
TPCM,max 98.2 °C 89.5 °C (17.08%) of the PCM storage system have been
Gmax 995 W m−2 982 W m−2 obtained at high air flow rate.
𝜂collector,avg 10.13% 15.60%
17.10% 17.80%
𝜂PCM,avg
EPCM,avg 15.09% 17.08%
Thus it is concluded that the performance analysis of a PCM-
(Regeneration rate)avg 0.111 kg h−1 0.113 kg h−1 based SPDWAC system shows that the system is technically
(Dehumidification rate)avg 0.107 kg h−1 0.122 kg h−1 practicable and good for heating and humidification. Hence, the
(Regeneration effectiveness)avg 0.234 0.102
(Dehumidification effectiveness)avg 0.224 0.122
present system is applicable in the winter season during noctur-
(Thermal effectiveness)avg 0.328 0.714 nal and it overcomes the drawback of the traditional heat pump
(Thermal coefficient of performance)avg 0.121 0.172 by providing the comfort condition.
(Exergy efficiency of system)avg 0.0787 0.0846

5. Conclusions
In the present study, the performance of PCM-based SPDWAC
system has been analysed experimentally. A novel design of
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Nomenclature
Acollector  area of collector, m2
cpa  specific heat of air, (kJ kg−1 °C−1)
cPCM  specific heat of PCM, (kJ kg−1 °C−1)

header with the PCM storage unit was used to store solar energy
during sunshine hours to serve the purpose of heating and
humidification during off-sunshine hours. The important con-
clusions are taken from the experimental results as listed below:
(1) The experimental set-up has the considerable profi-
ciency to meet the heating and humidification demand
during the winter season in the night-time. The system
runs effectively for 7  h during night operation using
50 kg of acetamide (PCM) as a heat storage medium.
(2) The average dehumidification rate for high air flow rate
(127.23 kg h−1) is 1.26 times that of at low air flow rate
(63.62  kg  h−1) and the average regeneration rate for
high air flow rate is 1.02 times as compared to the low
air flow rate.
(3) The average dehumidification effectiveness for low air
flow rate (63.62 kg h−1) is 1.84 times as compared to
the high air flow rate (127.23 kg h−1) and the regener-
ation effectiveness for low air flow rate (63.62 kg h−1)
is 2.29 times as compared to the high air flow rate
(127.23 kg h−1).
(4) The average ɛTh of the system at the air flow rate of
127.23 kg h−1 is 2.18 times that of at the air flow rate of
63.62 kg h−1 with the constant rotational speed (16rph)
of the wheel.
(5) The average COPs of the system at an air flow rate of
127.23 kg h−1 is 1.42 times that of at an air flow rate of
63.62 kg h−1. Also, the average Esystem of the system at
high air flow rate is 1.07 times that of at low air flow
rate.
(6) The average heating capacity and average exergy heat-
ing capacity of the system increases with the increase
in air flow rate. It has been observed that the average
heating capacity at high air flow rate is 1.74 times that
of at low air flow rate and the average exergy heating
capacity at high air flow rate is 1.72 times that of at low
air flow rate.
(7) It is observed that with the increase in air flow rate
the efficiency of the ETSAC increases. The maximum
average efficiency of the ETSAC at high air flow rate is
15.60%.
cwater  specific heat of water, (kJ kg−1 °C−1)
COPs  thermal coefficient of performance of system
ɛD   dehumidification effectiveness in process
zone
ɛRE   regeneration effectiveness in regeneration
zone
ɛTh  thermal effectiveness
Esystem  exergy efficiency of the system
EPCM  exergy efficiency of the PCM storage system
ηcollector  efficiency of ETSAC
ηPCM  energy efficiency of the PCM storage system
D  diameter of evacuated tube, m
ETC  evacuated tube collector
G  solar intensity, (W m−2)
h  enthalpy of air (kJ kg−1)
in  inlet
L  latent heat of fusion, (kJ kg−1)
l,PCM  PCM during liquid phase
s,PCM  PCM during solid phase
mPCM  mass of PCM, kg
mwater  mass of water, kg
ṁ p  air flow rate of process air (kg h−1)
ṁ r  air flow rate of regeneration air (kg h−1)
N  rotation (rph)
out  outlet
DR  adsorption rate (kg h−1)
RR  regeneration rate (kg h−1)
Y   humidity ratio of the air (kgwater vapour
kgdry air−1)
θp  angular zone of process air (degree)
θr  angular zone of regeneration air (degree)
Tamb  ambient temperature (°C)
Tp  temperature of process air (°C)
Tr  temperature of regeneration air (°C)
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors
Neeraj Mehla, PhD, is an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering at
the National Institute of technology, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India. His cur-
rent interests are in solar desiccant air-conditioning system, phase change
materials, and solar updraft tower. Previous publications have appeared in
Drying Technology, Ambient energy and Indoor and built environment,
and others. The areas of interest of both authors are sustainability, solar
air-conditioning, climate change and environment engineering.
Avadhesh Yadav, PhD, is an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering
at the National Institute of technology, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India. His
main research interests are in desiccant air-conditioning system, phase
change materials, solar concentrator, and solar cooking, Low and high
temperature applications of solar energy. He has published more than 30
papers in international journals in the field of Renewable energy resources
and others. The areas of interest of both authors are sustainability, solar air-
conditioning, climate change and environment engineering.
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