Journal Pre-proofs

Performance analysis of a solid desiccant cooling system for a residential air

conditioning system

Yulho Lee, Sungjin Park, Sanggyu Kang

PII: S1359-4311(20)33571-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.116091
Reference: ATE 116091

To appear in: Applied Thermal Engineering

Received Date: 14 May 2020

Revised Date: 7 September 2020
Accepted Date: 16 September 2020

Please cite this article as: Y. Lee, S. Park, S. Kang, Performance analysis of a solid desiccant cooling system for a
residential air conditioning system, Applied Thermal Engineering (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.applthermaleng.2020.116091

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover
page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version
will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are
providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors
may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

 Performance analysis of a solid desiccant cooling system for a

residential air conditioning system

Yulho Leea,b, Sungjin Parka, Sanggyu Kangb*

aHongik University, Seoul 04066, Republic of Korea
b Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea

*Corresponding author: Tel: 82-62-715-3240; Fax: 82-62-715-2384

e-mail: sgkang@gist.ac.kr

Abstract

Desiccant cooling systems have been regarded as alternative residential air

conditioning systems, owing to their potential for considerably reducing electricity

power consumption. In particular, when they are combined with distributed power

generations, the overall efficiency of the system can be significantly enhanced by

utilizing the system exhaust heat for the adsorption of water from the solid desiccant.

However, desiccant cooling systems have a limited cooling capacity and consume an

extremely high amount of thermal energy. Hybrid desiccant cooling (HDC) systems

can extend their cooling capacity to satisfy the cooling load on the hottest day in the

summer season by combination with an electric heat pump (EHP). In this study, one-

dimensional steady state models of desiccant cooling systems were developed using

MATLAB-Simulink®. Three types of desiccant cooling system models, direct

evaporative cooling (DEC), indirect evaporative cooling (IEC), and HDC systems, have

been simulated, and their cooling performance under various temperatures ranges

1
from 25 °C to 50 °C and various humidity conditions ranges from 4% to 98%, which

represent the weather of summer seasons worldwide, have been compared. DEC

system has enough cooling performance to satisfy the target cooling load only when

the outdoor temperatures becomes lower than 35 °C. When the outdoor temperature

becomes exceeds 40 °C, the total COP of the HDC system is significantly increased

and becomes higher than that of the IEC system.

Keywords: Solid desiccant cooling system, Direct evaporative cooling system, Indirect

evaporative cooling system, Hybrid desiccant cooling system, Cooling performance

1. Introduction

The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that the usage of air

conditioning systems for residential and commercial buildings has rapidly increased

by thrice from 1990 to 2018 [1]. It was reported that the respective power capacity of

cooling installation for residential and commercial buildings in China and India will

significantly grow and reach 22.5 TW and 13.5 TW, respectively, in 2050 [1]. According

to World Energy Perspectives, the energy consumption for cooling a building needs to

be significantly reduced by increasing the coefficient of performance (COP) for its air

conditioning system [2, 3]. Currently, electrical heat pumps (EHPs) are commonly

used as building air conditioning systems worldwide; however, they consume

significant amount of electrical energy in the summer season [4, 5, 6]. Recently,

alternative air conditioning systems, such as solid desiccant and absorption cooling

systems, have been developed to enhance the electrical COP using thermal energy.

A direct evaporative cooling (DEC) system consumes only 60% of the electric

power consumption of an EHP because DEC uses electricity only when driving the

2
circulating fan [7]. In addition, CO2 emission of a DEC system is decreased up to 60%

that of the exhaust of an EHP system [7]. The types of thermally activated cooling

systems are liquid absorption chillers and solid desiccant adsorption cooling systems.

Liquid absorption chiller system using LiBr–water and water–NH3 for large industrial

refrigeration have cooling capacity ranging from 10 to 10,000 kW. A solid desiccant

cooling system based on silica gel is typically utilized as a small-scale air conditioning

system for commercial and residential buildings, having a cooling capacity ranging

from 5 to 50 kW [8]. However, a liquid absorption chiller system is noisy and requires

additional space for its tanks and facility, whereas a solid desiccant cooling system

occupies a relatively smaller space and has less noise. Among these thermally

activated cooling technologies, a solid desiccant cooling system is appropriate for a

small-scale cooling system for commercial or residential building [9, 10, 11].

Solid desiccant cooling systems are broadly classified into two groups: DEC and

indirect evaporative desiccant cooling (IEC) systems. A solid DEC system has several

advantages [12]: 1) It can save electrical power consumption by utilizing waste heat.

2) It can control indoor supply air humidification separate to sensible heat cooling. 3)

Its less noise and small volume facilitate system placement and installation.

The Pennington cycle using a DEC system has a low electric power consumption

compared to other cooling systems; however, it also has a low cooling ability. To

supplement the cooling ability of the Pennington [12, 13] cycle, IEC was proposed by

Waugaman [12, 14]. The Waugaman cycle has a higher cooling capacity range

compared to the Pennington cycle [15], whereas their electric power consumptions

are similar. However, because IEC do not have sufficient cooling ability to satisfy the

cooling load under severe hot and humid climate conditions, hybrid desiccant cooling

(HDC) system have been developed [12, 16]. An HDC system is an IEC system

3
combined with an EHP to increase the cooling ability under severe hot and humid

climate conditions [7]. HDC systems can possess sufficient cooling ability with

moderate electric power consumptions [11].

Numerous experimental and mathematical studies have been previously

conducted on desiccant cooling systems. Dhar and Singh studied hybrid air-

conditioning systems based on a solid desiccant cooling system by numerical

modeling [17]. They compared the performance of the hybrid air conditioning system

by employing various condensers, such as ventilation condenser, recirculation

condenser, and heat exchanger cycle. Jia et al. [18] developed the mathematical

models of a vapor compressor and a desiccant cooling system and validated them by

comparing the cooling performances with the experimental data. They inferred that

HDC can economize the electric power consumption up to 37.5% compared to a vapor

compression refrigeration cycle. Jani et al. [19, 20] performed both simulations and

experiments on HDC systems. They investigated the performance of these systems

in the severe hot and humid climates of north India. They captured the HDC

characteristics of COP, dehumidifier effectiveness, and desiccant wheel outlet

temperature under various operating conditions of temperature, humidity, and air flow

rate. Most studies described above were only conducted to investigate the

characteristics of each cooling system at an outdoor air temperature below 35 °C. The

temperature and humidity of air which they selected as an operating condition are not

representing the actual weather conditions. That is, based on the world climate

conditions, the average temperature of the earth has been increasing, and air

conditioning systems must present a cooling performance at an ambient temperature

above 40 °C. It is understandable that further investigations on cooling systems under

various operating conditions representing the entire climate conditions worldwide need

4
to be conducted. Few researchers investigated to compare the cooling performance

and available operating region between DEC, IEC, and HDC systems. The objectives

of the study are to compare the cooling performance of the DEC, IEC, and HDC

systems and find out the most efficient cooling system to satisfy the target cooling

performance at the actual climate conditions worldwide.

In this study, mathematical models of three different desiccant cooling systems,

DEC, IEC, and HDC systems, were developed using MATLAB-Simulink®. The models

of the DEC and an indirect evaporative cooler in the IEC were verified by comparison

with published data [21-26]. The optimal regeneration temperature was obtained by

comparing the cooling performance of the IEC at various outdoor ambient

temperatures and humidity conditions. To compare the cooling performance of the

three cooling systems, DEC, IEC, and HDC systems, these models were simulated

under various operating conditions, representing the actual climate conditions

worldwide. The cooling characteristics of the three systems, i.e., indoor temperature,

air room inlet temperature, regeneration heat consumption rate, COP, and cooling

capacity, were captured. As expected, the HDC system has the largest range of

cooling capacity. However, in some regions of moderate ambient conditions, the DEC

and IEC systems could be simple and effective cooling systems.

Nomenclature

A Adsorption potential [kJ  kmol ]

-1

2
As Surface area [m ]

2
Ac Mass and heat transfer area in a honeycomb silica gel [m ]

5
 Minimum heat capacity [W  K ]
-1
Cmin

Isobaric specific heat capacity [kJ  kg  K ]

-1 -1
Cp

Dm Hydraulic diameter [m]

H vap Heat of vaporization for liquid water [kJ  kg -1 ]

H cond Heat of condensation for water vapor [kJ  kg -1 ]

Convective heat transfer coefficient [W  m  K ]

-2 -1
h

Enthalpy of R-410a at point 1 [kJ  kg ]

-1
h1

Enthalpy of R-410a at point 2 [kJ  kg ]

-1
h2

Convective mass transfer coefficient [kg  m  s ]

-2 -1
hm

Heat transfer coefficient of natural convection [W  m  K ]

-2 -1
hn

Thermal conductivity of air [W  m  K ]

-1 -1
ka

Le Lewis number [-]

m Mass flow rate [kg  s ]

-1

NTU Number of transfer units [-]

NTUT Number of transfer units of heat transfer [-]

NTU m Number of transfer units of mass transfer [-]

Nu Nusselt number [-]

6
P Electric power consumption [kW]

Q cond Rate of water condensation heat [kW]

Q reg Rate of regeneration heat consumption [kW]

Qvap Rate of water vaporization heat [kW]

Q st Rate of water adsorption heat [kW]

Q cool Cooling capacity [kW]

R Universal gas constant [kJ  kmol  K ]

-1 -1

RH Relative Humidity [%]

T Temperature [C]

Overall heat transfer coefficient [W  m  K ]

-2 -1
U

ua Air flow rate [m3  s-1 ]

Velocity of air [m  s ]
-1
V

Absorbed water of silica [kg  kg ]

-1
w

Absolute humidity of air [kg  kg ]

-1
x

Greek letters

 Effectiveness of the heat exchanger [-]

 Relative humidity [%]

7
 Density [kg  m ]
3

c Isentropic efficiency of the compressor [-]

Subscripts

a Air

amb Ambient

comp Compressor

cond Condensation

cooled Cooled room condition

d Desiccant

e Equilibrium

fan Fan

g Gas

gen Generation

hx Heat exchanger

i Inlet

initial Initial condition of the room

o Outlet

r Refrigerant

8
reg Regeneration

s Solid

th Thermal

tot Total

vap Vaporization

2. Desiccant cooling system

Table 1. Specifications of the room conditioned space and the desiccant cooling system.

Parameters Unit Value

Room Width
Room Depth
Room Height
Room Heat Generation
Rotor type
Outlet relative humidity of the direct
evaporative cooler supply humidity in
DEC system
Outlet relative humidity of the
indirect evaporative cooler supply
humidity in the IEC and HDC system
Extract ratio of the process air in the
indirect evaporative cooler
EHP rated power
EHP refrigerant
m 12
m 9
m 2.5
kW 3
- Honeycomb Silica gel
% 90
% 40~60
% 30
kW 1
R-410A

Table 1 lists the respective specifications of the room and the desiccant cooling

system. The area of the conditioned room space is 108 m2 (height 2.5 m, width 12 m,

depth 9 m). The cooling load (heat generation rate) of the room-conditioned space is

9
3 kW, which is the average value for the cooling load of the residence, in which each

family consists of four people [27]. This includes the heat emissions from the humans,

electronics, kitchen, and lights. The type of solid desiccant rotor applied in the three

cooling systems is honeycomb silica gel. In the DEC system, the room inlet relative

humidity of the air is 90%. The IEC and HDC systems supply the air to room with a

relative humidity of 40–60% of the supply air temperature. The extract ratio of the

process air in the indirect evaporative cooler is 30%, which is taken from the optimized

results of J. Lee and DY. Lee [28]. R-410A is used as a refrigerant for the EHP. The

cooling system model developed in this study is a solid desiccant cooling system using

silica gel as a moisture adsorbent; its nominal cooling capacity is 5 kW. The desiccant

cooling systems are composed of a solid desiccant rotor, a sensible heat exchanger,

and an evaporative cooler. They are broadly classified as DEC [17, 18], IEC [17, 19],

and HDC [17, 20] systems. A desiccant rotor filled with silica gel removes the water

molecules from the air, which strongly promotes water evaporation through the

evaporative cooler. The lower the air humidity after the desiccant rotor, the higher the

cooling performance through the evaporation cooling system. After the silica gel

adsorbs the water molecules, it should be dehumidified to remove the water molecules

from the process air continuously, which is called as the regeneration process.

Because the dehumidification performance of silica gel is highly dependent on

temperature, the regenerative air is heated by a heat exchanger, serving as an

additional heat source, before flowing into the desiccant rotor. In the case of the DEC

system, the outdoor air is used as the process air and the indoor air is recirculated to

the regenerative air stream. Furthermore, the indoor air is recirculated as the process

air and the outdoor air is used as a regenerative air in the IEC and HDC systems.

10
2.1 Direct evaporative cooling system

Fig. 1 (a) shows the schematics of a DEC system. A direct evaporative cooler

directly sprays water into dry air, as depicted in Fig. 1 (b). The configuration of the

DEC system is simple; however, its cooling ability is the lowest among the three

cooling systems because the water evaporation is limited so that the water partial

pressure could not exceed the saturation pressure. Particularly, the high relative

humidity of the process air increases the relative humidity of the conditioned room

space, which finally discomforts the residents. In this study, the air relative humidity at

the outlet of the direct evaporative cooler is set to be 90%. To overcome the low

cooling ability of the DEC system, two direct evaporative coolers are applied to the

system and the indoor air is recirculated to the regeneration air stream to maximize

the cooling ability via heat exchange with the process air at the sensible heat

exchanger rotor. The processing of the air in the DEC system is follows. Outdoor air

is dried by the desiccant rotor (), which is initially cooled down by the sensible

heat exchanger rotor by the regenerative air (). It is subsequently cooled down

by the direct evaporative cooler (), and finally supplied to the room. The indoor

air is recirculated to the regeneration stream () and is cooled down by flowing

through another direct evaporative cooler (). It is heated through the sensible

heat exchanger (), and subsequently, heated by absorbing the thermal energy

from the external heat source through the heat exchanger (). It is finally flown

into the desiccant rotor to remove the water molecules from the silica gel for

regeneration of the desiccant rotor ().

11
Fig. 1. Schematics of (a) the DEC system and (b) the direct evaporative cooler.

2.2 Indirect evaporative cooling systems

Figs. 2 (a) and (b) present the schematics of the IEC system and the indirect

evaporative cooler, respectively. The indirect evaporative cooler has a better

performance than a direct evaporative cooler owing to the extraction of air and the

indirect exchange of heat with the mainstream of the process air. As shown in Fig. 2

(b), 30% of the process air is extracted and then flown into the adjacent channel. In

the adjacent channel, water is directly sprayed to the air for the evaporation cooling.

Because the temperature of the extracted air is increased by the heat transfer from

the mainstream of the process air, the number of water molecules available for

evaporation in the indirect evaporative cooler is considerably increased compared to

that in the direct evaporative cooler [25, 29, 30]. Because the heat transfer occurs

without mass transfer between the mainstream and the extracted stream, the

mainstream process air is cooled down without increasing the humidity. In IEC system,

direct evaporative cooler is installed before the indirect evaporative cooler. By flowing

12
through the direct evaporative cooler, the relative humidity of process air increases

and reaches the target value before entering the room conditioned space. The

processing of the air in the IEC system is follows. The indoor air is recirculated to the

process stream, whereas the regeneration stream uses the outdoor air. The re-

intaking of the indoor air to the process stream reduces the load of latent heat from

the desiccant rotor and maximizes the performance of the indirect evaporative cooler

by maintaining a low humidity of the process air. The re-intake indoor air is mixed with

the outdoor air before recirculating to the process stream to supplement the air loss

extracted to the adjacent evaporation channel at the indirect evaporative cooler

(). The mixed air is dehumidified by the desiccant rotor () and cooled down

by the sensible heat exchanger rotor (). Finally, the air is cooled down by flowing

through the direct evaporative cooler and () the indirect evaporative cooler

() and is flown into the room. The indirect evaporative cooler extracts a certain

portion of the air (). An IEC system uses outdoor air for the regeneration stream. The

outdoor air is heated by the sensible heat exchanger rotor using hot and dry process

air (). Moreover, the air is additionally heated by a heater by an external heat

source () and flows into the desiccant rotor for dehumidification of the rotor (

⑪).

13
Fig. 2. Schematics of (a) the IEC and (b) the indirect evaporative cooler.

2.3 Hybrid desiccant cooling system

Both DEC and IEC systems might not have sufficient cooling performance under

extreme hot and humid conditions [12, 14]. An HDC system can be an alternative

cooling system to satisfy the massive cooling load for a hot and humid climate region,

instead of both DEC and IEC systems [7, 17]. As shown in Fig. 3 (a), the HDC

combines the IEC and EHP systems. When the indirective evaporative cooler has

insufficient cooling performance, the EHP can be used as a supplement for satisfying

the cooling load. The EHP is composed of a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator,

and an expansion valve, as depicted in Fig 3. (b). The regenerative air is heated by

flowing through the condenser, whereas the process air is cooled down up to the target

temperature by flowing it through the evaporator. Thus, the sensible heat exchanger

installed before the indirect evaporative cooler in the IEC system is excluded in the

HDC system. As presented in Fig. 3 (c), starting from point 1, the refrigerant is

compressed into point 2 with constant entropy, and condensed into point 3 with

14
constant pressure. Subsequently, it flows through the expansion valve into point 4 with

constant enthalpy, then refrigerant evaporates and circulate to point 1 with constant

temperature and pressure.

Fig. 3. Schematics of (a) the HDC system, (b) the EHP, and (c) the pressure–enthalpy diagram

of the vapor compression refrigeration cycle.

15
3. Model description

3.1 Simulation algorithm of the HDC system

The simulation flow chart of the HDC system is presented in Fig. 4. When the

temperature and relative humidity of ambient air are determined, the required cooling

capacity for the HDC system is calculated. When the required cooling capacity is lower

than the maximum heat rejection rate achieved by the evaporative cooling system, the

optimal values for the regeneration temperature for the solid desiccant rotor, the

amount of water molecules sprayed in the evaporative cooler, process air flow rate,

and outdoor air flow rate are determined. When the evaporative cooling system could

not have enough performance to satisfy the required cooling capacity, the room supply

air temperature becomes higher than the target temperature of 12.5 °C. In this

situation, EHP begins to operate to attain the target value of room supply air

temperature. Finally, the temperature and humidity of the room conditioned space are

calculated by resolving the energy and mass conservation.

16
Fig. 4. Simulation flow chart of the desiccant cooling system

3.2 Assumptions

The following assumptions were adopted in the desiccant cooling system models:

1) Each control volume has single values of the temperature, pressure, and species

mole fraction.

2) Both the regenerative air and process air are uniformly distributed along the radial

direction in the desiccant rotor.

3) The residence times of both the regenerative air and the process air in the desiccant

rotor are sufficiently long to dehumidify the silica gel and self-dehumidify, respectively.

3) Water condensation does not occur in a desiccant rotor.

4) In each component, the heat losses to the surroundings are neglected owing to the

perfect insulation.

5) Radiative heat transfer to the conditioned room space is neglected owing to the

perfect insulation.

6) The Lewis number is 1. [23].

7) The power consumption by the desiccant rotor and the water pump of the

evaporative cooler are neglected due to quite low magnitude compared to that of fan

and compressor.

3.3 Solid desiccant rotor

17
 A simplified regression model was applied to develop the rotor model [24]. The

reference of the desiccant rotor model developed in this study was the silica-gel

honeycombed rotor. The water content represents the water adsorption of the silica

gel, which is described by the Polanyi theory as follows:

  A 2    A 2 
w  0.106 exp       0.242 exp     , (1)
  8590     3140  

where w is amount of water adsorption into the silica gel and A is the adsorption

potential, which is a function of temperature ( T ) and the air relative humidity (  ):

A   RT ln  (2)

where R is the ideal gas constant. Fig. 5 presents the variation in the absorbed water

by the silica gel under various adsorption potentials. According to Polanyi theory [21,

22, 23], silica has a high water content at a low adsorption potential or vice versa. The

adsorption potential is decreased with the increase in humidity and the decrease in

temperature. This suggests that high humidity and low temperature air can be

dehumidified using a silica rotor, and that low humidity and high temperature air could

be employed for regenerating the silica gel.

0.10

0.09
Polanyi Curve
0.08
Adsorbed Water (kg/kg)

0.07

0.06

0.05

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0.00
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Adsorption Potential (kJ/kmol)

Fig. 5. Adsorbed water by the silica for the adsorption potential (Polanyi curve) [21].

18
 The species concentration in the control volumes is determined by the mass

conservation equation as follows [22, 23]:

( xi  x o ) u a  a  ( x e  x ) hm Ac , (3)

where xi and x o are the air absolute humidity of the inlet and outlet in the control

volumes, respectively, u a is the air flow rate,  a is the air density, x e and x are

the absolute humidity of the silica gel in the equilibrium and initial states, respectively.

hm is the mass transfer coefficient in honeycomb silica gel, which is determined with

the heat transfer coefficient and Lewis number. Ac is the interfacial area of the

honeycomb silica gel. Both the water adsorption rate and regeneration rate by the

desiccant rotor are determined as follows:

(xe  x)hm Ac  dw and (4)

 w   w 
dw    dxe    dTe
 x T  T x , (5)

where dw is the water adsorption rate of the silica gel and Te is the temperature of

the silica gel at equilibrium. Throughout the model, the convection heat transfer rate

between the solid and the gas is determined from Newton’ law of cooling as follows:

Q g   gVg Ag Cp Tgi  Tgo   hAc Ts  Tg  (6)

Q d  Q st  hAc Tg  Ts  , (7)

19
where Q g , Vg , Ag , C p , Tg are the heat transfer rate, velocity, cross-section area,

isobaric specific heat capacity, and temperature of gas (air), respectively, h, Q d , Q st , Ts

are the heat transfer coefficient, heat transfer rate, and adsorption heat rate, and

saturation temperature of silica gel.

The heat transfer coefficient of the rotor is calculated by the number of transfer

unit (NTU) method as follows:

NTU T
NTU m  (8)
Le

Ac h
NTUT 

mCp and (9)

Nu  kair
h
Dh , (10)

where NTUm , NTUT are number of transfer units (NTU) of the mass transfer and heat

transfer, respectively, Le is the Lewis number which represents the ratio of thermal

diffusivity to mass diffusivity, and m , Nu, k , D are the mass flow rate, Nusselt number,

thermal conductivity of air, and hydraulic diameter of the flow channel.

Because our proposed model is developed for system level simulation, solid

desiccant rotor is developed based on the empirical equation. This enables that the

model could extend to be integrated into a system model due to its low computational

load. Dehumidification characteristics through the solid desiccant rotor have been

determined with the polynomial regression as follows [24]:

20
 a1  0.0001989Tin2  0.00174Tin  0.74046 (11)

a 2  0.00034877Treg
2
 0.07686Treg  2.01574 (12)

a3  662.97179 xin2  46.60884 xin  1.39655 (13)

xo  (1  0.627  a1 a2  a3)  xi (14)

3.4 Heat exchangers

The heat transfer rates of all the heat exchangers are calculated by the

effectiveness-NTU method as follows [31]:

Q    Q m ax (15)

Qmax  Cmin (Th,in Tc,in ) (16)

NTU  UAs / Cmin , c  Cmin / Cmax (17)

where U is the overall heat transfer coefficient,  is the effectiveness of heat

exchanger and Cmin is the heat capacity of the fluid which has lower quantities

between hot and cold fluid. The flow configuration of the heat exchangers considered

in this study is the cross-flow single pass. The effectiveness are determined as follows:

 NTU 0.22 
  1 exp  exp  c  NTU 0.78  1  (18)
 
 c 

3.5 Evaporative cooler

As depicted in Figs. 1 (b) and 2 (b), the performance of the direct and indirect

evaporative cooler depends on the outlet relative humidity of the air. In this study, the

21
outlet relative humidity of the air at the direct evaporative cooler and indirect

evaporative cooler is set as 90% and 40–60%, respectively. The rate of water

evaporation and its heat are determined as follows:

m vap  ( xo  xi )  m a and (19)

Q vap  H vap  m vap , (20)

where x is the air absolute humidity of air and Hvap is the enthalpy of vaporization.

3.6 EHP system

The HDC system includes an EHP to supplement the cooling capacity. The

condenser heats the regeneration air, which can strongly reduce the usage of external

heat sources. The target compressor pressure in the EHP is calculated based on the

pressure and the enthalpy diagram. The power consumption of the compressor is

determined as follows:

Pc  c  (h2  h1)  m r , (21)

where Pc , c , h, m r are the power consumption of the compressor, compressor

isentropic efficiency, sensible enthalpy, and mass flow rate of refrigerant, respectively.

The isentropic efficiency of the compressor is sets as 0.8. in this study.

3.7 Room conditioned space

22
 The model of the room conditioned space is developed and integrated into the

desiccant cooling system model to investigate the effect of the inlet relative humidity

and inlet temperature of the air on the indoor temperature. The initial value of the

temperature and the relative humidity in the room are set to be the same as those of

the outdoor ambient air. As previously mentioned, the cooling load (the heat

generation rate) of the room is set as 3 kW. The outlet humidity in the room conditioned

space is calculated by the mass conservation as follows:

( xinitial  xcooled )  ma   ( xi  xo )  m a , (22)

where xinitial , xcooled are the initial and equilibrium values of the absolute humidity of

the room, respectively, while xi , xo are the humidity of the room inlet supply air and

outlet circulation air. The indoor temperature is determined by the energy conservation

equation of the room as follows:

m a hi  m a ho  Q gen  Qamb  0 , (23)

where hi , ho are the enthalpy of the inlet and outlet air of the room, respectively, and

Q gen , Q amb are the heat generation rate of the room and the heat transfer rate with the

ambient outdoor conditions, respectively. The heat transfer rate by natural convection

with ambient air is also considered:

Qamb  hn As (Tamb  Tindoor ) (24)

where hn , A are the natural convection heat transfer coefficient and ambient contact

area of the room, respectively.

23
3.8 Cooling performance

The regeneration heat consumption rate is determined as follows:

Q reg  1 mCp
 (Treg  Ti ) , (25)


where Qreg is the regeneration heat consumption rate, Treg is the regeneration

temperature, and  is the effectiveness. The system total cooling capacity is

determined by adding both the sensible cooling and the latent cooling as follows:

Q cool  Q sensible  Q latent , (26)

where Q cool is the total cooling capacity and Q sensible Q latent are the respective

sensible and latent cooling capacity, respectively. The sensible cooling capacity is

determined based on the difference in the air sensible enthalpy between the inlet and

outlet of the control volumes.

Q sensible  m air  Cpair  Tair (27)

The latent cooling capacity is calculated based on the difference in the air

absolute humidity at the inlet and outlet of the control volumes.

Q latent  m air  H cond  x , (28)

where H cond is the water condensation heat at 24 °C and x is the absolute

humidity difference in the air between the inlet and outlet of the room. COP represents

the efficiency of the cooling system, and an effective thermal-driven cooling system

has COP ranging from 0.3 to 0.4. Thermal and electrical COPs are determined as

follows:

24
 Q
COPth  cool and (29)
Qreg

Q cool
COPelec  . (30)
Pfan  Pcomp

The total COP is determined by dividing the total cooling capacity with the sum of

the regeneration heat consumption rate and the compressor power consumption, as

follows:

Q cool
COPtot   . (31)
Qreg  Pcomp  Pfan

4. Simulation results and discussion

4.1 Model verification

4.1.1 Desiccant rotor

The desiccant rotor model was validated by comparing its rotor performance with

published experimental data. In this study, the desiccant rotor is assumed to be

rotating with its optimal speed. That is, the dehumidification performance of the

desiccant rotor is only the function of temperature and humidity. Fig. 6 (a) presents the

schematic of the desiccant rotor. Figs. 6 (b), (c), and (d) display the variation in the

dehumidification efficiency of the rotor with the indoor air temperature, regeneration

temperature, and indoor air humidity, respectively. The experiment data is obtained

from F. E. Nia [24]. The polynomial regression model for a dehumidification efficiency

25
is presented in Eq. (14). The simulation results are in good agreement with the

experimental data, within an error of ±0.047 dehumidification efficiency.

Fig. 6. (a) Schematic diagram of the desiccant rotor and comparison of the desiccant rotor

dehumidification efficiency by varying the (b) indoor air temperature, (c) regeneration air

temperature, and (d) indoor air humidity between the experimental data and the simulation

results.

4.1.2 DEC system

The DEC system model was verified by comparing the variations in the

temperature and humidity through DEC with published data [24, 25]. To validate the

26
DEC system model, the overall heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer area (as

expressed in Eq. (19)) and the amount of water sprayed in the direct evaporative

cooler were tuned. Fig. 7 presents the comparison of the temperature and the humidity

of the DEC system obtained from the experiment and the simulation. The inlet

temperature and relative humidity of the process air at p1 are 31.5 °C and 33.5%,

respectively. The inlet temperature and relative humidity of the regenerative air at r5

are 26.7 °C and 53%, respectively. The simulation data of the temperature and the

humidity are in good agreement with the experiments, within a supply air error of ±0.13

°C and 1.7% at p4, respectively.

Fig. 7. Comparison of the temperature and the relative humidity of the air in the DEC system

obtained from the experiment data and the simulation

4.1.2 Indirect evaporative cooler

27
 The indirect evaporative cooler model was validated by comparing the outlet air

temperature with published data [25, 26]. To validate the model of the indirect

evaporative cooler, the overall heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer area (as

expressed in Eq. (17)) and the amount of water sprayed in the indirect evaporative

cooler were tuned. The inlet air temperature of the indirect evaporative cooler is 25,

30, 35, 40, and 45 °C. The absolute humidity is 6.9, 11.2, 20, and 26.4 g/kg. As

depicted in Fig. 8, the model predicts the outlet temperature of the experiment well,

within an error of ±0.7 °C.

34
xin = 6.9 g/kg
32 xin = 11.2 g/kg
30 xin = 20.0 g/kg
xin = 26.4 g/kg
28 Simulation
26
Tout (oC)

24

22

20

18

16

14
25 30 35 40 45

Tin (oC)

Fig. 8. Comparison of the outlet temperature of the indirect evaporative cooler at temperatures

of 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 °C and inlet absolute humidity of 6.9, 11.2, 20, and 26.4 g/kg between

the experiment data and the simulation.

28
4.2 Simulation results

4.2.1 Simulation operating conditions

To compare the cooling performance of the three cooling systems of DEC, IEC,

and HDC systems, the corresponding models were simulated under various operating

conditions. To determine the operating conditions of the temperature and relative

humidity used for the simulation, actual climate data of certain cities representing hot

and humid climates and hot and dry climates, such as Ahvaz (Iran), Phoenix (USA),

and Bangkok (Thailand), were investigated, as presented in Tables 3 and 4 [32, 33].

Based on the climate data in Tables 3 and 4, the system operating condition used for

the simulation is summarized in Table 5. The outdoor temperature and the relative

humidity are ranged from 25 °C to 50 °C and from 4% to 98%, respectively. The

regeneration temperature of the desiccant rotor is 70 °C. Both the mass flow rates of

the process air and the regenerative air are 2,000 kg/h.

Table 3. Outdoor temperatures and humidity under dry conditions [32, 33]

T outdoor RH outdoor x outdoor

city country date
(°C) (%) (g/kg)
50 4 3.04 Ahvaz Iran 2012-08-02 16:30

45 8 4.72 Phoenix USA 2018-07-05 16:00

40 6 2.72 Phoenix USA 2018-07-02 14:00

36 8 2.92 Phoenix USA 2018-07-02 21:00

30 13 3.39 Phoenix USA 2018-07-01 23:00

26 17 3.51 Phoenix USA 2017-07-01 5:00

Table 4. Outdoor temperature and humidity under humid conditions [32, 33]

29
 T outdoor RH outdoor x outdoor city country date
(°C) (%) (g/kg)
50 9 6.85 Ahvaz Iran 2012-08-02 16:00

44 15 8.87 Ahvaz Iran 2012-08-02 11:30

40 27 12.32 Phoenix USA 2018-07-19 19:00

35 53 18.5 Bangkok Thailand 2015-07-02 11:30

30 79 20.84 Bangkok Thailand 2015-07-02 17:30

24 100 18.52 Phoenix USA 2018-07-11 23:00

Table 5. Operating conditions of the cooling system (DEC, IEC, and HDC) models

T regen. Air flow

T outdoor RH outdoor (%)
rate
(°C) High / middle / Low (℃)
(kg/h)

50 9 7 4

45 14 11 8

40 27 16.5 6
70 2,000
35 53 31 9

30 79 46 13

25 98 58 18

4.2.2 Regeneration temperature parametric study of IEC

As mentioned before, the water removal rate by the silica gel in the desiccant rotor

is primarily dependent on the temperature and the relative humidity in the desiccant

rotor. High temperature of the regenerative air increases the dehumidification of the

silica gel, which finally promotes the dehumidification of the process air. However, high

temperature of the regenerative air also increases the temperature of the desiccant

rotor, which causes an increase in the temperature of the process air. This suggests

the existence of an optimum regeneration temperature of the desiccant rotor for

30
achieving the maximum cooling performance. A parametric study of the regeneration

temperature effect on the indoor temperature was conducted with the IEC system

model, which is shown in Fig. 9 (a). The cooling performance increases with the

increase in the regeneration temperature, reaches the maximum value at a specific

regeneration temperature, and then decreases. This is because the heating effect

exceeds the cooling effect owing to the increase in the regeneration temperature when

the latter becomes higher than a certain value. When the air is dry and humid, the

cooling performance reaches the maximum value at the regeneration temperature of

70 °C and 90 °C, respectively. As the regeneration temperature is increased higher

than the optimal value, the indoor temperature is linearly increased. This indicates that

as the air relative humidity is increased, the increased regeneration temperature

should be secured for the adsorption of more number of water molecules from the

process air. Fig. 9 (b) shows the regeneration temperature effect on regeneration heat

consumption rate of the IEC system. Typically, an increase of 10 °C in the regeneration

temperature causes the indoor temperature to decrease by approximately 1 °C, which

is equivalent to heat consumption rate of approximately 4.8 kW.

Fig. 9. Regeneration temperature effect on (a) the indoor temperature and (b) the

31
regeneration heat consumption rate of the IEC system

4.2.3 DEC system model parametric study

Figs. 10 (a)–(h) present the indoor temperature, room supply air temperature,

regeneration heat consumption rate, cooling capacity, total COP, thermal COP,

electrical COP, and fan power consumption of the DEC system at various outdoor

temperatures and outdoor relative humidity values, respectively. In Figs. 10 (a) and

(b), the red dotted line denotes the target value of the indoor temperature and room

supply air temperature, respectively. The DEC system maintains the indoor

temperature below 24 °C regardless of the outdoor relative humidity when the outdoor

temperature is under 25 °C. At the outdoor temperature of 30 °C, the DEC system can

reach the target indoor temperature when the air relative humidity is lower than 46%.

When the temperature is increased above 35 °C, the DEC system cannot reach the

target indoor temperature regardless of the air relative humidity variation. As displayed

in Fig. 10 (b), the room supply air temperature is always higher than 12.5 °C under all

the operating conditions of temperature and humidity. The room supply air

temperature of 12.5 °C is the target temperature, which is recommended by the

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)

to satisfy the target value of indoor humidity and temperature in the summer season.

This suggests that even though the indoor temperature can reach the target value, the

DEC system cannot maintain the target value of the room supply air temperature under

certain operating condition. Under these operating conditions, the indoor temperature

might attain the target value after a long time. At a particular outdoor relative humidity,

the regeneration heat consumption rate increases with the decrease in the outdoor

32
temperature because the regeneration temperature is maintained constant at 70 °C.

At a specific outdoor temperature, the regeneration heat consumption rate is

significantly decreased with the increase in the outdoor relative humidity. When the

outdoor relative humidity is increased, the efficiency of the desiccant rotor is

decreased, which decreases the water removal rate through the desiccant rotor.

Consequently, this decreases the evaporation cooling through DEC. This indicates

that the process air is not cooled down to reach the target temperature before entering

the room. Because the indoor air is recirculated to the regeneration stream in the DEC

system, the decrease in the temperature difference between the regeneration set

temperature and the regeneration air causes the regeneration heat consumption rate

to decrease. Even though the cooling capacity of the DEC system is highly increased

with the increase in the outdoor temperature, the difference between the target value

and the obtained value for the cooling capacity is also increased. At high outdoor

temperatures above 30 °C, the cooling capacity decreases with the increase in air

relative humidity, owing to the decrease in the water evaporation rate. When the

outdoor temperature becomes lower than 25 °C, the cooling capacity slightly increases

with the increase in the outdoor relative humidity. The total COP, thermal COP, and

electrical COP were calculated using Eqs. (29)–(31), based on which their respective

values are ranged from 0.11 to 0.22, from 0.11 to 0.23, and from 5.14 to 9.01. When

both the outdoor temperature and the outdoor relative humidity increase, both the total

COP and the thermal COP slightly increase. In this simulation, because the air flow

rate is constant, the fan power consumption is constant of 0.70 kW. Thus, the tendency

of the electrical COP is similar to that of cooling capacity. Since the amount of the fan

power consumption is very low compared to the regeneration heat consumption rate,

both the tendency and the value of the total COP is almost similar to those of the

33
thermal COP. A high outdoor temperature reduces the regeneration heat, which

causes this increase in the thermal COP. The effect of the outdoor temperature on the

thermal COP is larger than that of the outdoor relative humidity. The outdoor humidity

has a slight effect on the thermal COP. The effect of the relative humidity on the

thermal COP becomes more pronounced at lower temperatures.

34
35
 Fig. 10. (a) Indoor temperature, (b) room supply air temperature (c) regeneration heat

consumption rate, (d) cooling capacity, (e) total COP, (f) thermal COP, (g) electrical COP, and

(h) fan power consumption of the DEC system at various temperatures and relative humidity

values.

4.2.4 IEC system model parametric study

Figs. 11 (a)–(h) present the indoor temperature, room supply air temperature,

regeneration heat consumption rate, cooling capacity, total COP, thermal COP,

electrical COP, and fan power consumption of the IEC system at various outdoor

temperatures and outdoor relative humidity values, respectively. In Figs. 11 (a) and

(b), the red dotted line denotes the target value of the indoor temperature and room

supply air temperature, respectively. The IEC system can cool down the indoor

temperature below the target temperature when the outdoor temperature is lower than

50 °C. With the increase in both the outdoor relative humidity and the outdoor

temperature, the indoor temperature is increased, owing to the decrease in the cooling

capacity. The room supply air temperature at the room inlet exceeds 12.5 °C at high

humidity when the outdoor temperature ranges from 30 to 50 °C. This suggests that

the IEC system seems to present a target cooling performance without the high

temperature condition of 50 °C when only considering the indoor temperature.

However, the IEC system does not attain a sufficient performance to fully satisfy the

cooling load under the hot and humid conditions. The regeneration heat consumption

rate in the IEC system is ranged from 13 kW to 22 kW. As expected, an increase in

the outdoor temperature decreases the regeneration heat consumption rate, because

the outdoor air is utilized for the regenerative air in the IEC system. However, as

36
previously mentioned, the increase in the outdoor relative humidity only has a slight

effect on the regeneration heat consumption rate. The respective values of the total

COP, thermal COP, and electrical COP are ranged from 0.17 to 0.51, from 0.18 to

0.54, and from 5.56 to 10.23. At the same manner with the DEC system, the fan power

consumption has a negligible effect on the total COP. Both the tendency and the value

of the total COP are almost same with those of the thermal COP. As the outdoor

temperature decreases and the outdoor relative humidity increases, the system COP

decreases. A high outdoor temperature reduces the regeneration heat consumption

rate, which cause the increase in the system COP. The cooling capacity of the IEC

system increases with the increase in both the outdoor temperature and the outdoor

relative humidity. Thus, a high outdoor temperature results in a high COP, owing to

the decrease in the regeneration heat consumption rate and increase in the cooling

capacity.

37
38
 Fig. 11. (a) Indoor temperature, (b) room supply air temperature (c) regeneration heat

consumption rate, (d) cooling capacity, (e) total COP, (f) thermal COP, (g) electrical COP, and

(h) fan power consumption of the IEC system at various temperatures and relative humidity

values.

4.2.5 HDC model parametric study

Figs. 12 (a)–(h) displays the indoor temperature, room supply air temperature,

regeneration heat consumption rate, cooling capacity, total COP, thermal COP,

electrical COP, and power consumption of fan and compressor of the IEC system at

various outdoor temperatures and outdoor relative humidity values, respectively. As

expected, both the indoor temperature and the room supply air temperature of the

HDC system become lower than the respective target values of 24 °C and 12.5 °C,

respectively, with the complement of the EHP. At each outdoor temperature, the room

supply air temperature is higher than the target value, under the highest humidity

conditions. Under these outdoor temperature and humidity conditions, the EHP begins

to operate to ensure the room supply air temperature reaches the target temperature

of 12.5 °C. The EHP operation easily decreases both the room supply air temperature

and the indoor temperature, and they can reach the target values. The HDC system

causes the room supply air temperature to become 11.5 °C to make the indoor

temperature lower than 24 °C only at the high outdoor temperature of 50 °C. At the

outdoor temperature of 50 °C and the highest outdoor relative humidity, the EHP

begins to be operated. Consequently, the regeneration heat consumption rate is

slightly reduced because the regenerative air is heated by flowing through the

condenser before entering the heater. Fig. 12 (d) presents the cooling capacity of the

39
HDC system. The hollow symbol represents the cooling capacity of the HDC system

including the EHP operation. The filled symbol denotes the cooling capacity of the

HDC system excluding the EHP operation. The EHP can supplement the insufficient

cooling capacity of the IEC system. The cooling capacity of the EHP is ranged from

0.02 to 0.95 kW. The respective values of the total COP, thermal COP, and electrical

COP are ranged from 0.15 to 0.67, from 0.15 to 0.74, and from 4.56 to 9.42. Even

though the compressor is operated as well as fan in HDC system, the power

consumption demand by the compressor is quite low compared to the regeneration

heat consumption rate. Consequently, both the tendency and the magnitude of the

total COP is similar with those of the thermal COP. When the EHP is operated, the

cooling capacity is changed, as depicted in Fig. 12 (d), and total energy supplied to

the cooling system varies because of the compressor operation, as shown in Fig. 12

(h).

40
41
 Fig. 12. (a) Indoor temperature, (b) room supply air temperature (c) regeneration heat

consumption rate, (d) cooling capacity, (e) total COP, (f) thermal COP, (g) electrical COP, and

(h) power consumption of fan and compressor of the HDC system at various temperatures

and relative humidity values.

4.2.6 Performance comparison of DEC, IEC, and HDC systems

Figs. 13 (a)–(g) present the comparison of results (indoor temperature, room

supply air temperature, regeneration heat transfer rate, cooling capacity, total COP,

thermal COP, and electrical COP variation with the outdoor temperature and the

outdoor relative humidity) of the DEC, IEC, and HDC system. Owing to the limitation

of the extent of direct evaporation cooling, the room supply air temperature and the

indoor temperature are the highest as shown in Fig. 13 (a), (b). Specifically, the DEC

system has the lowest cooling capacity among the three desiccant cooling systems,

under the same operating conditions as shown in Fig. 13 (d). Because the DEC system

uses the room air as the regenerative air, which in turn is cooled down by flowing

through the direct evaporative cooler, the regeneration heat consumption rate is the

highest as shown in Fig. 13 (c). Consequently, the DEC system has the lowest total

COP among the three desiccant cooling systems under the same operating conditions

as presented in Fig. 13 (e). As described previously, the configuration of the HDC

system is same as that of the IEC system, excluding the sensible heat exchanger and

the EHP. When the EHP is not operated, the cooling capacity of the IEC system is

slightly higher than that of HDC system, because in the IEC system, the process air is

cooled down by flowing through the sensible heat exchanger before entering the

indirect evaporative cooler. Thus, the room supply air temperature and the indoor

42
temperature of the IEC system are slightly lower than those of the HDC system when

the temperature and the relative humidity are moderate: 40 °C and 6%, 40 °C and

16.5%, 30 °C and 13%, and 30 °C and 46%. With the sensible heat exchanger in the

IEC system, the temperature of the regenerative air is heated by flowing through the

sensible heat exchanger before entering the heater. This slightly reduces the

regeneration heat consumption rate of the IEC system compared to that of the HDC

system, when the EHP is not operated. When the EHP begins to be operated, the

condenser in the EHP heats the regenerative air in the HDC system, which decreases

the regeneration heat consumption rate. The total COP of the IEC system is higher

than that of the HDC system, when the outdoor temperature becomes lower than 40 °C.

When the outdoor temperature becomes higher than 40 °C, the total COP of the HDC

system is significantly increased and becomes higher than that of the IEC system,

owing to the EHP operation. When the outdoor temperature is 50 °C, the difference

between the total COP of the HDC and IEC systems is ranged from 0.12 to 0.16. As

previously described, because the power consumption of both fan and compressor is

quite low compared to regeneration heat consumption rate, both the tendency and the

magnitude of the thermal COP are almost similar with those of the total COP as

presented in Fig. 13 (f).

43
44
 Fig. 13. Comparison of the (a) indoor temperature, (b) room supply air temperature, (c)

regeneration heat consumption rate, (d) cooling capacity, and (e) total COP, (f) thermal COP,

and (g) electrical COP of the DEC, IEC, and HDC systems

5. Conclusion

In this study, one-dimensional steady-state models of three types of desiccant

cooling systems (DEC, IEC, and HDC systems) are developed using MATLAB-

Simulink®. The objectives of the study is to compare the cooling performance of the

DEC, IEC, and HDC systems and find out the most efficient cooling system to satisfy

the target cooling performance at the actual climate conditions worldwide. The models

of the DEC system and the indirect evaporative cooler in the IEC system are validated

by comparison with published data. The effect of regeneration temperature of the IEC

system, which maximally decreases the indoor temperature, is determined under

various outdoor ambient temperatures and humidity values. When the air is dry and

humid, the cooling performance reaches the maximum value at the regeneration

temperature of 70 °C and 90 °C, respectively. To determine the operating conditions

of the temperature and the relative humidity used for the simulation, actual climate

data of certain cities representing hot and humid climates and hot and dry climates,

such as Ahvaz (Iran), Phoenix (USA), and Bangkok (Thailand), are investigated and

summarized.

The cooling characteristics of the three systems (indoor temperature, air room

inlet temperature, regeneration heat consumption rate, COP, and cooling capacity)

are obtained by simulating the models under the summarized temperature and

humidity conditions. The DEC system has insufficient cooling ability because of the

45
limitation of the desiccant rotor dehumidification rate and the water evaporation

through the direct evaporative cooler. It has the lowest total COP among the three

desiccant cooling systems under any operating conditions. In comparison, the IEC

system has sufficient cooling ability, except at high temperatures exceeding 50 °C and

under high humidity conditions. The HDC system has sufficient cooling ability in any

climate, even severe high temperature and high humidity, with the supplement of the

EHP operation. When the EHP is not operated, the cooling capacity and the

regeneration heat consumption rate of the IEC system are slightly higher and lower

compared to those of the HDC system. Thus, the total COP of the IEC system is higher

than that of the HDC system when the outdoor temperature becomes lower than 40 °C.

When the outdoor temperature becomes exceeds 40 °C, the total COP of the HDC

system is significantly increased and becomes higher than that of the IEC system,

owing to the EHP operation.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Technology Development Program to Solve

Climate Changes of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the

Korean government (Ministry of Science and ICT [MSIT]) (NRF2017M1A2A2045196).

References

[1] International Energy Agency (IEA), The Future of Cooling: Opportunities for

energy-efficient air conditioning (2018)

[2] International Energy Agency (IEA), Transition of Sustainable buildings: Strategies

46
and Opportunities to 2050 (2013)

[3] International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy Technology Perspectives 2015:

Mobilizing Innovation to Accelerate Climate Action (2015)

[4] International Energy Agency (IEA), Air conditioning use emerges as one of the

key drivers of global electricity demand growth (2018)

[5] Affiliated Power Purchasers International (APPI energy), Reduce electricity costs

on summer peak demand days (2017)

[6] Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, John D. Wilson. Seasonal electric demand in

the southeastern united states (2017)

[7] A. Heidari, H. Rostamzadeh, A. Avami. “A novel hybrid desiccant-based ejector

cooling system for energy and carbon saving in hot and humid climates”, International

Journal of Refrigeration 101 (2019) 196–210

[8] J. Deng, R. Z. Wang, G. Y. Han. “A review of thermally activated cooling

technologies for combined cooling, heating and power systems”, Progress in Energy

and Combustion Science 37 (2011) 172-203

[9] A. Adam, E. S. Frag, D. J. Brett. “Options for residential building services design

using fuel cell based micro-CHP and the potential for heat integration”, Applied Energy

138 (2015) 685–694

[10] M-H. Kim, H-W. Dong, J Park, J-W. Jeong. Primary energy savings in desiccant

and evaporative cooling-assisted 100% outdoor air system combined with a fuel cell,

Applied Energy 180 (2016) 446–456

[11] H. Lim, J-W. Jeong. “Thermoelectric Module Integrated Fuel Cell in a Liquid

47
Desiccant-Assisted Air-Conditioning System”, Heat Transfer Engineering (2019) 1-21.

[12] D. La, Y.J. Dai, Y. Li, R.Z. Wang, TS Ge. “Technical development of rotary

desiccant dehumidification and air conditioning: A review”, Renewable and

Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol 14, (2010), 130-147

[13] N.A. Pennington, Humidity changer for air conditioning, USA, Patent No.

2700537, 1955.

[14] D.G. Waugaman, A, Kini, C.F. Kettleborough. “Improvements in solid desiccant

cooling”, Drying Technology 11 (1993) 615-633

[15] K. Daou, R.Z. Wang, Z.Z. Xia. “Desiccant cooling air condition: a review”,

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 10 (2006) 55-77

[16] Y. Li, K. Sumathy, Y.J. Dai, J.H. Zhong, R.Z. Wang. “Experimental study on a

hybrid desiccant dehumidification and air conditioning system”, Journal of Solar

Energy Engineering, 128 (1) (2006) 77-82

[17] P.L Dhar, SK Singh. “Studies on solid desiccant based hybrid air-conditioning

systems”, Applied Thermal Engineering 21 (2001) 119-134

[18] C. X. Jia, Y. J. Dai, J. Y. Wu, R. Z. Wang. “Analysis on a hybrid desiccant air-

conditioning system”, Applied Thermal Engineering 26 (2006) 2393-2400

[19] D. B. Jani, M. Mishra, P. K. Sahoo. “Performance studies of hybrid solid

desiccant – vapor compression air-conditioning system for hot and humid climates”,

Energy and Buildings 102 (2015) 284-292

[20] D. B. Jani, M. Mishra, P. K. Sahoo. “Experimental investigation on solid

desiccant-vapor compression hybrid air-conditioning system in hot and humid

48
weather”, Applied Thermal Engineering 104 (2016) 556-564

[21] M. Polanyi. “Section III.-Theory of the Adsorption of Gases. A General Survey

and some Additional Remarks.”, Transactions of the Faraday Society, 28 (1932) 316-

333

[22] V.D. Bulck. “Analaysis of solid desiccant rotary dehumidifiers”, M.S. (1983)

[23] G. Stiesch. “Performance of rotary enthalpy exchanger”, M.S. (1994)

[24] F. E. Nia, D.V. Paassen, M.H. Saidi. “Modeling and simulation of desiccant wheel

for air conditioning”, Energy and Building 38 (2006) 1230-1239

[25] B. Riangvilaikul, S. Kumar. “An experimental study of a novel dew point

evaporative cooling system”, Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 637-644

[26] X. Zhao, J.M. Li, S.B. Riffat. “Numerical study of a novel counter-flow heat and

mass exchanger for dew point evaporative cooling”, Applied Thermal Engineering 28

(2008) 1942-1951

[27] Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, KS C 9306-2017 air-conditioner

(2017)

[28] J. Lee, DY. Lee. “Experimental study of a counter flow regenerative evaporative

cooler with finned channels”, Int. J. of Heat and Mass Transfer 65 (2013) 173-179

[29] G.P. Maheshwari, F. Al-Ragom, R.K. Suri. “Energy-saving potential of an indirect

evaporative cooler”, Applied Energy, 69 (2001) 69-76

[30] V. Maisotsenko, L.E. Gillan, T.L. Heaton, A.D. Gillan. Method and Plate

Apparatus for Dew Point Evaporative Cooler, USA, Patent No. 6581402B2, 2003

[31] Y.A. Cengel and A.J. Ghajar, Heat and Mass Transfer Fundamentals &
49
Applications, 5th Edition, SI Version. Grawhil Education, 2015

[32] “National Centers for Environmental Information” last modified Feb. 17, 2019,

accessed Feb. 17, 2019, https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdoweb/datasets/LCD/stations/

WBAN:23111/detail

[33] “weatherbase, Middle East, Iran & Asia, Thailand” last modified Mar. 22, 2016,

accessed Feb. 17. 2019, https://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weatherhourly.ph

p3?s=11804

50
 Research Highlights

 One-dimensional steady state models of desiccant cooling systems were developed.

 The models of DEC system and the indirect evaporative cooler were verified.

 The optimal regeneration temperature of the IEC was obtained.

 The cooling performance of DEC, IEC, and HDC systems have been compared.

 This study finds out the most efficient cooling systems at actual weather conditions.

51
Declaration of interests

☒ The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal
relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

☐The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may
be considered as potential competing interests:

52