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Title: Exergy analysis of desiccant cooling systems

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:5401500

Exergy analyses of both fixed-bed and purged-rotary desiccant cooling systems are performed, and the procedures or guidelines for optimization on the basis of minimum entropy generation are presented. The mechanism of entropy generation for the case of combined heat and mass transfer in a two-dimensional channel is investigated. Using the analogy between heat and mass transfer to obtain the mass transfer data, the optimum channel spacing for laminar and turbulent flows are obtained. For two limiting cases of convective heat transfer and isothermal convective mass transfer, the corresponding optimum channel spacings and Reynolds numbers are presented. The second law analysis of a two-dimensional, fixed-bed regenerator is performed. The trade-off between mechanical and thermal exergy losses yields an optimum Ntu and optimum nondimensional operating period. Exergy charts and tables for humid air are constructed for a wide range of conditions, and calculation of the enthalpy and entropy of bound water with consideration of the interfacial force that occurs between silica gel and adsorbed molecules is given.

Research Organization:
Illinois Inst. of Tech., Chicago (USA)
OSTI ID:
5401500
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English