Performance evaluation of wavy fin desiccant coated heat exchanger for hot and humid climatic conditions

The desiccant coated heat exchanger (DCHE) is a novel type of solid desiccant equipment that can simultaneously handle both latent and sensible loads. The systems based on DCHE are considered as an energy efficient alternative to dehumidification in conventional air conditioning. Hence, the present study proposes a novel wavy fin based DCHE which can perform better than plain fin configuration. The main objectives of this paper are (i) to numerically evaluate the heat and mass transfer characteristics of wavy fin DCHE and compare them with the plain fin type, (ii) to propose a novel method of estimating the effective cycle time for DCHE operation, and (iii) to identify the critical geometric and operating parameters influencing the performance of DCHE. The investigation reveals that the dehumidification capacity of the proposed wavy fin DCHE is 61% higher than that of the plain fin DCHE. Further, the dehumidification increases by 53% when the DCHE is operated on the proposed effective cycle time. In this work (i) a high performance DCHE based on wavy fin configuration is proposed, (ii) a methodology for determining and operating the DCHE on an effective cycle time is presented and (iii) an overview to choose a suitable geometric design for wavy fin DCHE in air conditioning applications is provided.