Model construction and performance evaluation of a perforated counter-flow regenerative evaporative cooler based on multi-parameter regeneration strategy

•Novel design can simultaneously enhance dew-point efficiency and cooling capacity.•A quantitative study is conducted on the distribution of along-channel parameters.•Customized perforation can realize the reallocation of thermal and mass parameters.•A new dimensionless near-saturation evaluation in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy conversion and management Vol. 343; p. 120231
Main Authors: Li, Yongcai, Liu, Xuliang, Habibullah, Wang, Jun, Lv, Siqiang, Zhang, Hui, Jing, Chengjun
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2025
Subjects:
Parameter study
Performance improvement
Prediction model
Regenerative evaporative cooling
Structural development
Parameter study
Regenerative evaporative cooling
Structural development
Performance improvement
Prediction model
ISSN:0196-8904
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:•Novel design can simultaneously enhance dew-point efficiency and cooling capacity.•A quantitative study is conducted on the distribution of along-channel parameters.•Customized perforation can realize the reallocation of thermal and mass parameters.•A new dimensionless near-saturation evaluation index is introduced.•The regulation mechanisms of single and multi-parameter are revealed. Evaporative cooling technology, with its low cost and near-zero carbon emissions, is a promising alternative for refrigeration. However, traditional regenerative evaporative cooler (REC) faces the limitation caused by the contradiction between efficiency and cooling capacity within fixed structure. Therefore, an improved perforated counter-flow regenerative evaporative cooler (PCF-REC) is proposed, aiming to explore the performance enhancement mechanisms of customized perforations in the complex process of heat and mass transfer. Based on Newton iteration calculation, this study establishes a matching prediction model using MATLAB programming and validates it against experimental data, with a relative error within 3.28 %. Subsequently, comparative studies are conducted on REC and four different PCF-RECs. The results demonstrate that PCF-RECs can simultaneously enhance the dew-point efficiency and cooling capacity under low air supply ratio (γ). The average dew-point efficiency and cooling capacity can be amplified by 13.8 % and 11.40 W/m2, respectively. Additionally, a new dimensionless near-saturation evaluation index is introduced, reporting that an increase in channel length would trigger the premature occurrence of near-saturation. The trade-off between geometric and operational parameters is further revealed through the study of multiple along-channel parameters, including temperature, humidity, evaporation rate, driving force and water consumption. The perforations tend to be designed at the left end of the channel, which ingeniously corresponds to a high-flow, high-temperature localized environment. When γ=0.4, PCF-REC4 achieves a maximum evaporation rate of 0.257 kg/m2·h, a 5.76 % improvement over REC. This perforated regenerative design enables targeted regulation of channel thermal and humidity conditions, providing a novel performance enhancement strategy.
ISSN:0196-8904
DOI:10.1016/j.enconman.2025.120231