Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Operating Parameters of Solar-Powered Desiccant Wheel in India

A mathematical model has been used to predict the operating parameters of a desiccant wheel for performance analysis of the desiccant wheel. The model considered both gas and solid side resistance. The model shows a good agreement with experimental data. An experimental setup was fabricated using an evacuated tube solar air collector with a desiccant wheel. The hot air needed for regeneration is produced by the evacuated tube solar air collector, which has a collector surface area of 4.44 m(2). The regeneration can be started from 40 degrees C. The temperature of outlet air obtained is in the range of40-65 degrees C in this evacuated tube solar air collector. The experimental setup was installed at NIT Kurukshetra, India, 29 degrees 58' (latitude) North and 76 degrees 53' (longitude) East. Numerical results showed that both the moisture removal and the temperature increment of the process air increases with an increasing regeneration air temperature, regeneration air inlet velocity, and process inlet moisture. But both the moisture removal and the temperature increment of the processed air decreases by increasing the process air inlet velocity and regeneration air moisture at the inlet. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.