Thermal analysis of a direct evaporative cooling system enhancement with desiccant dehumidification for vehicular air conditioning

This manuscript analyzes the sub-systems of evaporative cooler (EC) combined with desiccant dehumidification and regeneration for automotive air conditioning purpose. The thermodynamic and psychometric analysis was conducted to design all evaporative cooling system components in terms of desiccant selection, regeneration process, compact heat exchanger and evaporative cooler. Moreover, the effect of the desiccant, heat exchanger and evaporative performances on the mass flow rate and water sprayed required for evaporative cooling system was investigated. The results show that the theoretical evaporative cooling design will achieve two main objectives: lower fuel consumption and less environmental pollutants. However, it has the two drawbacks in terms of increased weight and reduces the coefficient of performance (COP). The main remark is that evaporating cooling system is more efficient than the conventional air conditioning when the gasoline price is more than 0.34 Siliter. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.