Performance analysis of a membrane-based energy recovery ventilator: Effects of membrane spacing and thickness on the ventilator performance

A mathematical model was built to predict the thermal–hydraulic performance of a membrane-based energy recovery ventilator. Calculations were conducted to investigate the effects of the membrane spacing (channel height) and membrane thickness on the ventilator performance under equal fan power conditions. The results show that for a fixed fan power, as the channel height increases, the total heat transfer rate initially increases, after reaching a maximum at a certain channel height, turns to decrease. A larger fan power leads to a larger total heat transfer rate, with the maximum total heat transfer rate occurring at a smaller channel height. As the channel height or the fan power increases, the enthalpy effectiveness decreases. Further, as the membrane thickness increases, both the total heat transfer rate and enthalpy effectiveness decrease.