Investigating the performance of cellulosic evaporative cooling pads

In the present work, thermal performance of two types of cellulosic pads (5090 and 7090) which were made from corrugated papers has been studied experimentally. Samples were tested in a sub sonic wind tunnel made from polyethylene. The pads areas are 0.5 × 0.5 m2 with 75, 100 and 150 mm thicknesses. Pressure drop, humidity variation, evaporated water and effectiveness have been investigated for several inlet air velocities. The results show that overall pressure drop and amount of evaporated water increase by increasing the inlet air velocity and thickness in both types of pads. On the other hand, effectiveness and humidity variation decrease by increasing inlet air velocity.

Research highlights
► In this paper, we experimentally investigated thermal performance of two types of cellulosic pads (5090 and 7090).
► We investigated pressure drop, humidity variation, evaporated water and effectiveness of pads for several inlet air velocities.
► Increasing inlet air velocity and thickness of pads will increase evaporated water and pressure drop.
► Effectiveness and humidity variation decrease by increasing inlet air velocity.