Experimental analysis of an improved Maisotsenko cycle design under low velocity conditions

In this paper performance of an indirect evaporative cooler is experimentally analyzed in terms of its thermal effectiveness. A heat and mass exchanger (HMX) using a cross-flow pattern incorporating Maisotsenko cycle (M-cycle) is designed and fabricated having an improved channel width to height ratio and more efficient moisture absorbing material (felt) on the wet channel. Experimental investigations are conducted under various operating conditions of inlet air including its humidity, temperature and velocity along with water temperature. The experimental results indicate that the dew point effectiveness and the wet bulb effectiveness vary in the range of 62-85% and 92-120%, respectively with inlet air temperature variation from 25 to 45 °C at different humidity ratio ranging from 11 g/kg to 19g/kg. Moreover, the overall performance of the improved design is found 5% more efficient in terms of wet bulb effectiveness compared to the previous systems.