Comparative analysis of the cross-flow indirect evaporative air coolers

•This paper presents a comparative study of two cross-flow indirect evaporative air coolers.•The analysis was performed on the base of numerical methods.•The comparison was performed for different operating conditions.•A sensitive analysis with the ε–NTU method was performed to establish preferable operating conditions.

This paper presents a comparative study of two selected types of cross-flow indirect evaporative units: typical air cooler and regenerative air cooler. The key target of presented analysis is to establish which of the considered units is more favorable for air-conditioning application. The analysis was performed on the base of numerical methods. An original mathematical model was developed and validated against existing experimental data. A comparison was performed for two basic operating conditions: constant airflow velocity in dry and wet channels and variable inlet airflow parameters (temperature and moisture content) and variable airflow velocity under constant inlet airflow parameters. Additionally, a sensitive analysis of heat and mass transfer process was performed on the base of the ε–NTU method to establish preferable operating conditions.