Publikationen / Ergebnisse
(Englisch)
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In this project it is envisaged to develop, built and test experimentally in the laboratory a conceptual design of a new type of air handling unit (AHU), operating with a liquid desiccant. The concept considers an absorber/dehydrator, an evaporative cooler and a desorber/ regenerator, built as compact membrane contactors, except for the evaporative cooler, which shall be built as a wetting pad in this phase. Heat recovery takes place at four additional heat exchangers (Schematic in Annex 1). The humid air process is depicted in a Mollier hx-diagram (Annex 2), for typical Summer conditions and an application with induction terminal units or cooled ceilings. The driving energy shall be provided by a hot source at temperatures in the 70-90 °C range. The whole process and its components are described in the attached report (Annex 3). The main objective of the PHASE 1 of the project is to prove the concept through a conveniently sized laboratory setup. The components of the experimental setup shall be designed using typical design criteria, which shall be validated against the measurements in the laboratory. The involvement of industrial partners shall vouch for design criteria and an experimental setup with the character of an industrial prototype.
Auftragnehmer/Contractant/Contraente/Contractor:
M. Conde Engineering
Autorschaft/Auteurs/Autori/Authors:
Conde-Petit,Manuel
Weber,Robert
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Schlussbericht
(Englisch)
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Air conditioning systems based upon the open absorption principle, essentially an absorption device operating at atmospheric pressure, have been proposed and investigated at many instances in the past eighty or so years. Their potential for improving energy efficiency is clearly recognized in the earliest research reports. By the mid 1950,s, solar thermal energy was being applied to drive open absorption-based air conditioning systems. For several reasons, however, the open absorption technology was not mature enough to take place in the mainstream. In the past two decades, vigorous efforts have been undertaken to reverse this situation, but success continued to elude, despite the fact that the main problems, such as corrosion, aerosols in the supply air, etc., have been identified.
This report details the work and the main results from the MemProDEC Project. In this project innovative solutions were proposed, and successfully investigated, for the corrosion problem and the improvement of efficiency of the absorption process, in particular a new method to cool a very compact absorber. The practically uniform flow distribution for all three streams in the absorber (air, water and desiccant) warrants the contact of the air to be dehumidified with the desiccant over the whole surface of exchange (across a porous membrane). This, together with the cooling with water in counter flow to the air, are the key factors for the excellent effectiveness of the absorber. As the results show, the dehydration effectiveness of the prototype absorber are up to 150 % higher than that previously obtained by others.
The solutions developed for compactness and modularity represent an important step in the way to flexible manufacturing, i.e. using a single element size to assemble autonomous air handling units of various nominal capacities. And although the manufacturing methods of the individual elements require improvement, namely by avoiding adhesive bonding, the choice of materials and the design methods have proved perfectly adapted for the purpose.
Auftragnehmer/Contractant/Contraente/Contractor:
EMPA
M. Conde Engineering
Autorschaft/Auteurs/Autori/Authors:
Conde-Petit,Manuel
Weber,Robert
Dorer,Viktor
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