Experimental Study on Liquid Desiccant Distribution Characteristics at a Dehumidifier with Extended Surface

확장표면을 적용한 액체식 제습기에서 제습액 분배 특성에 관한 실험적 연구

Liquid desiccant cooling technology can supply cooling by using waste heat and solar heat which are hard to use effectively. For compact and efficient design of a dehumidifier, it is important to sustain sufficient heat and mass transfer surface area for water vapor diffusion from air to liquid desiccant on heat exchanger. In this study, the plate type heat exchanger is adopted which has extended surface, and hydrophilic coating and porous layer coating are adopted to enhance surface wettedness. PP(polypropylene) plate is coated by porous layer and PET(polyethylene terephthalate) non-woven fabric is coated by hydrophilic polymer. These coated surfaces have porous structure, so that falling liquid film spreads widely on the coated surface foaming thin liquid film by capillary force. The temperature of liquid desiccant increases during dehumidification process by latent heat absorption, which leads to loss of dehumidification capacity. Liquid desiccant is cooled by cooling water flowing in plate heat exchanger. On the plate side, the liquid desiccant can be cooled by internal cooling. However the liquid desiccant on extended surface should be moved and cooled at heat exchanger surface. Optimal mixing and distribution of liquid desiccant between extended surface and plate heat exchanger surface is essential design parameter. The experiment has been conducted to verify effective surface treatment and distribution characteristics by measuring wall side flow rate and visualization test. It is observed that hydrophilic and porous layer coating have excellent wettedness, and the distribution can be regulated by adopting holes on extended surface.