Heat and Moisture Transfer in Energy Wheels During Sorption, Condensation, and Frosting Conditions

Abstract

A numerical model for coupled heat and moisture transfer with sorption, condensation, and frosting in rotary energy exchangers is presented and validated with experimental data. The model is used to study condensation and frosting in energy wheels. Condensation/frosting increases with humidity and at some humidity level, water/frost will continually accumulate in the wheel. The sensitivity of condensation and frosting to wheel speed and desiccant type are studied. The energy wheel performance is also presented during both sorption and saturation conditions for a desicant coating with a Type I sorption isotherm (e.g., molecular sieve) and a linear sorption isotherm (e.g., silica gel). Simulation results show that the desiccant with a linear sorption curve is favorable for energy recovery because it has better performance characteristics and smaller amounts of condensation/frosting for extreme operating conditions.