Parameter sensitivity analysis of indirect evaporative cooler (IEC) with condensation from primary air

The indirect evaporative cooler (IEC), regarded as a low-carbon cooling device, was proposed as fresh air pre-cooling and heat recovery device in the air-conditioning system to break the region limitation of application in hot and humid areas. In this hybrid system, the exhausted air with low temperature and humidity from air-conditioned space is used as secondary air to cool the inlet fresh air. As the dew point temperature of the fresh air is high, condensation may occur in the dry channels. However, the modeling of IEC with condensation has been seldom studied and corresponding parameter sensitivity analysis is also lacking. So the paper established a new numerical model taking the condensation from primary air into consideration. Two evaluation indexes (wet-bulb efficiency and enlargement coefficient) were proposed to investigate the thermal performance of IEC with condensation. Sensitivity analysis was conducted among seven parameters by orthogonal test and variance analysis. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.