earticle

영어

Indirect evaporative coolers (IECs) are widely used for cooling of outdoor air in building air-conditioning and for cooling of indoor air in data center air-conditioning. However, for each case, the inlet air temperature and humidity condition to IEC are different, which may yield different cooling efficiency. In this study, tests were conducted at the two air conditions using two IEC samples having different channel pitch (3 mm × 5 mm, 5 mm × 5 mm). Results showed that the efficiencies of the 3 mm × 5 mm sample were 12~32% larger than those of the 5 mm × 5 mm sample due to 25% larger heat transfer area and the usage of smaller diameter channel. The efficiency was 10% larger at the data center condition than at the building condition. The reason may be attributed to a larger absolute humidity difference between the liquid film and the air at the data center condition. At the same air velocity, the pressure drops at the wet channel were 64~128% larger than those at the dry channel due to the presence of liquid film at the wet channel. Comparison of the data with predictions by the analytical model revealed that both the efficiency and the pressure drop were over-predicted. Possible reason may be the simplification of the channel geometry and the assumption of fully developed flow, which may be improved in the future.