Journal of Building Engineering, vol.96, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Indirect evaporative cooling is an environmentally friendly alternative to the vapor compression refrigeration cycle. Numerical modeling and comparison of different types of indirect evaporative coolers are presented in this study. The developed models are categorized according to the process and working channel arrangement. The categorization comprises Type 0, denoting conventional configuration, alongside Type 1 and Type 3, characterized by singular aperture air passages, and Types 2 and 4, characterized by multiple aperture air passages. The study employed CFD models to investigate the impact of different operational parameters such as air temperature, humidity, velocity and the ratio of working to intake air on various performance parameters. Dew-point effectiveness, cooling capacity per unit area, water consumption per cooling capacity and COP were determined as performance parameters. The study reveals that the performance characteristics of different cooler types vary under diverse conditions. In most examined cases, Type 0 demonstrates superior cooling capacity per unit area, whereas Type 3 exhibits higher dew-point effectiveness. Furthermore, Type 2, with its favorable water consumption per cooling capacity and COP, emerges as the optimal choice in many scenarios, also demonstrating superior dew-point effectiveness at high working air ratios.