Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 1386–1393

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Energy and Buildings

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Simulation, performance analysis and optimization of desiccant wheels

Stefano De Antonellis ∗ , Cesare Maria Joppolo, Luca Molinaroli
Dipartimento di Energia, Politecnico di Milano, Via Lambruschini, 4, 20156 Milan, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Desiccant wheel is an important and crucial component that can be used in building HVAC systems in
Received 23 December 2009 order to reach relevant energy savings and to use renewable sources. The optimization of air handling
Received in revised form 8 March 2010 units based on desiccant wheels instead of conventional components is complex and it requires adequate
Accepted 10 March 2010
simulation tools. In the present paper desiccant wheels performance and optimization are investigated.
The analysis is carried out through a one-dimensional gas side resistance model which considers devel-
Keywords:
oping temperature and velocity profiles along the channels. Simulation results show a good agreement
Desiccant wheel
with experimental data available in literature in a wide range of operating conditions. The model is used
Adsorption
Optimization
to analyze the influence of working conditions on desiccant wheel performance and on the optimal rev-
Pressure drop olution speed. Several performance criteria are introduced and each one of them is used to investigate
Performance and to find out the optimal desiccant wheel configuration. For each criterion the best process air angular
sector and revolution speed are identified, and the obtained results are compared. Through a practical
example it is finally shown how each criterion leads to different optimal configurations.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction While the reference technology based on cooling coils is par-

In conventional air handling units, the air dehumidification and
cooling process is generally driven by a cooling coil. At present
interest in sorption wheels is strongly increasing due to the pos-
sibility of realizing low environmental impact and high energy
efficiency HVAC systems and to use renewable energy [1]. In par-
ticular the regeneration heat can be supplied from low enthalpy
sources, such as from solar thermal collectors or heat rejected from
engines, from industrial plants or from condensers of chillers. Com-
pared to the reference technology based on cooling coils, the use
of desiccant wheels in air handling units to balance the latent load
can lead to the following advantages:
• reduction of the refrigerating machine power;
• increase of the refrigerating machine evaporation temperature
and COP;
• reduction of the thermal power consumption because the post-
heating coil is not necessary anymore;
• reduction of the presence of microorganisms like bacteria and
fungi because condensed water is absent;
• opportunity to use low temperature heat (50–60 ◦ C) to activate
the dehumidification process;
• possibility to use renewable energies.
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 0223993823; fax: +39 0223993913.
E-mail address: stefano.deantonellis@polimi.it (S. De Antonellis).
ticularly simple and well known from HVAC designers, hydraulic
system experts and customers, the air handling units based on
desiccant wheels are not diffused and are difficult to design.
In particular it should be pointed out that desiccant wheel is
a crucial component because its performance depends on process
and regeneration air temperature, humidity and velocity, on revo-
lution speed and on the process to regeneration area ratio.
A mathematical model of a desiccant wheel is therefore a use-
ful tool to predict the behaviour of the component under different
working conditions, to optimize its configuration and for the inter-
pretation of experimental data.
A desiccant wheel consists of a cylindrical rotating wheel which
is obtained rolling up sheets of a supporting material coated with
an adsorbent substance in order to get a large number of parallel
channels with typically a sinusoidal or triangular cross-sectional
geometry, as shown in Fig. 1.
The main materials used as support are paper, aluminium,
synthetic fibres or plastic and common adsorbents are silica gel
and activated alumina. Two air streams pass through the cross-
sectional area of the device: the process air, which is dehumidified
and heated, and the regeneration air, which removes water from
the adsorbent material. The two streams are always arranged as
counter current flows.
In order to remove vapour from the desiccant material, the
regeneration air should be heated before crossing the wheel (Fig. 3).
Design and operating parameters influence the behaviour of a
desiccant wheel, such as: type and amount of adsorbent material,
desiccant wheel thickness, regeneration and process frontal area,

0378-7788/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2010.03.007
 S. De Antonellis et al. / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 1386–1393 1387

channel geometry, revolution speed and air streams temperature,

Nomenclature humidity and velocity.
Several models are available in literature and they can be mainly
L desiccant wheel length (m) divided into two categories: gas side resistance models (GSR) and
Dwh desiccant wheel diameter (m) gas and solid side resistance models (GSSR). The first kind takes into
Deq channel equivalent diameter (m) account only vapour diffusion into air and the convective heat and
A cross-sectional area for air flow (m2 ) mass transfer resistance, the second one takes into account also the
Arif overall face area of the wheel (m2 ) vapour diffusion resistance into the desiccant material. A detailed
AD cross-sectional area for desiccant layer (m2 ) review of desiccant wheel models is presented by Ge et al. [2].
AM cross-sectional area for matrix layer (m2 ) The desiccant wheel is a crucial component and its optimization
S interface area in a channel (m2 ) can lead to important energy savings. Anyway only a few studies
hT heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2 K)) on performance optimization are available.
hm mass transfer coefficient (kg/(m2 s)) In many works it has been analyzed how operating conditions,
h specific enthalpy (J/kg) desiccant wheel channel thickness and revolution speed affect
u specific internal energy (J/kg) and air velocity in the desiccant wheel performance [3–7]. Chung et al. [8] optimized
channel (m/s) the desiccant wheel in terms of moisture removal capacity (MRC)
H enthalpy (J) through the variation of both the revolution speed and the ratio
U internal energy (J) between process and regeneration area. Chung and Lee [9] analyzed
cv isochoric specific heat (J/(kg K)) the effect of different desiccant isotherms on MRC optimization.
cp isobaric specific heat (J/(kg K)) These works put in evidence that an optimal revolution speed and
z axial direction (m) process to regeneration area ratio exist and that they depend on
M mass (kg) the regeneration temperature and on the desiccant material prop-
v face air velocity on the wheel face (m/s) erties. In particular the higher is the regeneration temperature, the
t time (s) higher is the process to regeneration area ratio. Furthermore, it is
N wheel rotational speed (rev/h) shown how different materials, characterized by different desic-
f mass per unit of length (kg/m) cant isotherms, influence the optimal process to regeneration area
D mass diffusivity (m2 /s) ratio.
W desiccant water content (kgH2 O /kgD ) Anyway in these works the maximization of moisture removal
X air humidity ratio (kgH2 O /kgDA ) capacity is the only performance evaluation criterion. The aim of
T temperature (K) this paper is to optimize desiccant wheel performance through
ptot total pressure (Pa) further criteria which take into account also other important
psat,w water vapour pressure at saturation (Pa) parameters, such as the heat supplied for the regeneration process
Qads isosteric heat of adsorption (J/kg) and pressure drop across the wheel.
Wel electric power (W) In order to do this analysis, a one-dimensional gas side resis-
MRC moisture removal capacity (gv /s) tance model of a desiccant wheel is developed. Compared to the
Qreg heat of regeneration (kW) GSR models available in literature, the presented model considers
MM molecular mass (kg/mol) developing temperature and velocity profiles along the desiccant
Re Reynolds number wheel channels. In a previous work of the authors [10] it has been
Nu Nusselt number shown how this assumption leads to slightly more accurate results
Sh Sherwood number in reproducing experimental data compared to the fully developed
Gz Greatz number profiles one.

Greek letters
˚E energy flux (W/m2 ) 2. Mathematical model
˚DA dry air mass flux (kgDA /(m2 s))
˚H2 O water mass flux (kgH2 O /(m2 s)) 2.1. Desiccant wheel description and model assumptions
 density (kg/m3 )
ω rotational speed (rev/h) The rotating wheel, which is characterized by a diameter Dwh
 angular sector (◦ ) and a length L, is divided into two sections: the first one is crossed
ϕ relative humidity by the process air and the second one by the regeneration air. The
ε desiccant wheel porosity wheel rotates at constant velocity N and each channel is periodically
exposed to the two streams.
Subscripts As shown in Fig. 1, the typical geometry of the channel cross-
DA dry air section is sinusoidal in the upper part and flat in the remaining
D desiccant part.
M matrix material The physical model and the numerical analysis are based on the
v water vapour following assumptions:
l liquid water
ad, w adsorbed water 1. the air flow is one-dimensional;
pro process air 2. the channels are equal and uniformly distributed throughout the
reg regeneration air wheel;
in inlet 3. temperature, humidity and velocity of each flow are uniform at
out outlet the inlet face of the wheel;
fan fan 4. heat and mass transfer between adjacent channels is negligible;
5. axial heat conduction and water vapour diffusion in the air
stream and in the desiccant material are negligible;
1388 S. De Antonellis et al. / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 1386–1393

Fig. 1. Desiccant wheel and channel schemes.

6. the specific heat and thermal conductivity of dry air, water The adsorption isotherm of desiccant material can be expressed
vapour and liquid water are constant; in the following form:
7. air leakages between the two streams are negligible.

4

ϕ= ai W i (6a)
2.2. Governing equations i=0
or
Referring to Fig. 2, the following laws have been applied to an
infinitesimal element of the channel: conservation of water mass W = aϕn (6b)
and of energy in the system made up of the support material, the where a and n are coefficients end exponents which depend on the
desiccant material and the adsorbed water; conservation of water adsorbent material.
mass, of dry air mass and of energy in the wet air stream. The heat transfer coefficient is calculated from the local Nusselt
Mass balance of water in the desiccant material, support mate- number as follows:
rial and adsorbed water:
hT Deq
NuL = (7)
∂W hm (X − Xw )P k
= (1)
∂t fD and the mass transfer coefficient is calculated from the Sherwood
number:
Energy balance for the desiccant material, support material and hM Deq
adsorbed water: ShL = (8)
DA D
∂TD In order to consider the developing temperature and velocity
(fM cpM + fD cpD + fD cad,w W )
∂t profiles along the channel, the local Nusselt number is evaluated
= (cpv (T − TD ) + QADS )hm (X − Xw )P + hT (T − TD )P (2) through the following correlation [18]:
0.0841
NuL = NuFD + (9)
0.002907 + Gz −0.6504
Mass balance of water in the air stream:
where NuFD is the Nusselt number for the fully developed flow and
∂X ∂X Phm its value depends on the channel geometry.
=− u− (X − Xw ) (3) The Lewis number is assumed constant and equal to 1, so the
∂t ∂z DA A
local Sherwood number is assumed equal to the local Nusselt num-
Mass balance of dry air in the air stream: ber.
The actual velocity of air in the channel is u = v/ε, where ε is the
∂DA ∂(DA u) wheel porosity defined as the ratio of the void volume to the total
=− (4) volume of the desiccant wheel and v the face velocity.
∂t ∂z
The isosteric heat of adsorption is defined as:
Energy balance in the air stream:
Qads = hv − had,w − cpv (T − TD ) (10)
∂T ∂T hT (T − TD )P hm (X − XW )Pcpv T Air is assumed as an ideal gas mixture at the atmospheric pres-
= −u − − (5)
∂t ∂z cpWA DA A cpWA DA A sure.

Fig. 2. Modelling of transport phenomena in the channel.

 S. De Antonellis et al. / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 1386–1393 1389

2.3. Boundary and initial conditions The adsorption isotherm is calculated through the following
relation [13]:
Initial conditions and boundary conditions during the pro-
W = 0.24ϕ2/3 (14)
cess period and during the regeneration period are respectively
reported: and the isosteric heat of adsorption is calculated through the
⎧ Clausius–Clapeyron equation.
⎪  
⎨ T (0, z) = T0 T (t, 0) = Tpro T (t, 0) = Treg The Nusselt number for the fully developed flow depends on the
TD0 (0, z) = TD0
X(t, 0) = Xpro X(t, 0) = Xreg (11) channel geometry [11]:
⎪ X(0, z) = X0
⎩ v(t, 0) = vpro v(t, 0) = vreg  a
a
2
W (0, z) = W0
NuFD = 1.1791 1 + 2.7701 − 3.1901
b b
2.4. Pressure drop a
3 a
4 
+ 1.9975 − 0.4966 (15)
Distributed pressure drop across the desiccant wheel is evalu- b b
ated in the following way:
while the following correlation is used to calculate the equivalent
L 1 2 diameter of the sinusoidal duct [11]:
pD = 4f
Deq 2
u (12)  a
a
2
Deq = a 1.0542 − 0.4670 − 0.1180
where f is the Fanning friction factor, while local pressure drop is: b b
a
3 a
4 
1
pL = k u2 (13) + 0.1794 − 0.0436 (16)
2 b b
where k is the loss coefficient which takes into account the contrac- where a is the channel height and b the channel base (Fig. 1).
tion and expansion of the air at the inlet and outlet of the desiccant Referring to the scheme of Fig. 3, in all the case studies the inlet
wheel. humidity ratio of the process air is equal to the inlet humidity ratio
of the regeneration air. Referring to Table 1, comparison between
2.5. Numerical solution simulation results and experimental data [12,13] is carried out in
a wide range of working conditions. Figs. 4 and 5 show for differ-
The PDE system is solved through the discretization of both time ent working conditions respectively the outlet process air humidity
and space variables with the Eulero Forward method. The numeri- ratio versus the angular position and the fractional residue of water
cal model is developed in MatlabTM . vapour Xpro,out /Xpro,in against the revolution speed.
Preliminary code execution has been completed in order to find Quite good agreements between model and data are achieved in
out the best simulation space and time step, which are respectively all the conditions (the maximum difference between experimental
set to 1 cm and 0.1 s. data and simulation results is lower than 20%) and therefore it is
The simulation starts at the beginning of the process time and possible to state that the model is able to well predict the optimal
it finishes at the end of the regeneration period. Convergence is revolution speed of the desiccant wheel.
achieved when water mass and heat transferred from the desiccant From Figs. 4 and 5 preliminary considerations about desiccant
material during the regeneration period are equal to water mass wheel performance can be inferred:
and heat transferred in the process period plus a prefixed error.
• At the beginning of the adsorption period the dehumidification
process is less effective because the desiccant material is still
3. Model validation
warm from the regeneration period. At the end of the adsorp-
tion period the adsorbent material increases its water content
3.1. Heat and mass transfer
and the dehumidification capacity decreases (Fig. 4).
• If the desiccant wheel rotates too slowly, the adsorption phase
The model is validated through experimental data available in
becomes too long: the desiccant material reaches its maximum
literature of a sorption wheel used for air dehumidification [12–15],
water vapour content and it is not able to dry process air anymore.
a commercial unit built by a Japanese manufacturer. The desiccant
On the other side, if the wheel rotates too fast, the adsorption
wheel channel pitch is 3.2 mm × 1.8 mm with a wall thickness of
period becomes too short and it finishes when the desiccant
0.2 mm. The wheel is made of a ceramic porous fibre paper, impreg-
material is still able to adsorb vapour. As a consequence, an
nated with silica gel. The honeycomb structure contains 70–80% of
type A silica gel and the desiccant wheel thickness is L = 0.2 m.
Table 1
Dehumidification capacity: input data used in the comparison between simulation
results (SIM) and experimental data (EXP).

EXP/SIM Xpro,in and Tpro,in (◦ C) Treg,in (◦ C) Apro /Areg

Xreg,in (g/kg) (m2 /m2 )

EXP A 7.3 23.3 140 3.3

EXP B 4.3 23.8 140 3.3
EXP C 4.4–5.0 18.0 100 1
EXP D 13.2–13.8 25.0–27.0 60 1
EXP E 7.8 24.9 140 3.3
SIM A 7.3 23.3 140 3.3
SIM B 4.3 23.8 140 3.3
SIM C 4.4 18.0 100 1
SIM D 13.5 25.0 60 1
Fig. 3. Process and regeneration air flow scheme. SIM E 7.8 24.9 140 3.3
1390 S. De Antonellis et al. / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 1386–1393
Fig. 4. Outlet process air humidity ratio versus angular position: comparison
between experimental data and simulation results for different working conditions
(vpro,in = vreg,in = 1 m/s, L = 0.2 m).
Fig. 5. Xpro,out /Xpro,in versus revolution speed: comparison between experimental
data and simulation results for different working conditions (vpro,in = vreg,in = 1 m/s,
L = 0.2 m).
optimal revolution speed which minimizes outlet process air
humidity ratio exists (Fig. 5).
3.2. Pressure drop
Pressure drop correlations are validated with experimental data
available for a commercial wheel, different from the previous
one, where the geometry of the channels is triangular (a = 2 mm,
b = 4 mm and thickness equals to 0.07 mm) [16] and the wheel
length is L = 0.2 m.
The friction factor and the loss coefficient are respectively
f = 13/Re [11] and k = 0.2 [17].
Table 2 shows both experimental data and simulation results
of pressure drop for different values of the face velocity. The
quasi-linear behaviour put in evidence that local pressure drop is
negligible compared to distributed pressure drop in the channel.
Good agreements between data and simulations are achieved
(the maximum relative error is lower than 5%).
Table 2
Pressure drop: comparison between simulation results (SIM) and experimental data
(EXP).
v (m/s) p EXP (Pa) p SIM (Pa) Relative error (%)
2.61 104 109 4.81
3.61 148 151 2.03
5.17 223 217 −2.69
4. Parametric analysis of performance
All the simulations reported in this section are carried out for the
same desiccant wheel which is used to validate the model in section
3.1. In order to calculate the pressure drop, the friction factor and
the loss coefficient are assumed respectively f = 11.5/Re [11] and
k = 0.2, according with desiccant wheel geometry.
Fig. 3 shows the air flow configuration adopted in the simula-
tions.
Desiccant wheel dehumidification capacity is influenced by
working conditions. For this reason it is particularly important to
analyze how each boundary condition affects the outlet process air
humidity ratio and the optimal revolution speed, which is a key
parameter. These effects are investigated in Fig. 6.
The parametric analysis is carried out referring to a base case,
characterized by a desiccant wheel with process area equals to
the regeneration one, regeneration and process temperature equal
respectively to 80 ◦ C and 30 ◦ C, humidity ratio and face velocity of
both air streams equal to 15 g/kg and 1 m/s. Then each one of these
parameters is varied in order to investigate the effect on the out-
let humidity ratio of the process air stream for different revolution
speeds.
The parametric analysis of regeneration air inlet conditions is
shown in Fig. 6(left) and obtained results can be explained in the
following way:
• Low regeneration air temperature leads to higher relative humid-
ity (at constant humidity ratio) and consequently to higher
capacity of desiccant material of keeping water. The result is a
poor dehumidification capacity due to the reduced mass transfer
between the wet air and the adsorbent layer.
• The lower is the inlet regeneration air humidity ratio, the higher
is the dehumidification capacity. This effect is due to the higher
mass transfer driving force during the regeneration period which
leads to higher moisture removal from the desiccant matrix.
• If the regeneration air mass flow decreases, the moisture removal
from the desiccant material is less effective and therefore the
dehumidification capacity of the wheel is lower.
In the same way, the parametric analysis of the process air con-
ditions is explained in this way (Fig. 6(right)):
• If the process air temperature decreases the relative humidity (at
constant humidity ratio) becomes higher and the dehumidifica-
tion capacity increases. This effect is due to the higher capacity of
sorption substances of keeping water at high relative humidity.
As a consequence a pre-cooling of process air can be a good way
to increase moisture removal capacity of a desiccant wheel.
• If the process air velocity decreases also the outlet air humid-
ity ratio decreases. Anyway, if the rotational speed is high, the
dehumidification capacity decreases because the reduced air flow
takes more time to cool the desiccant matrix and to start the
dehumidification process.
• If the inlet process air humidity ratio decreases, quite obviously
also the outlet process air humidity decreases.
 S. De Antonellis et al. / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 1386–1393
Fig. 6. Outlet process air humidity ratio versus revolution speed: influence of process (left) and regeneration (right) air conditions.
It can be noticed that the optimal revolution speed changes
when the inlet air streams conditions are varied, and in particular
it is affected from the process and regeneration air velocity.
5. Effect of performance criteria on the desiccant wheel
optimal configuration
In this section different desiccant wheel optimization criteria
are analyzed for various operating conditions. In other works avail-
able in literature [4–9], the sorption wheel optimization is carried
out in terms of moisture removal capacity, defined as:
MRC = mpro (Xpro,in − Xpro,out )
or in terms of effectiveness, which is defined in this way:
Xpro,in − Xpro,out
εD =
Xpro,in
In the present work, instead of the desiccant wheel effective-
ness, the humidity ratio reduction is used, and its definition is:
Xpro = Xpro,in − Xpro,out
These different performance criteria lead to different desiccant
wheel optimal configurations in the case of unbalanced regenera-
Fig. 7. MRC, Qreg /MRC, Wel /MRC and Xin − Xout as a function of the revolution speed and  pro (vpro,in = vreg,in = 1 m/s, Tpro,in = 30 ◦ C, Treg,in = 80 ◦ C, Xreg,in = Xpro,in = 15 g/kg).
1391
tion and process air flows [8]. Anyway both MRC and effectiveness
do not take into consideration the power required to heat the regen-
eration air and the electricity consumption related with pressure
drop across the wheel.
For this reason two further performance criteria are introduced:
the first one, Qreg /MRC, is the ratio between the regeneration heat
and the moisture removal capacity and the second one, Wel /MRC,
is the ratio between the electric power used by the fan and the
moisture removal capacity.
Referring to Fig. 3, the heat of regeneration is respectively:

Qreg = mreg cpWA (Treg,in − Treg,in ) (20)
(17)
and the fan electric power consumption is defined as:
mpro ppro /pro + mreg preg /reg
Wel = (21)
(18) fan
The fan efficiency fan is assumed constant and equal to 0.6.
The purpose of this section is to underline how different per-
formance criteria can lead to different optimal desiccant wheel
configurations. The analysis is carried out through the variation of
(19)
the revolution speed and the process air angular sector, which are
the only two parameters of a specific desiccant wheel which can be
arbitrary set, while the other parameters are kept constant.
1392 S. De Antonellis et al. / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 1386–1393

Fig. 8. MRC, Qreg /MRC, Wel /MRC and Xin − Xout as a function of the revolution speed and  pro (vpro,in = vreg,in = 1 m/s, Tpro,in = 16 ◦ C, Treg,in = 80 ◦ C, Te = 31 ◦ C, Xpro,in = 8.5 g/kg,
Xreg,in = 15.6 g/kg).

In Fig. 7 MRC, Qreg /MRC, Wel /MRC and Xpro are plotted versus 6.1. Case A—MRC optimization
N and  pro for the reference working conditions (vpro,in = vreg,in =
1 m/s, Tpro,in = 30 ◦ C, Treg,in = 80 ◦ C, Xreg,in = Xpro,in = 15 g/kg), where The maximum moisture removal capacity is obtained for
 pro is the process air angular sector. The overall face area of  pro = 230◦ and N = 7 rev/h. In this configuration MRC = 4.61 gv /s,
the wheel is Arif = 1 m2 , L = 0.2 m and channel height and base are Qreg /MRC = 4.60 kW/(gv /s), Wel /MRC = 29.4 W/(gv /s) and
respectively a = 3.2 mm and b = 1.8 mm. The map can be explained Xpro = 6.01 gv /kg.
in this way: Considering that the design moisture removal is MRCeff = 1 gv /s,
the effective desiccant wheel face area, its diameter, the regener-
• At constant process air velocity the higher is  pro , the higher is ation heat and the electric power consumption are respectively:
mpro . When  pro increases, Xpro decreases because the regener-
ation period becomes too short and less effective. For this reason Arif 1
Aeff = MRCeff = × 1 = 0.217 m2
the MRC shows a maximum, which in this specific case is around MRC 4.61
 pro = 200◦ .
• On the other side, the higher is  pro , the lower is regeneration air  
4Aeff 4 × 0.217
flow and, in this way, the heat of regeneration. For this reason the Deff = = = 0.525 m
minimum value of Qreg /MRC is reached for  pro = 260◦ , a greater

value compared to the MRC optimization one.

• The optimization of Wel /MRC and MRC coincide. In fact the pro- MRCeff Qreg
Qreg,eff = = 1 × 4.60 = 4.60 kW
cess and regeneration air velocity are assumed equal, and for this MRC
reason Wel is constant in all the configurations. Consequently
Wel /MRC is proportional to 1/MRC. This is not still true if vpro MRCeff Wel
Wel,eff = = 1 × 29.4 = 29.4 W
is different from vreg . MRC
Note that the electricity consumption calculation considers only
6. Case study pressure drop across the clean desiccant wheel.
Through this optimization criterion the smallest desiccant
Consider a drying room in a food industry where there is a con- wheel is chosen. It is particularly useful when it is necessary to
stant latent load of 2.5 kW (1.0 gv /s or 3.6 kgv /h). Referring to Fig. 3, reduce initial costs or system dimensions.
the system works in recirculation mode: the air inside the room
is the process air stream and the outside air is the regeneration air 6.2. Case B—Qreg /MRC optimization
flow. Further process air treatments to balance the sensible load are
necessary, but they are not considered in this example. Design con- The minimum value of Qreg /MRC is obtained for  pro = 270◦
ditions of ambient and outside air are respectively: Tpro,in = 16 ◦ C, and N = 5 rev/h. In this configuration MRC = 3.77 gv /s,
Xpro,in = 8.5 gv /kg, Te = 31 ◦ C and Xe = 15.6 gv /kg. The outside air is Qreg /MRC = 3.89 kW/(gv /s), Wel /MRC = 35.9 W/(gv /s) and Xpro =
heated until Treg,in = 80 ◦ C. 4.19 gv /kg. Through the same calculations of case A, it is:
Fig. 8 shows the results of the application of different opti- Aeff = 0.265 m2 , Deff = 0.581 m, Qreg,eff = 3.79 kW and Wel,eff = 35.9 W.
mization criteria (Arif = 1 m2 , vpro,in = vreg,in = 1 m/s, a = 3.2 mm and In this case the configuration which minimizes regeneration
b = 1.8 mm, L = 0.2 m). heat is chosen.
 S. De Antonellis et al. / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 1386–1393
6.3. Case C—Wel /MRC optimization
The optimal configuration of case C coincides with case A, as
already explained. This optimization criterion is practically less
interesting than MRC and Qreg /MRC, except when the process is
driven from waste heat and the main energy consumption is due
to pressure drop across the wheel.
6.4. Conclusions
Compared to case A/C, case B requires lower heat of regenera-
tion (−17.6%) and a higher face area (+22.3%). Consequently case
B configuration is characterized by higher initial costs and lower
operating costs to regenerate the wheel.
Differences between case A/C and B are not marginal, and this
example shows the validity of the optimization criteria introduced
in this work.
7. Conclusions
A one-dimensional GSR desiccant wheel model which solves
heat and mass transfer equations is developed and good agree-
ments between simulations and experimental data are achieved.
The validation is done in a wide range of working conditions and
sorption wheel configurations.
Many simulations are carried out in order to investigate the
effect of the variation of working conditions on the dehumidifi-
cation capacity and on the optimal revolution speed, and results
are discussed.
Different desiccant wheel performance criteria are introduced,
and it is shown how they lead to different optimal configurations
of the device. The analysis is carried out in terms of MRC, Qreg /MRC,
Wel /MRC and Xpro and detailed maps which show the best con-
figuration for each criterion as a function of revolution speed and
 pro are presented and discussed. Through a practical example it is
shown the validity of these diagrams, which are a useful tool for
HVAC systems designers.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Ing. Leone and Ing. Bawa of
Recuperator S.r.l. for the detailed information about pressure drop
of heat wheels.
1393
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