Evaporative cooling

Evaporative cooling is a method of producing

cold air, suitable for air conditioning
applications.
advantages:
reduced electricity consumption by up to 80%
exemption from hazardous refrigerants.

constructed an experimental evaporative cooling cycle
similar to Maisotsenko cycle
This cycle uses a novel geometry to maximize cooling
efficiency. The advantages of the Maisotsenko cycle
against conventional evaporative cooling systems are:
possibility of achieving lower temperatures, generally
below the wet bulb temperature of the environment,
greater efficiency and reduced water consumption
low pressure drops, in the absence of porous medium.

The results of the experimental procedure
demonstrated the great effectiveness of this
device, producing air at 21
o
C - 22
o
C and humidity
of about 55%. The possibility of improving the
cooler with independent control air supply was
examined, in order to show if any further water
savings and further reduction of the air outlet
temperature happen. It has been proven that the
flow rate reduction by 50% causes a decrease in
the air outlet temperature by up to 2.5
o
C, thus
allowing the cooler to cover more cooling loads.
This reduction also leads to 40% water savings
MAISOTSENKO CYCLE FOR COOLING
PROCESSES

ABSTRACT
The Maisotsenko Cooling cycle combines the thermodynamic processes of heat
exchange and evaporative cooling in a unique indirect evaporative cooler resulting
in product temperatures that approach the dew point temperature (not the wet
bulb temperature) of the working gas. This cycle utilizes the enthalpy difference of
a gas, such as air, at its dew point temperature and the same gas saturated at a
higher temperature. This enthalpy difference or potential energy is used to reject
the heat from the product. Consider the cooling gas to be air and the liquid to be
water; the Maisotsenko Cycle allows the product fluid to be cooled in temperature
ideally to the dew point temperature of the incoming air. This is due to the
precooling of the air before passing it into the heat-rejection stream where water
is evaporated. For purposes of this paper, the product fluid is air. At no time is
water evaporated into the product airstream. When exhausted, the heat rejection
airstream or exhaust air is saturated and has a temperature less than the incoming
air, but greater then the wet bulb temperature. This cycle is realized in a single
apparatus with a much higher heat flux and lower pressure drop than has been
realizable in the past due to its efficient design.

temperature reduction and cooling
effectiveness
thermoelectric unit was integrated in to the
evaporative cooling system containing porous
ceramic evaporators
Typical test results showed that the cold side
temperature of thermoelectric unit was
5Deg.C lower and the hot side was 10Deg
Direct evaporative cooling is often associated
with the rise in relative humidity which may
result in uncomfortable feeling due to
unwanted increase in moisture
Indirect evaporative cooling offers a solution
but still requires improvements in the
effectiveness.
There is also need for using cheap and readily
available materials for the construction,
requiring simple fabrication technology
without very complex engineering
infrastructure.
Stirling engine
The production of electricity from conventional sources contributes to the global climate change,
degradation of life quality and other socioeconomic problems arising from the management of
mineral resources. Specifically in Greece, an old, inefficient and polluting central power system is
still used. Blackouts are common in summer, as a result of the great seasonal load imbalance with
peak load during the summer tourist season.

The recent EU directives promote the upgrade of the existing electrical generation central systems
to dispersed systems in which the renewable energy sources will have a dominant role. For the
particular climatic conditions of Greece, the use of solar energy for the coupled heat and power
generation may prove to be economically viable.

The combination of Stirling engines with solar concentrating collectors is a common method of
cogeneration and trigeneration. Such solar systems are already installed and operate (50 kW in
Saudi Arabia, 9 kW to 10 kW Germany and Spain).

The Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics NTUA has installed a Stirling engine for research
activities. The power of this unit is combined with natural gas and its products are electricity and
heat. A commercial application of this machine would sell the electricity to the grid and would use
the heat to cover its own heating / cooling demand.
Research

The main topics concerning the Laboratory of Applied Thermodynamics are:
Design, analysis, simulation and optimization of thermodynamic systems and cycles,
Design, analysis, simulation and optimization of air conditioning systems, evaporative light
cycle with liquid and solid absorbents,
Design, analysis, simulation and optimization of heat exchangers,
Simulation and optimization of air conditioning units with solar thermal systems,
Design, analysis, simulation and optimization of refrigeration units and combined units
injector absorption - injector,
Thermodynamic analysis of irreversible processes biphasic binary mixture.
The above topics are applied in the design of the following systems:

Open cycle evaporative air conditioning systems with liquid desiccant,
Open cycle evaporative air conditioning systems with solid desiccant,
Closed cycle evaporative cooling systems,
Solar air conditioning,
Stirling engines,
Reverse osmosis desalination systems,
Thermal desalination systems.

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Short description
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