Experimental study on utilization of heat pipe heat exchanger for improving efficiency of clean room air system in hospitals

Abstract

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system in hospital's clean room is required to continue working for 24 hours to provide the ideal air quality for the activities therein. This causes a huge amount of energy consumption in hospital buildings itself. This study aims to determine the effectiveness and heat recovery of Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger (HPHE). The HPHE used in this study consisted of 12 heat pipes per module, in which the line was arranged staggered. The number of the module is varied 3 times, which are 1, 2, and 3 modules. The heat pipe is made of copper and contains working fluid in the form of water with 50% filling ratio. HPHE equipped with fins to expand the contact surface with airflow. Each variation of the number of modules is tested on the HVAC system model of the clean room. In the evaporator inlet, air flowing to the variation of temperature: 28, 30, 35, and 40°C, and at speeds of 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 m/s. The use of HPHE can recover heat as much as 1654.72 kJ/h. The highest effectiveness of this HPHE is 48.729%, was obtained when using three modules, air temperature inlet evaporator (Te,i) = 35°C, and airspeed of inlet 1.5 m/s.