A review of recent advances in indirect evaporative cooling technology

Abstract

Indirect evaporative cooler with dew point cooling has great potential to replace the conventional mechanical vapor compression system in air conditioning industry. In this paper, a detailed review has been conducted on recent developments in the indirect evaporative cooling (IEC) systems as well as their associated design parameters and operating conditions for higher cooling effectiveness and cooling capacity. The current review also consolidates the design and performance of various indirect evaporative cooling systems (such as classical indirect evaporative cooler, regenerative, dew point cooler, and Maisotsenko cycle based cooler). Furthermore, integration of these indirect evaporative cooling systems with other cycles is elaborated. In addition, the thermal management potential of the indirect evaporative coolers in various applications is highlighted. It is found that major design parameters include system configuration, inlet airflow conditions, channel geometry, and evaporative material. It is also found that counter-flow arrangement with higher inlet air temperature, lower inlet air humidity, smaller channel height, smaller inlet air velocity, higher channel length, and higher working to intake air ratio, triangular shape of channel with fabric evaporative material yields higher cooling effectiveness and efficiency. This review indicates that the IEC systems could be a potential replacement for the conventional vapor compression cycle based cooling systems in buildings and other applications.