A simplified experimentally tested theoretical model to reduce water consumption of a direct evaporative cooler for dry climates
Abstract The aim of this study is to introduce a simple modified experimentally tested theoretical model to mainly reduce the water consumption rate of a direct evaporative cooler type (DEC). The convective heat transfer coefficient correlations are introduced to the fundamental governing equations of this model and the saturation effectiveness of the DEC is calculated. The saline water at different concentrations is used as a feed water to the presented model. The impacts of inlet ambient air conditions and the salinity ratios on the amount of consumed water and the supply air temperature are investigated. The experimental runs are performed on a commercial type DEC and an average operating sprinkled water temperature is found to be 2.5 °C higher than inlet WBT of air. At 200,000 PPM salinity ratio, a reduction in water consumption by about 1.5 L h −1 is reached but with 8.6% increase in the supply air temperature.