Experimental study and performance analysis on a closed-cycle rotary dehumidification air conditioning system in deep underground spaces

Abstract

High temperature and high humidity are challenges threatening human health in deep underground spaces. A rotary dehumidifying air conditioning system is an appealing way to solve this problem with free cooling and free heating from different depths of groundwater. A closed-cycle rotary dehumidification air conditioning system in deep underground spaces is proposed. The process and regeneration channels in this proposed system are merged into an optimal channel by recovering heat and harvesting water from the regenerated air. The effects of working conditions, such as the flow configuration of the chilled water, the chilled water supply temperature, the ambient air humidity and the regeneration temperature, on the energy and exergy performance are experimentally investigated. The recommended the flow configuration of the chilled water is 1:5:4. Under typical operating conditions (32 °C, 14 g kg −1 ), the moisture removal of the system driven by 80 °C hot air, reaches 4.9 kW, the thermodynamic coefficient is 1.1, and the exergy efficiency approaches 50.05%. This closed-cycle system with heat and water recovery improves the energy and exergy performance, which is an effective technology option for being applied in deep underground spaces.