Performance analysis of air curtains on indoor environment and dehumidification energy consumption in a low humidity plant

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of air curtains on indoor environment and dehumidification energy consumption for different air supply angle and velocity. The numerical investigation is conducted in a low-humidity plant located in the atmospheric boundary layer. The standard k-epsilon turbulence model is used in the simulation study. The optimum air supply angle and velocity are evaluated based on temperature and humidity distribution. The simulation cases range in air supply angle from 0° to 20° and velocity from 6 m/s to 14 m/s, which is studied by means of orthogonal experiments. Simulation results show that air curtain can reduce the average indoor temperature of the plant by up to 3.9°C and reduce the average moisture content by up to 86.6%. The energy saving assessment of the dehumidification rotor system shows a parabolic variation in energy consumption with increasing air velocity at a certain air supply angle. The optimum energy consumption occurs in the range of 9–11 m/s for air supply velocity. When air supply velocity is over 11 m/s, the airflow exchange is enhanced by air curtain at the plant opening, resulting in higher energy consumption from air leakage for dehumidification.