Numerical analysis of the heat and mass transfer processes in selected M-Cycle heat exchangers for the dew point evaporative cooling

Highlights: • The comparative numerical study of the eight M-Cycle heat exchangers was presented. • The mathematical model is compared against the experimental data. • The results show, that the original M-Cycle heat and mass exchanger can be improved. • The effectiveness of the heat and mass exchangers depends strongly on the inlet air parameters. - Abstract: This paper investigates a mathematical simulation of heat and mass transfer in eight different types of the Maisotsenko Cycle (M-Cycle) heat and mass exchangers (HMXs) used for indirect evaporative air cooling. A two-dimensional heat and mass transfer model is developed to perform the thermal calculations of the indirect evaporative cooling process and quantifying the overall performance. The mathematical model was validated against experimental data. A numerical simulation reveals many unique features of the considered HMXs, enabling an accurate prediction of their performance. Results of the model allow for comparison of the analyzed devices in order to improve the performance of the original HMX