Investigation of Heat and Mass Transfer Mechanisms in a Novel Total Heat Exchanger

Abstract

Prof. NIU is working with Prof. ZHANG Lizhi of the South China University of Technology to investigate heat and mass transfer mechanisms in a novel total heat exchanger that can recover both heat and moisture. Heat recovery is a key technology for reducing the energy used in the treatment of fresh air by making use of waste heat in the exhaust air from buildings. To recover heat, heat exchangers are employed to transfer heat from exhaust air streams to fresh air. Since the effectiveness of a heat exchange mainly depends on its material and structure, the novel total heat exchanger will have a newly developed membrane with very high vapour permeability and a novel channel structure with high convective heat and mass transfer coefficients. Prof. NIU and Prof. ZHANG will conduct numerical and experimental studies of heat and mass transfer mechanisms in the novel heat exchanger. It is expected that applications of the novel total heat exchangers in Guangdong province alone will save about 10.5 billion kWh electricity per year.