Investigation of the Influence of Wetting Ability of the Sprayed Surface of the Heat Exchanger on the Process of Water-Evaporative Cooling

Ensuring the required microclimate parameters is the most critical task in hot climates. In pig farms, air cooling is provided by means of steam-compression chillers or water-evaporative cooling, which is the simplest way to cool the air. The implementation of water-evaporative cooling depends largely on the interaction of the media involved in this process. The paper considers the process of interaction of cooling water with the surface of a cellular polycarbonate heat exchanger. A mathematical model describing the process of wetting the sprayed surface of the heat exchanger is obtained. The dependence of theoretical water flow rate to provide air cooling in a given operation mode is determined. Production tests of recuperative heat recovery unit with heat exchanger made of cellular polycarbonate equipped with water evaporative cooling system were carried out. The efficiency of water-evaporative cooling of air has been determined, which was reflected in the temperature reduction by 6.3 °C. Characteristic operating modes of the unit, depending on the cooling water flow rate, providing effective air cooling are revealed.