Enhancing the Efficiency of Air Conditioning Systems in High-Temperature Climates through Direct Evaporative Cooling

This study aims to develop energy-efficient and environmentally friendly cooling solutions that are both effective and adaptable to various climates and structural forms. By leveraging computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software ANSYS and simulation software Engineering Equation Solver (EES), an innovative approach was undertaken. The investigation focused on the optimization of external air cooling via adjustable injectors operating at three distinct velocities, across three airflow rates. Concurrently, the adaptability of the cooling flow was enhanced by varying the number of turns in a coil within the heat exchanger's condenser section. This dual-phase method facilitated a comprehensive analysis across 54 scenarios, employing the EES software for the calculation of the coefficient of performance (COP) enhancement metrics. The efficiency of the cooling apparatus was rigorously evaluated by methodically altering the number of cooling tube turns and injection velocities. The apparatus comprised a loop-and-tube heat exchanger with a modifiable structure, where the second phase of the study addressed the thermal impact of air entry velocity and water spray mechanisms, featuring cooling tube adjustments ranging from five to thirteen turns. The initial phase examined the effects of air entry area and water spray techniques through variable injector configurations, with diameters of 15, 24, and 20 cm, and dimensions of 10 cm in height and 25 cm in length, alongside a conduit width of 60 mm. The findings revealed that the thermal dynamics of the heat exchanger and fluid flow are significantly influenced by the apparatus's geometry, particularly the air entry area and water spraying mechanism. Temperature and velocity contours illustrated that the number of loop turns and injections markedly affects system performance. An optimal configuration, consisting of 35 injectors and 13 coil turns, achieved a COP of 4.537 at an inlet velocity of 2.0 m/s, signifying the most effective system design identified within this study.