Study on Desiccant and Evaporative Cooling Systems for Livestock Thermal Comfort: Theory and Experiments

Muhammad Kashif, Hassan Niaz, Muhammad Sultan, Takahiko Miyazaki, Yongqiang Feng, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad W. Shahzad, Yasir Niaz, Muhammad M. Waqas and Imran Ali
Additional contact information
Muhammad Kashif: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Hassan Niaz: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Muhammad Sultan: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Takahiko Miyazaki: Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Kasuga-koen 6-1, Kasuga-shi, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
Yongqiang Feng: School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Muhammad Usman: Institute for Water Resources and Water Supply, Hamburg University of Technology, Am Schwarzenberg-Campus 3, 20173 Hamburg, Germany
Muhammad W. Shahzad: Mechanical and Construction Engineering Department, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK
Yasir Niaz: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
Muhammad M. Waqas: Department of Agricultural Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, Pakistan
Imran Ali: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: The present study considers evaporative cooling and desiccant unit-based air-conditioning (AC) options for livestock AC application. In this regard, proposed systems are investigated by means of experiments and thermodynamic investigations. Air-conditioning requirements for animals are theoretically investigated and temperature-humidity index (THI) is estimated. A lab-scale heat mass exchanger based on the Maisotsenko-cycle evaporative cooling conception (MEC) is set up and its performance is evaluated at different ambient air conditions. In addition, a desiccant-based air-conditioning (DAC) unit is thermodynamically evaluated using a steady-state model available in the literature. The study focuses on the ambient conditions of Multan which is the 5th largest city of Pakistan and is assumed to be a typical hot city of southern Punjab. The study proposed three kinds of AC combination i.e., (i) stand-alone MEC, (ii) stand-alone desiccant AC, and (iii) M-cycle based desiccant AC systems. Wet bulb effectiveness of the stand-alone MEC unit resulted in being from 64% to 78% whereas the coefficient of performance for stand-alone desiccant AC and M-cycle based desiccant AC system was found to be 0.51 and 0.62, respectively. Results showed that the stand-alone MEC and M-cycle based desiccant AC systems can achieve the animals’ thermal comfort for the months of March to June and March to September, respectively, whereas, stand-alone desiccant AC is not found to be feasible in any month. In addition, the ambient situations of winter months (October to February) are already within the range of animal thermal comfort.

Keywords: evaporative cooling; desiccant; Maisotsenko cycle; livestock thermal comfort; temperature humidity index (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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