Design and experimental analysis of a rotary wheel heat recovery heat exchanger

The integration of heat recovery wheels with a HVAC system has recently attracted interest due to the potential for energy savings. In this research, the rotary air-to-air energy wheel with a porous matrix for heat transfer is used. The wheel are driven symmetrically and balanced, counterflow model. The main purpose of this research is to experimentally test the efficiency of this energy wheel. For the heat recovery wheel with porous matrices, a sensible heat recovery wheel made of matrices of 1.9 mm wave length and 800 mm in diameter was developed. A test apparatus was manufactured to enable this wheel thermal efficiency test and pressure drop test. During the test phase, five tests were performed at the air velocity passing through the heat recovery wheel at 2m/s, 3m/s, 4m/s, 5m/s and 5,5m/s. The pressure loss on the hot fluid and cold fluid sides was measured for each test. In addition, the thermal efficiencies for each test were calculated. This test was repeated by changing the rotational speed of the heat recovery wheel. Tests were repeated at 4 rpm, 5 rpm, 6,25 rpm, 7,5 rpm and 8,5 rpm rotation speeds. The results were interpreted by generating the graphics. Keywords: Heat recovery, rotary wheel heat recovery, regenerator, HVAC, experimental study.