Some researchers have come up with energy-efficient air-conditioning solutions involving the use of desiccants, which largely incorporate the use of low grade waste heat or solar energy rather than electricity. However, issues such as bulkiness of the systems, high initial cost and long pay-back periods, difficulty with retrofitting, non-availability or inconsistent availability of heat sources make such solutions’ market penetration rather challenging. This paper proposes a desiccant (silica gel) coated oblique fin plate-frame structure that can be retrofitted into existing air-ducts. This study suggests the use of oblique fin plate-frame structure to be a plausible alternative to conventional desiccant based air-conditioning solutions.

Zero-equation turbulence models offer improved speed and, potentially, robustness at the expense of solution accuracy relative to the k-ε and other two-equation models typically employed in CFD simulations. For applications – particularly, initial design – in which absolute accuracy is a lower priority, a zero-equation model is appropriate. We assess several zero-equation models for the thermal modeling of large electronics enclosures (e.g., shipping container size). Comparisons are made between the zero-equation models and benchmark 2D and 3D reference scenarios. Researchers recommend a specific zero-equation model for our target applications and discuss its performance relative to the k-ε model.

Chilled beam systems provide sensible cooling in the occupied space using chilled water flowing through modular beams mounted to a ceiling. Such systems achieve greater energy efficiency than all-air system due to larger thermal energy of the chilled water than air, and thus are well-suited for spaces with relatively large sensible cooling load. This paper presents a numerically based study focusing on the performance of combined passive chilled beam (PB) systems. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, the amount of sensible cooling by PB and its impacts on ventilation effectiveness and occupant comfort in a typical office room are investigated.