Entropic analysis of adsorption open cycles for air conditioning. Part 1: first and second law analyses

Rotary desiccant units for air-conditioning and ventilation use the princip le of adsorption open cycles. In this study, a thermodynamic analysis is fi rst developed that emphasises the open character of the cycle, and especial ly the consumption of liquid water. Then, the system is 'closed' with the h elp of virtual open systems that exchange mass hows with the cooling unit a nd only heat fluxes with heat sources. The entropic analysis is developed, first for these virtual systems showing that they are irreversible, second for each component of the unit where heat losses are taken into account. Th e equations are derived in such a manner that the different irreversibiliti es can directly be compared. In addition, the concept of entropic mean temp erature is introduced and applied to the two virtual systems because it is very helpful for representing the variations of the entropy productions in these systems. In Part 2, these analyses will be applied to experimental da ta showing that they bring lots of information. Copyright (C) 2000 John Wil ey & Sons, Ltd.