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Energy
EnergyProcedia
Procedia160 (2019) 000–000
00 (2017) 100–107
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia
2nd International Conference on Energy and Power, ICEP2018, 13–15 December 2018,
2nd International Conference on Energy and
Sydney, Power, ICEP2018, 13–15 December 2018,
Australia
Sydney, Australia
Evaluation of cooling capability of an eco-cooler: experimental and
Evaluation The
of cooling capability
15th International Symposium of an eco-cooler:
on District Heating andexperimental
Cooling and
numerical analyses
numerical analyses
Assessing the feasibility of using the heat demand-outdoor
Abid Hossain Khan *, Zayed Ahmedb, Md. Shafiqul Islama, Angkush Kumar Ghoshb
a,

temperature
Abid function
Hossain Khan a,
*, Zayedfor Ahmeda long-term
b
, Md. Shafiqul district
Islamaheat
, Angkushdemand
Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
a
Kumarforecast
Ghoshb
b
Department
a of Mechanical
Department of NuclearEngineering,
Engineering,Sonargaon
UniversityUniversity
of Dhaka, (SU), Dhaka-1212,
Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
b a,b,c
I. Andrić *, A. Pina , P. Ferrão , J. Fournier ., B. Lacarrière , O. Le Correc
a a b c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sonargaon University (SU), Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh

Abstracta
IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
b
Abstract Veolia Recherche & Innovation, 291 Avenue Dreyfous Daniel, 78520 Limay, France
c
In this work, Département
the capabilitySystèmes Énergétiques
of reducing room et Environnement
air temperature - IMT Atlantique,
using 4 rue Alfred
four conical shapedKastler, 44300 Nantes,
eco-coolers Franceinvestigated
has been
experimentally.
In this work, the Thecapability
eco-coolers have inletroom
of reducing and outlet diameters ofusing
air temperature 24.67fourmmconical
and 92.67 mm eco-coolers
shaped respectively has
and been
they have a taper
investigated
angle of 7.62°. The
experimentally. Theexperiments
eco-coolerswere haveconducted for five
inlet and outlet consecutive
diameters days from
of 24.67 mm and29th92.67
May to mm2ndrespectively
June 2018 (local
and theyevening
havetime) in
a taper
aangle
confined room
of 7.62 °. Thewhere the recorded
experiments room air temperatures
were conducted were 28-30
for five consecutive °C. A low
days from power
29th May to 2consuming
nd June 2018 external fan (5 W)
(local evening time) was
in
Abstract
aemployed
confinedtoroom forcewhere
air flowthethrough
recordedtheroom
inlets air
of the eco-coolers.
temperatures From
were the experimental
28-30 results,
°C. A low power it has beenexternal
consuming observed fanthat
(5 itW)is only
was
possible
employedtotoreduceforce airtheflow
outlet air temperature
through the inlets ofupthetoeco-coolers.
0.2 °C when the the
From inletexperimental
air velocityresults,
is in the range
it has ofobserved
been 0.12-0.14thatm/sit is
with
onlya
District heating networks are commonly addressed in °the literature as one of the most effective solutions for decreasing the
negligibletoairreduce
possible workingthe pressure
outlet airdifference of 10upPa.
temperature toThe
0.2 performance
C when theofinletan eco-cooler
air velocityforissimilar
in the experimental inlet airm/s
range of 0.12-0.14 velocities
with a
greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat
(0.1-0.4 m/s)
negligible air and practically
working pressure observed air working
difference of 10 Pa.pressure differencesofcreated
The performance by a regular
an eco-cooler fan (25-800
for similar Pa) hasinlet
experimental also air
been studied
velocities
sales. Due to the changed climate conditions and building renovation policies, heat demand in the future could decrease,
with the m/s)
(0.1-0.4 help and
of numerical
practically simulation. Results
observed air frompressure
working numerical simulation
differences indicate
created by that the maximum
a regular fan (25-800achievable temperature
Pa) has also drop
been studied
prolonging the° investment return period.
is around
with 0.34ofCnumerical
the help to feel human-skin
simulation.comfortable,
Results fromkeeping the outlet
numerical air velocity
simulation indicatewithin 13 maximum
that the m/s. achievable temperature drop
The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand – outdoor temperature function for heat demand
is around 0.34 °C to feel human-skin comfortable, keeping the outlet air velocity within 13 m/s.
forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665
© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
© buildings that vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
© 2019
This is an
2018 The Authors.
open
The accessPublished
Authors. article under
Published by
by Elsevier Ltd.
the CC BY-NC-ND
Elsevier Ltd. license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
renovation
This is an openscenarios
access were developed
article under the (shallow,
CC BY-NC-ND intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were
license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection
This is an and
openpeer-review
access article under
underresponsibility
the CC BY-NC-ND of the scientific committee of the 2nd International Conference on Energy and
license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection
comparedand with peer-review
results from under responsibility
a dynamic heat demandof themodel,
scientific committee
previously of the and
developed 2ndvalidated
International
by theConference
authors. on Energy and
Power,
Selection ICEP2018.
and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 2nd International Conference on Energy and
Power, ICEP2018.
The results showed that when only weather change is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications
Power, ICEP2018.
(the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation
Keywords: Energy Efficiency; Eco-cooler; Zero energy consumption; Temperature drop; Air velocity
scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered).
Keywords: Energy Efficiency; Eco-cooler; Zero energy consumption; Temperature drop; Air velocity
The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the
decrease in the number of heating hours of 22-139h during the heating season (depending on the combination of weather and
renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending on the
coupled scenarios). The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and
improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations.

© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +880-1775-848295;
Cooling.
E-mail address:khanabidhossain@gmail.com
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +880-1775-848295;
E-mail address:khanabidhossain@gmail.com
Keywords: Heat demand; Forecast; Climate change
1876-6102© 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open
1876-6102© access
2018 Thearticle under
Authors. the CC by
Published BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Elsevier Ltd.
Selection
This is an and
openpeer-review under
access article responsibility
under of the scientific
the CC BY-NC-ND licensecommittee of the 2nd International Conference on Energy and Power, ICEP2018.
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 2nd International Conference on Energy and Power, ICEP2018.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
1876-6102 © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 2nd International Conference on Energy and Power, ICEP2018.
10.1016/j.egypro.2019.02.124
 Abid Hossain Khan et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 100–107 101
2 Abid Hossain Khan et. al./ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

Introduction

With the increasing demand of power and decreasing inventory of fuels, the researchers and scientists are
working day and night to find a solution for energy crisis. Until a new and sustainable source of energy is
discovered, it is necessary to use energy in an efficient and conservative way. From this idea, the concept of “energy
efficiency” has emerged [1, 2]. However, only increasing the efficiency of energy consumption is not sufficient to
reduce total energy consumption per annum by the people of a country. With the increase in efficiency of energy
consumption, the effective price per unit of energy sources and associated services decreases. This may develop the
tendency of consuming more energy than before, resulting in a “rebound effect” [3, 4]. Therefore, researchers have
been trying to develop mechanically driven devices with zero electricity consumption for quite a while.
One of the major areas of energy consumption is air conditioning system. The demand of energy for air
conditioning system is getting severe among the developing countries day by day. With the increase in income, this
demand is increasing rapidly [5]. Studies have shown that the annual energy demand for air conditioning systems
may increase substantially in some metropolitan cities of developing countries by the year 2030. In Mumbai, this
energy demand is expected to become 24% of the overall energy demand of USA [6]. Even in some high income
countries in middle-east Asia, the use of air conditioning systems is inevitable due to weather conditions. Saudi
Arabia has consumed around 52% of the total electricity generated in the last decade in order to survive the burning
heat [7]. All these reasons have encouraged the invention of zero electricity consumption coolers. Eco-cooler is
believed to be such an invention. It is invented by Ashis Paul, an employee of Grameen Intel and the product is
developed by Grey Group, a company of New York, USA, especially for the third world countries [8]. It is made of
used pet bottles and it is claimed to be able to decrease room temperature up to 5 0C without consuming any
electricity. The validity of this claim is put to the test in this work.
The inventor has stated that this new and revolutionary cooler works on “Joule-Thomson effect”, a very well-
known effect in classical physics. However, the Joule-Thomson effect is observed under a very high pressure
gradient where a gas flows in a very high velocity through a small opening. As a consequence, the temperature of the
gas drops and in some cases, the gas converts into liquid [9-11]. In case of air, the constituents of air become liquid
because of this temperature drop. This is, however, not the case for eco-cooler since the pressure gradient across the
cooler is very low (10-800 Pa). As a result, it is difficult to compare the working principle of an eco-cooler with that
of Joule-Thomson effect. However, it does follow the laws of compressible fluid flow where the temperature of the
fluid decreases as it flows through a converging nozzle [12]. As a result, it is expected that there may be temperature
drop due to use of an eco-cooler, although it may not be as much as that observed in typical applications of Joule-
Thomson effect [13-15].
This study analyzes the performance of an eco-cooler in creating significant temperature drop. This has been done
with the aid of both experimental and numerical methods. The increase in velocity of air at the outlet is also studied
in this work.

Nomenclature

P Pressure (kPa)
T Temperature (K)
ρ Density (kg/m3)
µ Dynamic Viscosity (kg/m.s)
k Thermal Conductivity (W/m.K)
τ Viscous Stress (Pa)
f Body Force per Unit Mass (N)
M Mach number
⃛
𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄 Rate of Heat Generation per Unit Volume (W/m3)
𝑞𝑞𝑞𝑞̈ Heat Flux (W/m2)
𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚̇ Mass Flow Rate (kg/s)
A Cross-sectional Area (m2)
h Specific Enthalpy (kJ/kg)
102 Abid Hossain Khan et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 100–107
Abid Hossain Khan et. al./ EnergyProcedia 00 (2018) 000–000 3

v Instantaneous Velocity (m/s)

u Velocity Field (m/s)
c Speed of Sound (m/s)
R Ideal Gas Constant (0.287 kJ/kg.K for air)
k Specific Heat Ratio (1.4 for air)
CP Specific Heat Capacity at Constant Pressure (kJ/kg.K)

1. Methodology of the Study

1.1. Experimental Setup

The experimental setup consists of four conical shaped eco-coolers made of tin that are mounted on a box shaped
structure as shown in Fig.2. The dimensions and arrangement of the eco-coolers are given in Fig.1. There is a fan
fixed at the rare portion of the structure. The fan is used to develop pressure sufficient to induce flow through the
eco-coolers, as shown in Fig.2. There are holes on the rare side so that the fan can suck air from outside. The whole
box is covered with Aluminum foil-backed Polyurethane foam in order to reduce heat loss from the system.
It is to be noted that the shape of the eco-coolers is modified in this setup. In the original design, the eco-coolers
are made from used pet bottles. In this experiment, the shape is changed for reducing manufacturing difficulty as
well as creating options for changing the dimensions of the coolers for further study. From the knowledge of the
theory of isentropic flow through nozzle, it is known that the temperature, density and velocity at the outlet are
theoretically independent of the shape of the nozzle. Therefore, the modification in the shape should not pose any
threat to the accuracy of the results of the experiment.
The fan used for creating air flow through the eco-coolers has 5 W rated power consumption. The fan has a blade
length of 10 cm with 24.5 cm peripheral diameter. A 12 V battery supplies power to the fan. The maximum flow rate
of the fan is around 645 m3/h. The fan operates at maximum pressure difference of 10 Pa. The average velocity
obtained for the fan during the experiment is in the range of 3.15-3.3 m/s. However, the velocity of air flow at the
inlet of the eco-coolers is reduced greatly due to the sudden change in flow area, resulting in air inlet velocity in the
range of 0.12-0.14 m/s only.

(a) (b)
Fig. 1. (a) Dimensions of the eco-cooler; (b) arrangement of the eco-coolers on the box. (All dimensions are in mm)

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 2. (a) Top view of the experimental setup; (b) positioning of the eco-coolers; (c) attachment of fan at the rare side.
 Abid Hossain Khan et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 100–107 103
4 Abid Hossain Khan et. al./ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

The velocities of air at the outlet of the eco-coolers are measured with a standard anemometer. The temperature
drop is measured with a k-type thermocouple. The thermocouple can measure temperature accurately up to one
decimal point, which may seem low but is sufficient for this study.

1.2. Simulation Model

The effects of fan working pressure and air flow velocity are further studied with the help of numerical
simulation. Since the eco-cooler is axi-symmetric in nature, the simulations are done in 2D cylindrical coordinate
system. The simulations are conducted for laminar flow model using Comsol Multiphysics, a well-known
commercial simulation software. The simulated half-segment eco-cooler model and its generated mesh for Finite
Element Method (FEM) are shown in Fig.3. In this simulation model, triangular mesh elements are selected at the
inner regions while rectangular mesh elements are selected at the boundaries. This arrangement is most suited for the
physics that governs the process. The simulation model includes 13738 mesh elements among which 632 are
boundary elements.
It is assumed that the whole process is isentropic and there is no heat loss from the system. Therefore, the surface
boundaries of the eco-cooler are kept insulated in the simulation model. The pressure at the outlet of the eco-cooler
is taken to be atmospheric pressure while the velocity of air at the inlet is varied in the range of 0.1-0.4 m/s and the
inlet pressure is varied in the range of 25-800 kPa. Though the fan air flow velocity is usually much higher than this
range, it is assumed that the air velocity will decrease sharply due to the obstruction at the joint area between the
eco-cooler inlet and the supporting structure.

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 3. (a) Simulated half-segment eco-cooler model, (b) mesh arrangement, (c) magnified view of mesh arrangement.

2. Mathematical Modeling

2.1. Governing Equations for Compressible Fluid

Since the eco-cooler has air as its working fluid, the analysis should be done according to the laws of
compressible fluid flow. The heat and mass transfer of fluid follows the three fundamental equations; the continuity
equation, the momentum equation and the conservation of energy equation. These three equations are the basis of all
the numerical simulation models developed for analysis of fluid characteristics. The continuity equation for a
compressible fluid is given by Equation (1),
∂ρ
+ ∇. ( ρ u ) = 0 (1)
∂t
The momentum equation for compressible flow is also known as Navier-Stokes equation. It can be written in
different forms. One of the forms is shown in Equation (2),
 ∂u 
ρ + ( u.∇ ) u  = −∇P + ∇.τ + ρ f (2)
 ∂t 
104 Abid Hossain Khan et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 100–107
Abid Hossain Khan et. al./ EnergyProcedia 00 (2018) 000–000 5

If there is no body force apart from the weight of the fluid itself, f may be replaced by gravitational constant g.
The conservation of energy equation for a flowing compressible fluid is given by Equation (3),
ρ CP (u.∇T ) + ∇q  = µφ (3)
Where,
= (τ .∇ ) u
φ (4)
q=
 − k (∇T ) (5)
The density of the fluid at a specific point may be obtained from Equation (6),
P
ρ= (6)
RT

2.2. Isentropic flow through a converging nozzle

As stated earlier, the flow through the eco-cooler resembles the criteria of isentropic flow through a converging
nozzle if it is assumed that there is no heat loss in the cooler. From the mass balance for a steady one-dimensional
isentropic flow we obtain Equation (7),
m = ρ Av (7)
Since the mass flow rate is constant, the differentiation of Equation (7) and combining with Bernoulli’s equation,
we obtain Equation (8),
dA dP  1 d ρ 
= − (8)
A ρ  v 2 dP 
This equation may again be used to obtain Equation (9),
dA dv
=
A v
1− M 2 ( ) (9)

Equation (10) shows the change in velocity of flow with change in cross-sectional area. Here, the Mach number
M is given by Equation (10),
v
M= (10)
c
c = kRT (11)
The density, pressure and temperature of the fluid at any point are dependent on the Mach number and the
stagnation value of that parameter. The relationship between pressure, density and temperature of the fluid and Mach
number are given in Equation (12), (13) and (14),
k ( k −1)
P0   k − 1  2 
= 1+  M  (12)
P   2  
1 ( k −1)
ρ0   k − 1  2 
= 1+ M  (13)
ρ   2  
T0   k − 1  2 
= 1+  M  (14)
T   2  
The equations (Eq.12-14) may be used to calculate pressure, density and temperature at the outlet of the eco-
cooler if the inlet velocity and pressure are known. The mass flow rate 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚̇ may also be calculated from Equation (7)
after obtaining density and velocity from Equation (10) and (13).
 Abid Hossain Khan et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 100–107 105
6 Abid Hossain Khan et. al./ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

3. Results and Discussion

The experiments to identify the temperature drop across eco-coolers were done in the laboratory facility of
Sonargaon University (SU) in Dhaka. The velocity and temperature readings across the eco-cooler setup were taken
for five consecutive days starting from 29th May to 2nd June 2018 at 7:30 pm local time. The readings of the
experiments are presented in Table 1. From Table 1, it is observed that in most cases, the temperature drop across the
eco-coolers is hardly 0.2 0C while in most cases, no significant change is observed. The values are quite random and
therefore it may be assumed that the readings are not fully accurate. However, it can be stated with certainty that
there were no large temperature drop.
An interesting thing to note is that the velocity of air flow at the outlet is found to be only 1.1-1.8 m/s while the
fan average air flow velocity is 3.26 m/s. This is because of the head losses at the joint areas which has reduced the
eco-cooler air inlet velocity to less than 0.14 m/s.
In order to observe the effect of fan pressure and air inlet velocity on the performance of the eco-coolers,
numerical simulations have been conducted using Comsol Multiphysics software. In this study, laminar flow module
has been used for simulation. This should have, indeed, affected the internal temperature distribution and velocity
profile. However, it should not affect the accuracy of the results at the boundaries such as the inlet and outlet. As a
result, the model should give reasonable results at the outlet of the eco-coolers.

Table 1. Experimental data obtained from the eco-cooler setup.

Parameter 29th May 30th May 31st May 1st June 2nd June
Eco-cooler air inlet velocity 0.13 m/s 0.14 m/s 0.14 m/s 0.12 m/s 0.14 m/s
Room temperature 28.5 C
0
29.0 C
0
28.8 C
0
28.9 C0
29.2 0C
Outlet air velocity:
Eco-cooler 1 1.1 m/s 1.2 m/s 1.0 m/s 1.0 m/s 1.0 m/s
Eco-cooler 2 1.8 m/s 1.8 m/s 1.9 m/s 1.6 m/s 1.9 m/s
Eco-cooler 3 1.4 m/s 1.5 m/s 1.3 m/s 1.2 m/s 1.3 m/s
Eco-cooler 4 1.3 m/s 1.4 m/s 1.3 m/s 1.3 m/s 1.1 m/s
Outlet air temperature:
Eco-cooler 1 28.5 0C 29.0 0C 28.7 0C 28.8 0C 29.2 0C
Eco-cooler 2 28.4 0C 28.8 0C 28.7 0C 28.7 0C 29.1 0C
Eco-cooler 3 28.5 C
0
28.9 C
0
28.7 C
0
28.7 C0
29.2 0C
Eco-cooler 4 28.5 0C 29.0 0C 28.8 0C 28.8 0C 29.1 0C

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 4. Velocity profile inside the eco-cooler at 28 0C air inlet temperature and 0.1 m/s inlet velocity for pressure difference of (a) 200 Pa; (b) 400
Pa; (c) 800 Pa.
106 Abid Hossain Khan et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 100–107
Abid Hossain Khan et. al./ EnergyProcedia 00 (2018) 000–000 7

Table 2. Comparison among experimental, theoretical and simulated results.

Parameter Experiment [Table 1] Theory Simulation
Eco-cooler air inlet velocity 0.13 m/s 0.13 m/s 0.13 m/s
Pressure drop across eco-cooler 10 Pa 10 Pa 10 Pa
Average temperature drop 0.25 C
0
0.01 C 0
0.01 0C
Average air outlet velocity 1.4 m/s 3.94 m/s 3.01 m/s

A comparison among the experimental, theoretical, and the simulation results is shown in Table 2. From Table 2,
it is observed that the simulation results are very close to the theoretical values but they deviate from the
experimental results. This may have happened due to the limited accuracy of the thermocouple and anemometer used
in the experiment. The simulations have been conducted for three different air inlet velocities: 0.1 m/s, 0.2 m/s and
0.4 m/s. The pressure differences across the eco-coolers have been taken within the limit of 25-800 Pa and the inlet
air temperatures were varied from 28-44 0C. Fig.4. shows the velocity profile at different locations for 200 Pa, 400
Pa and 800 Pa pressure differences respectively. It is clearly observed that with the increase in pressure difference,
the velocity of air at the outlet of the eco-cooler increases drastically. This average air velocity from the outlet of the
eco-cooler is also presented in Fig.5. From Fig. 5, it is observed that for pressure difference greater than 400 Pa, the
average outlet air velocity becomes greater than 13 m/s. This is not acceptable since air velocity must be kept within
a comfortable limit (<13 m/s) to human body [16]. As a result, the pressure difference should be kept less than 400
Pa in order to satisfy the comfortable criteria.

30 30 30
vin=0.1m/s vin=0.2m/s vin=0.4m/s
Air outlet velocity (m/s)

Air outlet velocity (m/s)

Air outlet velocity (m/s)

25 25 25
25Pa 50Pa 100Pa
20 25Pa 50Pa 100Pa 20 25Pa 50Pa 100Pa 20 200Pa 400Pa 800Pa
200Pa 400Pa 800Pa 200Pa 400Pa 800Pa
15 15 15

10 10 10

5 5 5

0 0 0
25 30 35 40 45 25 30 35 40 45 25 30 35 40 45
Inlet Air Temperature (0C) Inlet Air Temperature (0C) Inlet Air Temperature (0C)
Fig.5. Average air outlet velocity vs. inlet air temperature curve for various pressure differences.

0.80 0.80 0.80

vin=0.1m/s vin=0.2m/s vin=0.4m/s
Temperature drop (0C)

Temperature drop (0C)

Temperature drop (0C)

0.60 25Pa 50Pa 0.60 25Pa 50Pa 0.60 25Pa

100Pa 200Pa 100Pa 200Pa 50Pa
100Pa
0.40 400Pa 800Pa 0.40 400Pa 800Pa 0.40 200Pa

0.20 0.20 0.20

0.00 0.00 0.00

25 30 35 40 45 25 30 35 40 45 25 30 35 40 45
Inlet Air Temperature (0C) Inlet Air Temperature (0C) Inlet Air Temperature (0C)
Fig. 6. Temperature drop vs. inlet air temperature curve for various pressure differences.
 Abid Hossain Khan et al. / Energy Procedia 160 (2019) 100–107 107
8 Abid Hossain Khan et. al./ Energy Procedia 00 (2018) 000–000

Fig.6. shows the total temperature drop across an eco-cooler with respect to inlet air temperature. From the
simulation results, it was observed that the temperature drop is almost independent of the inlet air velocity.
Therefore, it may be assumed that temperature drop is a function of pressure difference only. From Fig.6, it is also
clear that the temperature drop is well below 1 0C. It is only 0.34 0C for 400 Pa pressure drop even though the
velocity becomes very high at the outlet. As a result, the simulation results suggest an eco-cooler is not capable of
reducing the temperature significantly. The only way it can increase comfort of human body by increasing flow
velocity over the skin, what a conventional fan does always.

4. Conclusion

It is observed from the experiment that the possible temperature drop across an eco-cooler is somewhat within 0.2
0
C when the eco-cooler inlet air velocity is within 0.12-0.14 m/s and air working pressure difference is negligible.
The reasons for creating negligible air working pressure differences is due to employing a low power consumed
external fan (5 W). Since this outlet air will mix with the room air, which has a much larger volume compared to the
flow rate of the eco-cooler system, the room air temperature drop should be even smaller. Therefore, experimental
results indicate that the designed eco-cooler system is not suitable for reducing room air temperature to a significant
level. To verify the experimental results, numerical simulation has also been performed at experimented inlet air
velocities of 0.1-0.4 m/s and air working pressure differences of 25-800 Pa. In order to drop room air temperature
only 0.34 ºC, outlet air velocity of the eco-cooler must increase drastically (>13 m/s), which is not acceptable. Thus,
it may be stated that an eco-cooler system should not work well as a “zero electricity consumption” device although
it was designed to be so. The study may be extended to investigate the thermal performances on various shapes and
sizes of eco-cooler with conventional and evaporative cooling techniques from laminar to turbulent flow regimes.

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