Abstract

To advance the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality alongside the global energy transition, energy conservation and carbon reduction in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems have garnered widespread attention. Dew-point evaporative cooling (DPEC) represents a promising energy-efficient cooling technology, whose performance is strongly governed by the water supply strategy. This study presents a systematic comparison of falling-film and atomization water supply modes on a counter-flow DPEC test bench featuring 3D-printed palm fiber filament walls. Experiments were conducted over inlet air temperatures of 32–50 °C, velocities of 1.3–4.0 m/s, and a range of water supply temperatures. The results demonstrate that the falling-film mode yields 15–25% higher dew-point efficiency than the atomization mode under baseline operating conditions. Water supply temperature (15–30 °C) exerts a negligible influence on falling-film cooling performance. The hybrid falling-film–atomization mode achieves the highest cooling capacity in the medium-to-low air velocity range, with a maximum wet-bulb efficiency of 1.15, while the falling-film mode yields the highest COP of up to 2.2. These findings offer experimental guidance for optimizing water supply strategies in fiber-wall DPEC systems.

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