Design of Regenerative Heat Exchangers

Rotary regenerators are used widely for energy recovery, both in industrial and air-conditioning applications, because of the advantages they have over other types of heat exchangers. In this study, a mathematical model for the design of rotary regenerators is presented. The method is valid for all kinds of channel geometries that form the matrix of a rotary regenerator and can be used for all rotational speeds. The validity of the method is tested with the experimental and numerical results available for rotational speeds between 0.05 and 7 rev/min. A good agreement between the model and the experimental numerical results is obtained. The method presented can therefore be recommended for the safe design of rotary regenerators.