How to Determine Coupled Heat and Mass Transfer Coefficients Scientifically Between Air and Liquid Desiccant

In traditional heat transfer process, the heat transfer coefficient can be determined experimentally with the known mean temperature difference of the process, which can be calculated by conventional logarithmic mean method. Coupled heat and mass transfer process is significantly different from traditional heat transfer process. The question is, the conventional method could be used as reference for the determination of coupled heat and mass transfer coefficients between air and liquid desiccant or not. This paper will focus on the issue, (1) to discuss the possible error of the coupled heat and mass coefficients determined by the logarithmic mean temperature difference method if traditional determination method of heat transfer coefficient is adoptable; (2) to conduct quantitative analysis of the error in different flow configurations between air and liquid desiccant; (3) to find out the scientific method to determine the coupled heat and mass transfer coefficients. Based on the new method to determine the coupled heat and mass transfer coefficients, this study would also conduct experiment study and provide the original data for the evaluation method to develop the characteristic of effects of operational parameters on the coupled heat and mass transfer coefficients. The result of this study will disclose the effect of both dynamic parameters (air velocity and liquid desiccant velocity) and status parameters (mass concentration and temperature of liquid desiccant and air) on the heat and mass transfer coefficients, which will be very useful to develop the correlations of heat and mass transfer coefficients in liquid desiccant dehumidification and regeneration