Abstract
In the present study, the performances of a fin-tube evaporator and three PF evaporators for a heat pump dryer were experimentally investigated. Among the tested evaporators, the PF3 type evaporator showed the highest values of heat transfer capacity and dehumidification performance, while the fin-tube evaporator had the lowest values. PF3 showed better performance compared to PF1 and PF2, due to the large pin pitch, which leads to more draining for dehumidified water. Also, the $45^{\circ}$ inclined PF evaporator presented better performance than that of the $90^{\circ}$ inclined PF evaporator, owing to its easier draining characteristics. The effect of air velocity was revealed to be quite large. When the air velocity increased by 20%, the heat transfer capacity and dehumidification performance increased 43%/11%, 48%/13% and 54%/23% for PF1, PF2 and PF3, respectively.
