Pankool rotary heat exchanger total heat recovery wheel

A rotating heat exchanger (wheel) is a type of energy recovery heat exchanger positioned within the supply and exhaust air streams of an air-handling system.

Pankool brand rotary heat exchangers consist of an aluminum heat wheel, case, drive system and sealing parts. The heat wheel rotates powered by the drive system. supported by a casing of galvanized steel. The wheel is rotated by a small electric motor and belt drive system. In one half of the rotation, the exhaust air from the inside space flows through the matrix. Its heat is stored in the matrix and in the other half of the rotation, it is transferred to the fresh supply air coming from the outside.

The wheel is built up by a matrix that consists of two foils, one flat and one corrugated, together they create channels for the air to pass through. The size of the channel is called cell height.

Different cell heights and diameters of the wheel give different efficiencies, pressure drops and airflow rates.

In corrosive environments, the matrix is usually protected by a layer of epoxy. For humidity transfer, the matrix is either coated partially or entirely with silica gel or molecular sieve.

Leakage between the exhaust and supply air is reduced by sealing and in some cases also by adding a purge sector. However, some leakage cannot be fully prevented.

Working Principle

Rotary recovery wheel is composed of alveolate heat wheel, case, drive system and sealing parts. The exhaust and outdoor air pass through half of the wheel separately, when the wheel rotates, the heat and moisture are exchanged between the exhaust and outdoor air. The energy recovery efficiency is up to 72% to 91%.

Wheel Materials
The sensible heat wheel is made by aluminum foils of 0.04mm thickness.
And the total heat wheel is made by aluminum foils coated with 3A molecular sieve of 0.04mm thickness.
1. flute height of 1.6-2.5mm offers high capacity

2. available in non standard sizes

 Aluminum foil, our thinnest foil is only 2.9dmm, it can accelerate thermal conversion

Wheel Construction
The wheel of the rotary heat exchanger is made of alternating layers of flat and corrugated aluminum foil to form the alveolate shape. Various height of corrugation is available. Flat surface ensures minimum leakage.
Interior spokes are used to mechanically bond the rotor’s laminations. These are threaded at the hub and welded at the periphery.

Laminar Flow Channels
The wave type structure of the wheel forms narrow channels in the direction of air flow. The air flow forms a laminar flow inside the wheel when passing through it. When the wheel rotates, dust won’t accumulate on the channel since outdoor air and exhaust air respectively flow through the channels from two directions. This is called self-cleaning.

Positioning of Fan and Wheel
The cleaning effect of the purge sector is bound up with the fan position and static pressure difference between outdoor air side and exhaust air side. When the pressure difference is less than 200pa, the cleaning effect is not guaranteed.
 

Specifications and dimensions

Application

Rotary heat exchanger can built in air handling unit(AHU) as a main part of the heat recovery section.