Liquid desiccant air conditioner modules having aerodynamic features

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system comprising:

• a refrigerant sub-system;
• and
• an air treatment sub-system comprising a three-way heat exchanger operable to transfer heat between a heat transfer fluid, a liquid desiccant, and air, the HVAC system operable to circulate the heat transfer fluid between the three-way heat exchanger and the refrigerant sub-system, wherein the three-way heat exchanger comprises:
• an airflow inlet and an airflow outlet;
• and
• panel assemblies arranged with airflow gaps defined between adjacent panel assemblies to allow the air to flow between the airflow inlet and the airflow outlet in an airflow direction, each panel assembly comprising:
• a frame defining a heat transfer fluid channel for channeling a flow of the heat transfer fluid through the panel assembly, wherein the frame has a leading edge proximate the airflow inlet and a trailing edge proximate the airflow outlet;
• and
• a membrane positioned on the frame and defining a desiccant channel for a flow of the liquid desiccant;
• wherein the leading edges of the frames of the panel assemblies each include a leading edge aerodynamic feature.

A method of operating a three-way heat exchanger, the method comprising:

• channeling a heat transfer fluid through panel assemblies of the three-way heat exchanger, wherein each panel assembly includes a frame defining a heat transfer fluid channel through which the heat transfer fluid is channeled;
• channeling a liquid desiccant through desiccant channels of the panel assemblies defined between the frames of the panel assemblies and membranes attached to the frames;
• channeling air through the three-way heat exchanger in an airflow direction, wherein the air flows through airflow gaps defined between adjacent panel assemblies;
• and
• controlling a pressure drop of the air flowing through the airflow gaps in the airflow direction using aerodynamic features of the frames of the panel assemblies.