Seletani, RofhiwaBaloyi, Andrew A2026-01-152026-01-152025-12doi:10.1088/1742-6596/3136/1/012010http://hdl.handle.net/10204/14599Managing humidity is crucial in the operation of electronic and electro-optical products. Excessive moisture buildup inside the enclosures of electro-optical devices, such as cameras and telescopes, can lead to system malfunctions and eventual mission failures. Thus, incorporating humidity control measures is crucial throughout the design, manufacturing, and operational phases of electro-optical systems. There is increasing interest in utilising micro-dehumidifiers for humidity control due to their compact size, energy efficiency, environmentally friendly nature, cost-effectiveness, and silent operation. However, most recent studies have focused on developing prototype devices. As a result, there is a lack of research examining the performance of commercially available microdehumidifiers. In this paper, the effectiveness of commercially available Rosahl MicroDehumidifiers in managing humidity in enclosed camera housings was investigated. The paper further investigated the leak rate of the Dehumidifier’s Solid Polymer Electrolyte (SPE) membrane to Nitrogen and Argon gases under 5%, 10% and 15% above atmospheric pressures. The latter investigation was conducted to establish whether the Rosahl MicroDehumidifiers can be utilised in pressurised electro-optical housings. An Experimental Test Rig was designed by modifying a commercially off-the-shelf housing to integrate a Rosahl Micro-Dehumidifier and fit temperature, humidity, and pressure sensors. The findings indicated that Rosahl Micro-Dehumidifiers effectively decrease humidity within enclosed housings. However, the rate at which humidity is removed depends on the humidity gradient and the time of day. At higher humidity levels, the humidity removal rate was found to be strongly dependent on humidity concentration between the interior and exterior of the housing, i.e., the higher the humidity inside the housing, the higher the removal rate. It was also observed that the humidity removal rate varied based on the time of day. The humidity removal rate was higher between Late Morning and Late Afternoon periods and lower between Late Afternoon and Early Morning. These findings could be attributed to the differences in vapour pressures of the moisture within the housing between those time intervals, i.e. the vapour pressure is higher between Late Morning and Late Afternoon, whereas it is lower between Late Afternoon and Early Morning. The results from the leak rate investigation suggested that the SPE membrane of the Rosahl Micro-Dehumidifier has a high leak rate to both Nitrogen and Argon under pressurised conditions. However, the leak rate of Nitrogen was slightly higher than that of Argon under the same pressure conditions. The higher leak rate of Nitrogen could be attributed to its smaller molecular size when compared to Argon. The Rosahl Micro-Dehumidifiers proved to be effective in removing humidity from sealed housings. However, they are not suitable for use in pressurised housings where pressure shall be maintained above atmospheric pressure.FulltextenRosahl Micro-DehumidifierManaging humidityMicro-dehumidificationElectrochemical dehumidifiersConference Presentationn/a