Solar air heater is a type of heat exchanger which transforms solar radiation into heat energy. The thermal performance of conventional solar air heater has been found to be poor because of the low convective heat transfer coefficient from the absorber plate to the air. It is attributed to the formation of a very thin boundary layer at the absorber plate surface commonly known as viscous sub-la...

In this paper double flow packed bed solar air heater has been investigated theoretically. The effect of air mass flow rate, porosity and different depth ratios at study state conditions on the thermal performance of a double flow packed bed solar air heater is found by using the alternative simulation system. Comparisons between the measured thermal and effective thermal efficiency of the doub...

In this article, a numerical investigation is conducted to analyze the two-dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes flows through the artificially roughened solar air heater for relevant Reynolds number ranges from 3800 to 18,000. Twelve different configurations of equilateral triangular sectioned rib (P/e = 7.14–35.71 and e/d = 0.021–0.042) have been used as roughness element. The governing eq...

Related Articles Heat transfer and friction factor of solar air heater having duct roughened artificially with discrete multiple v-ribs J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 033103 (2012) Heat transfer and friction characteristics of dimple-shaped roughness element arranged in angular fashion (arc) on the absorber plate of solar air heater J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023112 (2012) Experimen...

Solar desiccant cooling is widely considered as an attractive replacement for conventional vapor compression air conditioning systems because of its environmental friendliness and energy efficiency advantages. The system performance of solar desiccant cooling strongly depends on the input parameters associated with the system components, such as the solar collector, storage tank and backup heat...

Abstract—This paper deals with the analytical investigation of thermal and thermohydraulic performance of double flow solar air heaters with corrugated and flat plate absorber. A mathematical model of double flow solar air heater has been presented, and a computer program in C++ language is developed to estimate the outlet temperature of air for the evaluation of thermal and thermohydraulic eff...

Solar energy is a good option among renewable energy resources due to its easy availability and abundance. The simplest and most efficient way to utilize solar energy is to convert it into thermal energy and this can be done with the help of solar collectors. The thermal performance of such collectors is poor due to less heat transfer from the collector surface to air. In this work, experimenta...

A mathematical model for computing the thermal performance of an air heater with a truncated compound parabolic concentrator having a flat one-sided absorber is presented. A computer code that employs an iterative solution procedure is constructed to solve the governing energy equations and to estimate the performance parameters of the collector. The effects of the air mass flow rate, the wind ...

The present work represents a theoretical investigation of the performance of a solar air-heated desalination system using humidification-dehumidification (HDH) technique based on closed-water, open-air cycle under the geographical conditions of Dhahran (26.5°N, 50.2°E), Saudi Arabia. The HDH desalination system is suitable for small-scale decentralized fresh water production. It essentially co...

This paper presents the study of fluid flow and heat transfer in a plain rectangular duct of a solar air heater by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The effect of Reynolds number on heat transfer coefficient and friction factor was investigated. A commercial finite volume package ANSYS FLUENT 12.1 is used to analyze and visualize the nature of the flow across the duct of a solar air hea...