Numerical simulation of flat plate solar air heater with optimal absorber effect and double glazed glass

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.

Abstract

Due to the low efficiency of these air heaters, methods such as the use of expanded surfaces on the absorber, the use of thicker glass, the use of porous media, and geometric changes on the absorber plate (waving the absorber plate with different patterns) can be used. In this numerical research, an attempt is made to investigate the geometrical changes created on the solar air heater with the computational fluid dynamics method compare the result with the conducted research, and select the optimal mode. By adding several baffles to the air heater, the output temperature and as a result the overall efficiency of the air heater increased. The optimization of changing the air gap (thickness) and single and double-pane glass was investigated. The results show that the most optimal thickness for the flat plate solar air heater is about 15 to 18 cm thick and the efficiency in the case of double glazed glass is many times higher than that of single glazed glass.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

 [1] M. S. Barghi Jahromi and M. Iranmanesh, "Experimental investigation on the use of PCM in a pistachio solar dryer by the evacuated heat pipe solar collector," Journal of Pistachio Science and Technology, vol. 3, pp. 73-87, 2019.
[2] M. S. B. Jahromi, V. Kalantar, M. Sefid, H. S. Akhijahani, and M. Iranmanesh, "Energy and exergy analysis of an unglazed transpired collector connected to a dryer with a porous plate and phase change material," Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 60, p. 106693, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2023.106693
[3] M. Yang, X. Yang, X. Li, Z. Wang, and P. Wang, "Design and optimization of a solar air heater with offset strip fin absorber plate," Applied Energy, vol. 113, pp. 1349–1362, Sep, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.08.091
[4] M. A. Wazed, Y. Nukman, and M. T. Islam, “Design and fabrication of a cost effective solar air heater for Bangladesh,” Applied Energy, vol. 87, no. 10, pp. 3030–3036, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2010.02.014
[5] N. Varun and N. Siddhartha, “Thermal performance optimization of a flat plate solar air heater using genetic algorithm,” Applied Energy, vol. 87, no. 5, pp. 1793–1799, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2009.10.015
[6] R. S. Gill, S. Singh, and P. P. Singh, “Low cost solar air heater,” Energy Conversion and Management, vol. 57, pp. 131–142, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2011.12.019
[7] M. Ahmadi, H. Samimi-Akhijahani, and P. Salami, “Thermo-economic and drying kinetic analysis of Oleaster using a solar dryer integrated with phase change materials and recirculation system,” Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 68, p. 107351, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2023.107351
[8] M. B. Jahromi, V. Kalantar, and M. Abdolrezaie, “Experimental study of effect of storage phase change materials (PCM) on the function of a passive solar ventilator,” Modares Mechanical Engineering, vol. 20, no. 7, pp. 1709–1717, 2020. (In Persian) http://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.10275940.1399.20.7.23.6
[9] M. S. B. Jahromi, V. Kalantar, and H. Samimi-Akhijahani, “Evaluation of performance, energy, and exergy analysis of a solar parabolic dish collector connected to a dryer with nanofluid and PCM,” Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 98, p. 112969, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2024.112969
[10] C. D. Ho, H. M. Yeh, T. W. Cheng, T. C. Chen, and R. C. Wang, “The influences of recycle on performance of baffled double-pass flat-plate solar air heaters with internal fins attached,” Applied Energy, vol. 86, no. 9, pp. 1470–1478, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2008.12.013
[11] W. Gao, W. Lin, T. Liu, and C. Xia, “Analytical and experimental studies on the thermal performance of cross-corrugated and flat-plate solar air heaters,” Applied Energy, vol. 84, no. 4, pp. 425–441, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2006.02.005
[12] R. Fattoum, A. Hidouri, M. E. H. Attia, M. Arıcı, and M. A. Abbassi, “Optimization of solar air heaters performance using parallel porous wire mesh: energy, exergy, and enviro-economic analyses,” Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, vol. 48, p. 102385, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsep.2024.102385
[13] V. Singh, V. S. Yadav, V. Trivedi, M. Kumar, and N. Kumar, “Application of response surface methodology for analysing and optimizing the Finned solar air heater,” Journal of Thermal Science, vol. 33, pp. 985–1009, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-024-1934-z
[14] V. S. Korpale, S. P. Deshmukh, C. S. Mathpati, and V. H. Dalvi, “Numerical simulations and optimization of solar air heaters,” Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 180, p. 115744, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.115744
[15] M. S. B. Jahromi, V. Kalantar, M. Sefid, M. Iranmanesh, and H. Samimi Akhijahani, “Thermofluid Numerical simulation of the flat solar heating transpired collector for drying purposes,” Journal of Applied and Computational Sciences in Mechanics, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 61-80, 2022. (In Persian) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.115744
[16] H. Parsa, M. Saffar-Avval, and M. R. Hajmohammadi, “3D simulation and parametric optimization of a solar air heater with a novel staggered cuboid baffles,” International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, vol. 205, p. 106607, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2021.106607
[17] M. S. W. Potgieter, C. R. Bester, and M. Bhamjee, “Experimental and CFD investigation of a hybrid solar air heater,” Solar Energy, vol. 195, pp. 413–428, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2019.11.058
[18] A. Heydari and M. Mesgarpour, “Experimental analysis and numerical modeling of solar air heater with helical flow path,” Solar Energy, vol. 162, pp. 278–288, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.01.030
[19] M. Akhbari, A. Rahimi, and M. S. Hatamipour, “Modeling and experimental study of a triangular channel solar air heater,” Applied Thermal Engineering, vol. 170, p. 114902, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2020.114902
[20] A. E. A. Abdulmejeed, A. D. Tuncer, A. Khanlari, and A. Gungor, “Investigation of combined parallel and triple-pass v-corrugated solar air heater: A numerical and experimental study,” Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 185, pp. 1385–1398, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2024.03.107
[21] J. S. Prasad, A. Datta, and S. Mondal, “Flow and thermal behavior of solar air heater with grooved roughness,” Renewable Energy, vol. 220, p. 119698, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.119698
[22] M. Iranmanesh, H. S. Akhijahani, and M. S. B. Jahromi, “CFD modeling and evaluation the performance of a solar cabinet dryer equipped with evacuated tube solar collector and thermal storage system,” Renewable Energy, vol. 145, pp. 1192–1213, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.06.038
[23] M. S. B. Jahromi, V. Kalantar, H. S. Akhijahani, H. Kargarsharifabad, and S. Shoeibi, “Performance analysis of a new solar air ventilator with phase change material: Numerical simulation, techno-economic and environmental analysis,” Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 62, p. 106961, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2023.106961
[24] M. S. Barghi Jahromi, V. Kalantar, and M. Omidpanah, "Numerical Simulation of Indirect Cabinet Solar Dryer by spraying of Water Droplets in Yazd Climate," Karafan Quarterly Scientific Journal, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 523-544, 2022. (In Persian). https://www.doi.org/10.48301/KSSA.2021.292394.1594
[25] M. S. Barghi Jahromi, M. Iranmanesh, and H. S. Akhijahani, "Thermo-Economic evaluation of a solar dryer with evacuated heat pipe collector and energy storage," Journal of Applied and Computational Sciences in Mechanics, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 39-58, 2021. (In Persian). https://doi.org/10.22067/jacsm.2021.56640.0
[26] H. S. Akhijahani, P. Salami, M. Iranmanesh, and M. S. B. Jahromi, "Experimental study on the solar drying of Rhubarb (Rheum ribes L.) with parabolic trough collector assisted with air recycling system, nanofluid and energy storage system," Journal of Energy Storage, vol. 60, p. 106451, Jan. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2022.106451
[27] J. Hu, K. Liu, L. Ma, and X. Sun, "Parameter optimization of solar air collectors with holes on baffle and analysis of flow and heat transfer characteristics," Solar Energy, vol. 174, pp. 878–887, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2018.09.075
[28] C.-E. Bensaci, A. Moummi, F. J. S. De La Flor, E. A. R. Jara, A. Rincon-Casado, and A. Ruiz-Pardo, "Numerical and experimental study of the heat transfer and hydraulic performance of solar air heaters with different baffle positions," Renewable Energy, vol. 155, pp. 1231–1244, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.04.017
[29] S. Tamna, S. Skullong, C. Thianpong, and P. Promvonge, "Heat transfer behaviors in a solar air heater channel with multiple V-baffle vortex generators," Solar Energy, vol. 110, pp. 720–735, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2014.10.020
[30] S. Sharma, R. K. Das, and K. Kulkarni, "Computational and experimental assessment of solar air heater roughened with six different baffles," Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, vol. 27, p. 101350, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csite.2021.101350
[31] A. Subiantoro and K. T. Ooi, "Analytical models for the computation and optimization of single and double glazing flat plate solar collectors with normal and small air gap spacing," Applied Energy, vol. 104, pp. 392–399, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.11.009
[32] R. Vaziri, M. Ilkan, and F. Egelioglu, "Experimental performance of perforated glazed solar air heaters and unglazed transpired solar air heater," Solar Energy, vol. 119, pp. 251–260, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2015.06.043
 
  
 
  
 
Send comment about this article
CAPTCHA Image

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics