Heat-transfer enhancement in double-pass flat-plate solar air heaters with recycle

This work theoretically and experimentally investigates a device for inserting an absorbing plate into the double-pass channel in a flat-plate solar air heater with recycle. This method substantially improves the collector efficiency by increasing the fluid velocity. The results are represented graphically and compared with a downward-type single-pass solar air heater. Considerable improvement in heat transfer is obtainable by employing recycle-type double-pass devices instead of single-pass devices or a conventional double-pass heater with the same flow rate. The absorbing plate location influence on heat-transfer efficiency enhancement and the hydraulic dissipated power increment is also discussed.     

Improvement in device performance of multi-pass flat-plate solar air heaters with external recycle

A study on improvement in device performance of multi-pass solar air heaters with external recycle has been carried out under countercurrent-flow operations. An absorbing plate and insulation sheet were inserted horizontally and vertically, respectively, into a parallel-plate channel to divide the open duct into four subchannels. The coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations were derived and solved numerically. The theoretical results show that the new device of four-pass flat-plate solar air heater with external recycle can enhance the heat transfer rate compared with that in an open conduit (without the vertical insulation sheet inserted and the absorbing plate glued on the bottom insulation plate, the so-called a downward-type single-pass solar air heater) under the same flow rate and working dimensions. The effects of inserting the absorbing plate and insulation sheet on the transfer efficiency enhancement as well as on the hydraulic dissipated power increment have been also discussed.     

Thermal and Thermohydraulic Efficiency of Recyclic-Type Double-Pass Solar Air Heaters With Fins and Baffles

This paper presents investigations related to the heat-transfer performance improvement of double-pass finned and finned with baffles solar air heaters. The analytical study has been carried out to see the effects of parameters such as mass flow rate, recycle ratio, fins thickness, number of fins, and baffles width on the heaters’ efficiencies. It is indicated that the mass flow rate and the recycle ratio are the most significant factors, which considerably increase the heaters’ efficiencies by increasing the fluid velocity. The theoretical results showed that the device with fins plus baffles can enhance the heat transfer rate compared with the device with fins under the same flow rate and working dimensions. The effect of the depth of the first channel on the thermal and thermohydraulic efficiency improvement is also delineated. To validate the proposed theoretical models, comparisons of the results are performed with those obtained from previous studies and show that good agreement is achieved.     

The influences of recycle on performance of baffled double-pass flat-plate solar air heaters with internal fins attached

A new device for inserting an absorber plate to divide a flat-plate channel into two parts with fins attached by baffles and external recycling at the ends is presented. The proposed device substantially improves the heat-transfer efficiency. Experimental and theoretical investigations into the device efficiency are presented. The theoretical prediction agreement with the measured values from the experimental results is good. The experimental and theoretical results are represented graphically and compared with data from the downward-type single-pass solar air heaters of the same size without recycling. Considerable heat-transfer improvement is obtained by employing baffled double-pass operations with external recycling and fin attached over and under the absorber plate. The recycle ratio and absorber plate location influences on the heat-transfer efficiency and on the power consumption increment are also discussed.     

The improvement of collector efficiency in solar air heaters by simultaneously air flow over and under the absorbing plate

The performance of double-flow type solar air heaters, in which air is flowing simultaneously over and under the absorbing plate, is more effective than that of the devices with only one flow channel over or under the absorbing plate because the heat-transfer area in double-flow systems is double. The effect of the fraction of mass flow rate in the upper or lower flow channel of a double-flow device on collector efficiencies, has also been investigated theoretically and experimentally. Considerable improvement in collector performance is obtained by employing a double-flow type solar air heater, instead of using a single-flow device, if the mass flow rates in both flow channels are kept the same.     

Performance analysis of a double-pass photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collector with CPC and fins

The use of PV/T in combination with concentrating reflectors has a potential to significantly increase power production from a given solar cell area. A prototype double-pass photovoltaic-thermal solar air collector with CPC and fins has been designed and fabricated and its performance over a range of operating conditions was studied. The absorber of the hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector under investigation consists of an array of solar cells for generating electricity, compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) to increase the radiation intensity falling on the solar cells and fins attached to the back side of the absorber plate to improve heat transfer to the flowing air. Energy balance equations have been developed for the various nodes of the system. Both thermal and electrical performance of the collector are presented and discussed.     

Effect of external recycle on the performances of flat-plate solar air heaters with internal fins attached

The influence of external recycle on the collector efficiency in solar air heaters with internal fins attached, has been investigated theoretically. The application of external recycle operation to solar air heaters actually has two conflict effects. One is the increase in fluid velocity to decrease the heat-transfer resistance, which is good for performance, while the other is lowering the driving force (temperature difference) of heat-transfer, due to the remixing at the inlet, which is bad for performance. It is found that considerable improvement in collector efficiency is obtainable if the operation is carried out with an external recycle, where the desirable effect overcomes the undesirable effect. The enhancement increases with increasing reflux ratio, especially for operating at lower air flow rate with higher inlet air temperature.     

Solar air heaters with external recycle

The effect of external recycle on the collector efficiency in solar air heaters has been investigated theoretically. The application of external-recycle operation to solar air heaters actually has two conflict effects. One is the desirable effect of increasing fluid velocity to decrease the heat transfer resistance. The other is the undesirable effect of decreasing the driving force (temperature difference) of heat transfer, due to the remixing at the inlet. It is found that considerable improvement in collector efficiency is obtainable if the operation is carried out with an external recycle, where the desirable effect overcomes the undesirable effect. The enhancement increases with increasing reflux ratio, especially for operating at lower air flow rate with higher inlet air temperature.     

On the performance and entropy generation of the double-pass solar air heater with longitudinal fins

The performance and entropy generation of the double-pass flat plate solar air heater with longitudinal fins are studied numerically. The mathematical models described the heat transfer characteristics of the double-pass flat plate solar air heater derived from the conservation equations of energy. The predictions are done at air mass flow rate ranging between 0.02 and 0.1 kg/s. The effects of the inlet condition of working fluid and dimension of the solar air heater on the heat transfer characteristics, performance, and entropy generation are considered.     

Study and optimization of the thermal performances of the offset rectangular plate fin absorber plates, with various glazing

The low thermophysical characteristics of air used as a heat transfer fluid in the solar collectors with thermal conversion require a fully developed turbulent flow. This increases the thermal heat transfer between the absorber plate and the fluid, which clearly improves the thermal performances of the solar collector with obstacles arranged into the air channel duct. In the present work, we introduce, in solar collector, the offset rectangular plate fins, which are used in heat exchangers. An experimental investigation carried out showed the generated enhancement of thermal performance. The offset rectangular plate fins, mounted in staggered pattern, are oriented parallel to the fluid flow and are soldered to the underside of absorber plate. They are characterized by high heat transfer area per unit volume. High thermal performances are obtained with low pressure losses and in consequence a low electrical power consumption by the fan in comparison to the flat plate collector. The experimental results are all so compared by using two types of transparent cover; double and triple.     

Exergy analysis of single‐flow solar air collectors with different configurations of absorber plates

In the current study, an experimental analysis of exergy performance for different absorber plates is done. Three types of absorber plates are supplied with different fin arrangements with a variable air mass flow rate. The exergy analysis to evaluate the exergy performance of the solar air heaters uses experimental data for conventional and finned solar air collectors with different arrangements of fins. The main aim of the current study is to compare the exergy performance of the conventional solar air collector with those equipped with fins. The introducing of the fins in different arrangements enhances the absorber surface area, which leads to increased heat transfer. Also, fins induce air turbulence in the flow field, which improves the exergy performance of solar air collector. It is found that the exergy reduces and exergy efficiency enhances with increasing the airflow rate. The traditional flat absorber plate has undesirable exergy loss and exergy efficiency for all ranges of airflow rates. Thus, the flat plate collector presents the most substantial irreversibility, for which the exergy efficiency is the least. However, the results show that the exergy efficiency of inclined staggered turbulators is higher than that of in‐line and staggered turbulators. The optimal value of exergy efficiency is recorded at nearly 77% for the solar air collectors equipped with inclined staggered turbulators compared with other types of configurations.     

The influence of recycle on a parallel-plate heat exchanger with insulation sheet inserted for double-pass operations

The influence of recycle on a parallel-plate heat exchanger of inserting in parallel an insulation sheet to divide an open duct into two channels for double-pass operations with uniform wall temperature has been studied analytically. The results are represented graphically and compared with those in an open duct (without an inserted insulation sheet) and a double-pass without recycle. Substantial improvement in heat transfer is obtainable by employing such a double-pass device with external refluxes, instead of using an open conduit with single-pass operations and using double-pass operations without recycle. The effect of insulation-sheet location on the enhancement of heat transfer efficiency as well as on the increment of power consumption, has been also discussed.     

Collector efficiency improvement of recyclic double-pass sheet-and-tube solar water heaters with internal fins attached

The sheet-and-tube solar water heater is a convenient and common heater to be used as domestic hot water heating. This paper investigates the effects on collector efficiency of a double-pass sheet-and-tube solar water heater with fins attached under various arrayed density. In addition, the number of pair ducts and total mass flow rate are taken into account during the calculation procedure. The theoretical prediction shows that the higher collector efficiency is obtained under the suitable designing and operating parameters. Considerable improvement in collector performance is obtained by employing a recyclic operation with fins attached and under various arrayed density, instead of employing a single-pass flat-plate device. The effect of the recycle ratio, arrayed density and number of fins attached on the collector efficiency enhancement as well as the power consumption increment has also delineated.     

Thermal performance enhancement of solar air heaters,by a fan-blown absorber plate with rectangular fins

The aim of this study is to provide a remedy for the low thermophysical properties of air, which is used as a fluid of transfer in solar collectors. A fully developed flow needs to be created by the use of staggered fin rows soldered under the absorber plate. The fluid flow undergoes contractions followed by expansions, which creates a fully developed turbulent flow, and increases the thermal heat transfer between the absorber plate and the air. The fins increase the heat transfer surface, from which an appreciable improvement of the thermal heat performance of solar air heaters has been found in comparison to those of solar air heaters with a plane absorber. In this work we have tested the influence of the dimension of the fins and the influence of the space between consecutive fin rows mounted in staggered rows.     

The recycle effect on the collector efficiency improvement of double-pass sheet-and-tube solar water heaters with external recycle

The paper presents a theoretical prediction of the performance of a double-pass sheet-and-tube solar water heater with external recycle and comparison with that of a conventional type collector. Analytical results show that the recycle effect can effectively enhance the collector efficiency compared with that in a single-pass device with the same flow rate. The desirable effect of increasing convective transfer rate and the undesirable effect of reducing heat-transfer driving force are the two conflict effects produced by the recycle operation. It was found that the increment of convective transfer rate by increasing the recycle ratio could generally compensate for the decrement of the temperature difference, leading to improved performance, especially for low flow rate. Also, the collector efficiency increases with increasing collector aspect ratio (i.e. either increasing the tube length or decreasing the number of tube pairs) for a specified collector area and the distance between tubes.     

Heat transfer enhancement for the power-law fluids through a parallel-plate double-pass heat exchangers with external recycle

The conjugated Graetz problem of the double-pass heat transfer through a parallel-plate device with uniform wall temperature and external recycle in the outlet channel was solved analytically with the use of the orthogonal expansion technique for the power-law fluids. The mathematical formulation of the heat transfer problem was developed for fully developed laminar velocity profiles through the parallel-plate channels by ignoring axial conduction and assuming fluid properties of temperature independence. The constant outer wall temperature and continuous temperature and heat flux between the two subchannels with inserting impermeable sheet were considered for thermal boundary conditions. The analytical results show that the recycle ratio and impermeable sheet position play significant influences on the efficiencies of the heat transfer as compared to that in a single pass (without an impermeable sheet inserted and without recycle). The outlet temperature of the heat exchanger seems to be independent of the power-law index of the fluid, while the average Nusselt number could not be enhanced significantly with the lowering power index. The power consumption increment owing to the cross-sectional area reduction from single-pass to double-pass was also taken into account for comparisons.     

Shape optimization for absorber plates of solar air collectors

Solar air heaters can be used for many applications at low and moderate temperatures. There are different factors affecting the solar air heater efficiency, e.g. collector length, collector depth, type of absorber plate, glass cover plate, wind speed, etc. The absorber shape factor is the most important parameter in the design for any type of solar air heater. Increasing the absorber shape area will increase the heat transfer to the flowing air, but on the other hand, will increase the pressure drop in the collector, this increases the required power consumption to pump the air flow crossing the collector. It was most important to find the optimizing angle of the triangular collector. The effect of the change of the absorber shape factor on the collector performance was studied. A theoretical model was constructed for the two types of collectors, taking into account the new parameter, called the absorber shape factor. The results can be used for all types of solar air heaters by changing the value of the absorber shape factor. The optimum angle of the triangular collector was deduced.     

Thermal performance assessment of recyclic double-pass flat and V-corrugated plate solar air heaters

Double-pass solar air heaters occupy an important place among solar air heating systems, because of minimal heat loss and maximum thermal efficiency with marginal heater size and cost. In the present work, investigations related to the thermal performance predictions have been carried out for double-pass flat and V-corrugated absorber plate solar air heaters under recycle operation. The mathematical models proposed herein are solved using an analytical approach that uses an iterative solution procedure. Furthermore, based on simulation results obtained from the analytical study, the optimum value of the recycle ratio, the mass flow rate, the absorptivity and the emissivity at which the heaters yield the maximum value of the thermal efficiency have been identified and presented using response surface methodology (RSM). The results of RSM revealed that the mathematical models are significant. In addition, results of the present study are validated and compared with previous studies. A reasonable agreement and significant improvement have been achieved.     

Employing exergy-optimized pin fins in the design of an absorber in a solar air heater

Fins serve as heat transfer augmentation features in solar air heaters however they increase pressure drop in flow channels. Pin fins are relatively good heat transfer augmentation features with superior aerodynamic performance and as a result find application in some solar air heaters. The exergy optimization method is employed in sizing the pin fin. Results indicate that high efficiency of the optimized fin improves the heat absorption and dissipation potential of a solar air heater. With optimum fin efficiency and superior absorptive coating quality, useful energy losses can be minimized. Some important observations pertinent in design are made.     

Numerical and experimental study of a solar equipped with offset rectangular plate fin absorber plate

A mathematical model that allows the determination of the thermal performances of the single-pass solar air collector with offset rectangular plate fin absorber plate is developed. The model can predict the temperature profile of all the components of the collector and of the air stream in the channel duct. Into the latter are introduced the offset rectangular plate fins, which increase the thermal heat transfer between the absorber plate and the fluid. The offset rectangular plate fins, mounted in a staggered pattern, are oriented parallel to the fluid flow and are soldered to the underside of the absorber plate. They are characterized by high heat transfer area per unit volume and generate the low pressure losses. The experimental results of the air stream temperature will be compared with the results obtained by the theoretical model suggested.