RESEARCH ARTICLE

Heat transfer and fluid flow analysis of an artificially roughened solar air heater: a CFD based investigation

  • Anil Singh YADAV , 1 ,
  • J. L. BHAGORIA 2
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  • 1. Mechanical Engineering Department, Technocrats Institute of Technology-Excellence, Bhopal, MP 462021; Mechanical Engineering Department, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, MP 462051, India
  • 2. Mechanical Engineering Department, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, MP 462051, India

Received date: 05 Aug 2013

Accepted date: 08 Nov 2013

Published date: 22 May 2014

Copyright

2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Abstract

In this paper, the effect of rib (circular sectioned) spacing on average Nusselt number and friction factor in an artificially roughened solar air heater (duct aspect ratio, AR= 5:1) is studied by adopting the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. Numerical solutions are obtained using commercial software ANSYS FLUENT v12.1. The computations based on the finite volume method with the semi-implicit method for pressure-linked equations (SIMPLE) algorithm have been conducted. Circular sectioned transverse ribs are applied at the underside of the top of the duct, i.e., on the absorber plate. The rib-height-to-hydraulic diameter ratio (e/D) is 0.042. The rib-pitch-to-rib-height (P/e) ratios studied are 7.14, 10.71, 14.29 and 17.86. For each rib spacing simulations are executed at six different relevant Reynolds numbers from 3800 to 18000. The thermo-hydraulic performance parameter for P/e = 10.71 is found to be the best for the investigated range of parameters at a Reynolds number of 15000.

Cite this article

Anil Singh YADAV , J. L. BHAGORIA . Heat transfer and fluid flow analysis of an artificially roughened solar air heater: a CFD based investigation[J]. Frontiers in Energy, 2014 , 8(2) : 201 -211 . DOI: 10.1007/s11708-014-0297-7

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