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Thermal Performance Study of a Flat Plate Solar Air Heater Using Different Insulating Materials

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Modeling, Simulation and Optimization (CoMSO 2022)

Part of the book series: Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies ((SIST,volume 373))

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Abstract

This study focuses on evaluation of thermal interpretation of a flat plate solar air heater (SAH), one of the most important uses of solar thermal energy. In this work, a simulation using the MATLAB software is carried out to study the behaviour of various parameters which influences the thermal performance of the SAH. The range of parameters that are chosen are mass flow rate (m = 0.042–0.068 kg/s), thickness of insulation (ti = 0.02–0.08 m), absorber plate area (Ap = 1–2.5 m2), overall heat loss coefficient (0–10 W/m2) and collector tilt (β = 0°–60°). Also, an investigation is carried out on different insulating materials, namely thermocol, pine wood, sugarcane bagasse and bubble wrap that can be used to prevent losses from the bottom and side walls of the SAH. The simulation findings showed that as the mass flow rate rises, the heat transfer coefficient (h) increases linearly. When insulation thickness is increased the side and bottom loss coefficients fall, with materials having high thermal conductivity have higher side and bottom loss coefficients. Additionally, a linear relationship between the variation in collector efficiency factor (F) and insulation thickness (ti) is evident from this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam, 784028, India

    Pijush Sarma, Monoj Bardalai, Partha Pratim Dutta & Harjyoti Das

Authors
  1. Pijush Sarma
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  2. Monoj Bardalai
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  3. Partha Pratim Dutta
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  4. Harjyoti Das
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Monoj Bardalai .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Silchar, Cachar, Assam, India

    Biplab Das

  2. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, National Institute of Technology Silchar, Cachar, Assam, India

    Ripon Patgiri

  3. National Institute of Technology Silchar, Cachar, India

    Sivaji Bandyopadhyay

  4. Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, Arad, Romania

    Valentina Emilia Balas

  5. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, Miri, Malaysia

    Sukanta Roy

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© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Sarma, P., Bardalai, M., Pratim Dutta, P., Das, H. (2024). Thermal Performance Study of a Flat Plate Solar Air Heater Using Different Insulating Materials. In: Das, B., Patgiri, R., Bandyopadhyay, S., Balas, V.E., Roy, S. (eds) Modeling, Simulation and Optimization. CoMSO 2022. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 373. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-6866-4_43

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