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Experimental investigation of a novel solar air heater based on heat pipe vacuum tube collector integrated with finned-tube heat exchanger

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Abstract

The study intends to analyze the thermal performance of a novel solar air heater based on heat pipe vacuum tube solar collector and finned-tube heat exchanger. The solar collector has been introduced with a new header where heat transfer fluid (Therminol-55) gains heat directly in contact with the condenser section of the heat pipe. This eliminates thermal paste application between the condenser and manifold in the existing systems. The system's thermal performance has been experimentally evaluated using two different (four-row and eight-row) finned-tube heat exchangers at four varied air flow rates, viz. 100 kg h–1, 400 kg h–1, 700 kg h–1 and 1000 kg h–1. The system with eight-row heat exchanger performed better than the four-row heat exchanger at each air flow rate. 100 kg h–1 resulted in a maximum rise in temperature of air (55.4 °C) and maximum outlet temperature of air (89.4 °C). Meanwhile, the maximum energy and exergy efficiency of 95.7% and 2.17% were observed at 1000 kg h–1. The maximum effectiveness of the four and eight-row heat exchangers was found as 70.7% and 79.4%, respectively, at 100 kg h–1. The monthly cost saving by utilization of the proposed system is 65.65 $, and the payback period is 12.4 months. The amount of CO2 averted from releasing into the atmosphere is 787.7 kg per month. The results suggest the utility of the proposed solar air heater as an environment-friendly replacement for conventional air heaters for consistent operation in the daytime. The experimental study was performed at the campus of NIT Kurukshetra, India (29.9476°N, 76.8155°E).

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Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

HPVT:

Heat pipe vacuum tube

HTF:

Heat transfer fluid

ETC:

Evacuated tube collector

FPC:

Flat plate collector

SAH:

Solar air heater

\({\eta }_{\mathrm{ene}}\) :

Energy efficiency

\({\eta }_{\mathrm{exe}}\) :

Exergy efficiency

\(\upvarepsilon \) :

Effectiveness of heat exchanger

\(Q\) :

Energy/heat, W

\(E\) :

Exergy, W

\({\dot{m}}_{\mathrm{f}}\) :

Mass flow rate of HTF, kg s–1

\({\dot{m}}_{\mathrm{a}}\) :

Mass flow rate of air, kg s–1

\({C}_{\mathrm{pf}}\) :

Specific heat of HTF, J kg–1 K–1

\({C}_{\mathrm{pa}}\) :

Specific heat of air, J kg–1 K–1

\({T}_{\mathrm{fo}}\) :

Outlet temperature of HTF, K

\({T}_{\mathrm{fi}}\) :

Inlet temperature of HTF, K

\({T}_{\mathrm{ao}}\) :

Outlet temperature of air, K

\({T}_{\mathrm{ai}}\) :

Inlet temperature of air, K

\({T}_{\mathrm{amb}}\) :

Ambient temperature, K

\({T}_{\mathrm{sun}}\) :

Solar temperature, K

\({I}_{0}\) :

Solar intensity, W m–2

\({I}_{\mathrm{avg}}\) :

Average solar intensity, W m–2

\({A}_{\mathrm{P}}\) :

Absorber area of solar collector, m2

\(t\) :

Time, s

\(n\) :

Number of vacuum tubes

\(D\) :

Outer diameter of absorber tube, m

\(L\) :

Length of vacuum tube, m

\({C}_{\mathrm{min}}\) :

Minimum capacity rate, J kg–1 K–1

\({t}_{\mathrm{c}}\) :

Time of use per day, h

\({N}_{\mathrm{od}}\) :

Number of operational days/month

\({Q}_{\mathrm{d}}\) :

Energy saved per day, kWh

\({Q}_{\mathrm{m}}\) :

Energy saved per month, kWh

\({M}_{\mathrm{s}}\) :

Cost savings per month, $

\({C}_{\mathrm{kWh}}\) :

Cost of 1 kWh of electricity, $

\({P}_{\mathrm{e}}\) :

Cost of electricity consumed per month by axial fan and gear pump, $

\({C}_{\mathrm{sah}}\) :

Cost of solar air heater, $

\({T}_{\mathrm{pb}}\) :

Payback period, months

\({m}_{\mathrm{CO}2/\mathrm{kWh}}\) :

CO2 per kWh of electricity, kg

\({m}_{\mathrm{CO}2,\mathrm{ pro}}\) :

CO2 produced per month, kg

\({m}_{\mathrm{CO}2,\mathrm{ red}}\) :

CO2 reduced per month, kg

\({m}_{\mathrm{CO}2,\mathrm{ ele}}\) :

Amount of CO2 emitted per month by axial fan and gear pump, kg

$:

US dollar (USD)

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Science and Engineering Research Board (File No. EMR/2016/006912), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra, Kurukshetra, Haryana, 136119, India

    Anshul Sachdeva & M. Chandrashekara

  2. National Institute of Solar Energy, Gurugram, Haryana, 122003, India

    Avadhesh Yadav

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  1. Anshul Sachdeva
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  3. Avadhesh Yadav
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AS was involved in conceptualization, methodology and writing—original draft. CM was responsible for visualization, investigation and supervision. AY contributed to validation, writing—reviewing and editing, and supervision.

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Correspondence to Anshul Sachdeva.

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Sachdeva, A., Chandrashekara, M. & Yadav, A. Experimental investigation of a novel solar air heater based on heat pipe vacuum tube collector integrated with finned-tube heat exchanger. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 10917–10936 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12413-9

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