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Experimental thermodynamic analysis of a forced convection solar air heater using absorber plate with pin-fins

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Abstract

This research paper deals with the experimental thermodynamic analysis of a forced convection solar air heater using pin-fin absorber plate and compared with the standard flat absorber plate. The experiments were carried out during the months of February 2018 and March 2018 at Coimbatore city in India. The performance parameters such as, outlet air temperature, energy efficiency, thermohydraulic efficiency, and exergy efficiency are used for performance comparisons. The results showed that the pin-fin absorber plate has about 17 °C higher outlet air temperature when compared to the flat absorber plate. The energy efficiency of a forced convection solar air heater using pin-fin absorber plate was found to be 3% to 12% higher when compared to flat absorber plate with 2% to 11% higher exergy efficiency. The results confirmed that forced convection solar air heaters using pin-fin absorber plate is having significant performance improvement in thermodynamic performance with minimum pressure drop across the air heater duct.

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Abbreviations

A :

Area (m2)

c p :

Specific heat (J kg−1 K−1)

D h :

Diameter mean diameter (m)

\(\dot{E}x_{\text{des}}\) :

Exergy (W)

f :

Friction coefficient

h c :

Convection heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

h r :

Radiation heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

h fg :

Latent heat of paraffin wax (J kg−1 K−1)

h :

Specific enthalpy (J kg−1)

I :

Intensity of radiation (W m−2)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W m−1 K−1)

K :

Head loss factor

L 1 :

Length of the solar air heater (m)

L 2 :

Width of the solar air heater (m)

L 3 :

Depth of the solar air heater (m)

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

Mass flow rate of air (kg s−1)

p :

Pressure (bar)

P flow :

Pumping power (W)

P blower :

Blower power (W)

\(\dot{Q}\) :

Amount of heat transfer (W)

\(\dot{Q}_{\text{s}}\) :

Energy incident on the solar air heater (W)

R :

Gas constant (J kg−1 K−1)

Re :

Reynolds number (–)

s :

Specific entropy (J kg−1 K−1)

t :

Time (s)

T :

Temperature (K)

U :

Over all heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

v :

Velocity (m s−1)

x :

Thickness (m)

0:

Dead state

a:

Air

ab:

Absorbed

amb:

Ambient

ava:

Available

b:

Bottom

ch:

Charging

des:

Destruction

e:

Edge

f:

Fluid

g:

Glass

h:

Hydraulic

i:

Insulation

loss:

Heat loss

m:

Mean

p:

Plate

r, p-g:

Radiation heat exchange between plate and glass

r, g-a:

Radiation heat exchange between glass and air

s:

Stored

t:

Top

th-hy:

Thermohydraulic

u:

Utilised

w:

Wind

\(\psi_{\text{i}}\) :

Specific exergy (J kg−1)

τ :

Transmissivity

α :

Absorptivity

ε :

Emissivity

σ :

Stefan Boltzmann constant (5.68 × 10−8 W m−2 K−4)

ρ :

Density (kg m−3)

η :

Efficiency (%)

Δp :

Pressure drop (N m−2)

Δp total :

Total pressure drop (N m−2)

Δp ch :

Pressure drop across the channel (N m−2)

Δp Entry :

Pressure drop at the entry (N m−2)

Δp o :

Pressure drop in the orifice meter (N m−2)

Δh :

Difference in liquid column (m)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Automobile Engineering, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore, 641 049, India

    S. Sivakumar

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hindusthan College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, 641032, India

    K. Siva & M. Mohanraj

Authors
  1. S. Sivakumar
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  2. K. Siva
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  3. M. Mohanraj
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Correspondence to S. Sivakumar.

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Sivakumar, S., Siva, K. & Mohanraj, M. Experimental thermodynamic analysis of a forced convection solar air heater using absorber plate with pin-fins. J Therm Anal Calorim 136, 39–47 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-018-07998-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-018-07998-5

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