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Experimental study on the heat transfer enhancement in helically corrugated tubes under the non-uniform heat flux

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Abstract

The impact of corrugated absorber tubes on the performance of a parabolic trough collector (PTC) is experimentally analyzed. For this purpose, nine different helically corrugated absorber tubes were applied. The impacts of the pitch length and roughness height on the performance of the PTC were examined under the ASHRAE standard 93 (2010). The Reynolds number varied between 5000 and 10,000. The results demonstrate that the thermal performance and heat transfer are considerably increased in the corrugated absorber tubes. The average heat transfer rate increases between 85.7 and 107.2% in corrugated tubes, which is related to the roughness height and pitch ratio. The thermal performance has a maximum value of about 2.29 for the pitch length and roughness height of 3 mm and 1.5 mm. The average friction factor increases between 1.25 and 1.85 times in corrugated tubes. Furthermore, the variations of the Nusselt number and friction factor versus pitch-to-diameter ratio, roughness height-to-diameter ratio, Prandtl number, and Reynolds number are presented as correlations by using the best fit to the series of experimental data.

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Abbreviations

A :

Area (m2)

c p :

Specific heat (J kg−1 °C)

D H :

Absorber tube hydraulic diameter (m)

e :

Roughness height (mm)

f :

Friction factor (−)

F :

Focal distance (m)

G t :

The global solar radiation (W m−2)

h fi :

Heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 °C)

kf :

Thermal conductivity of fluid (W m−1 °C)

L :

The absorber tube length (m)

\(\dot{m}\) :

Mass flow rate (kg s−1)

Nu:

Nusselt number (−)

P :

Pitch (mm)

Pr:

Prandtl number (−)

P cs :

Perimeter (m)

Q u :

The useful energy gain (W)

Re:

Reynolds number (−)

T :

Temperature (°C)

u :

Fluid mean velocity (m s−1)

U L :

Heat loss coefficient (W m−2 °C)

U o :

Overall heat loss coefficient (W m−2 °C)

w :

The aperture width (m)

\(\Delta p\) :

Pressure drop (Pa)

\(\eta\) :

Thermal performance factor (−)

\(\mu\) :

Viscosity (kg m s−1)

\(\rho\) :

Density (kg m−3)

\(\phi\) :

Function (−)

\(\varphi\) :

Function (−)

amb:

Ambient

c:

Corrugated

g:

Glass

i:

In

o:

Out

p:

Plain

r:

Receiver

w:

Tube wall

PTC:

Parabolic trough collector

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial support received from Semnan University Science and Technology Park.

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  1. Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Semnan University, Semnan, 19111-35131, Iran

    Sanaz Akbarzadeh & Mohammad Sadegh Valipour

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  1. Sanaz Akbarzadeh
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Correspondence to Mohammad Sadegh Valipour.

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Akbarzadeh, S., Valipour, M.S. Experimental study on the heat transfer enhancement in helically corrugated tubes under the non-uniform heat flux. J Therm Anal Calorim 140, 1611–1623 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-020-09385-5

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