Abstract
This work analytically investigates the thermal and thermohydraulic performances of double-flow double- and single-exposure solar air heaters with corrugated and flat plate absorbers. In the double-exposure solar collector, a reflector is placed below and parallel to the collector and reflects the solar radiation on the lower absorber surface. The performances of the collectors with different parameters, such as mass flow rate and insolation, are analyzed. The results of the single exposure collectors are compared with the experimental results to assess the accuracy of the present mathematical model and found to be reasonably well. The performances of the double-exposure collectors are significantly better than those of the single-exposure collectors. Moreover, the performance of the corrugated absorber solar air collector is superior to that of the flat plate solar air collector. The double-exposure corrugated absorber solar air heater is 10.85 % more efficient than the single-exposure flat plate solar air heater at a mass flow rate of 0.0277 kg/s.
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Som Nath Saha is a Research Scholar in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. He obtained his B.Tech. (Mechanical Engineering) from the Ranchi University, Ranchi, Jharkhand (India) and M.Tech. in UST from IIT(ISM) Dhanbad, Jharkhand (India).
Suresh Prasad Sharma is a Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department of the National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. He obtained his B.Sc. Engineering (Mechanical) and M.Sc. Engineering (Heat Power) from the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi and Ph.D. (Packed-bed solar air heater) from the IIT Roorkee in 1990. He guided 12 Ph.D. and 40 M.Tech. students in the completion of their degrees. He has published more than 100 research papers in international and national journals and conferences.
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Saha, S.N., Sharma, S.P. Performance analysis of double-flow double-exposure solar air heater. J Mech Sci Technol 32, 1407–1414 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-018-0244-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-018-0244-3