Frontiers in Energy
>> 2014,
Volume 8,
Issue 2
doi:
10.1007/s11708-014-0297-7
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Heat transfer and fluid flow analysis of an artificially roughened solar air heater: a CFD based investigation
1. Mechanical Engineering Department, Technocrats Institute of Technology-Excellence, Bhopal, MP 462021; Mechanical Engineering Department, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, MP 462051, India.2. Mechanical Engineering Department, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, MP 462051, India
Available online: 2014-05-19
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Abstract
In this paper, the effect of rib (circular sectioned) spacing on average Nusselt number and friction factor in an artificially roughened solar air heater (duct aspect ratio, AR= 5:1) is studied by adopting the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. Numerical solutions are obtained using commercial software ANSYS FLUENT v12.1. The computations based on the finite volume method with the semi-implicit method for pressure-linked equations (SIMPLE) algorithm have been conducted. Circular sectioned transverse ribs are applied at the underside of the top of the duct, i.e., on the absorber plate. The rib-height-to-hydraulic diameter ratio ( ) is 0.042. The rib-pitch-to-rib-height ( ) ratios studied are 7.14, 10.71, 14.29 and 17.86. For each rib spacing simulations are executed at six different relevant Reynolds numbers from 3800 to 18000. The thermo-hydraulic performance parameter for = 10.71 is found to be the best for the investigated range of parameters at a Reynolds number of 15000.