Performance Enhancement of a Solar Air Collector Using a V-Corrugated Absorber

ABSTRACT

Solar energy is one of the most efficient forms of renewable energy. Solar air collectors are promising utilization of solar energy. The present study used unsteady three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) analysis to investigate the heat transfer and fluid friction in solar air collectors with smooth and v-corrugation absorber plates. The studied parameters are Reynolds number, v-corrugation height, and pitch. Three Reynolds number (500, 1000, 1500) values were used with three arrangements configuration of the v-corrugation of relative heights of 0.10, 0.16, and 0.23. Roughness pitches varied between 1.33, 1.66, and 2. By comparing the simulated thermal efficiency with the currently known experimental values, great agreement can be approved. Results show the superiority of the performance of v-corrugated collector against the traditional or smooth type. The outlet temperature obtained in case of relative roughness height = 0.23 and relative roughness pitch = 2 is 61 °C, while it is 53 °C for a smooth type. Also, a higher thermal efficiency of 46.7 % can be obtained compared to 33.01% for smooth type.

Keywords
Nusselt number; Solar air collector; CFD; Friction factor; Thermal efficiency