CFD analysis of solar air heater having absorber plate roughened with compound turbulators

  Mr. Obaid Ul Haque Ansari,  Dr. Vilas R. Kalamkar

Abstract—In the present work the thermo hydraulic performance of solar air heater having absorber plate roughened with compound turbulators is analyzed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The effect of absorber plate geometry on heat transfer and friction factor is studied by varying the relative roughness height (e/DH) from 0.025 to 0.040(4 values) and relative roughness pitch (P/e) from 8 to 15 (4 values). Range of Reynolds number selected for numerical simulation is 3000 to 18,000 (6 values). Different turbulent models have been used for the analysis of solar air heater and their results are compared with the experimental data available in the literature. The results obtained using K-ϵ Standard model have been found in good agreement with the experimental results and hence this model is used to predict the heat transfer and friction factor in the roughened duct for various geometries of an absorber plate. The thermo hydraulic performance parameter (THPP) is also evaluated for each plate to predict the overall performance and also for selecting the best geometry for the range of parameter investigated.

Keywords- Solar Air Heater, Heat Transfer, Friction Factor, Compound Turbulators, Thermo Hydraulic Performance Parameters (THPP)

Unique Identification Number - IJEDR1703007
Page Number(s) - 40-58
Pubished in - Volume 5 | Issue 3 | July 2017
DOI (Digital Object Identifier) -   
Publisher - IJEDR (ISSN - 2321-9939)

  Mr. Obaid Ul Haque Ansari,  Dr. Vilas R. Kalamkar,   "CFD analysis of solar air heater having absorber plate roughened with compound turbulators", International Journal of Engineering Development and Research (IJEDR), ISSN:2321-9939, Volume.5, Issue 3, pp.40-58, July 2017, Available at :http://www.ijedr.org/papers/IJEDR1703007.pdf