Empirical relation for a solar air heater with an equilateral triangular
duct roughened by dimpled shape
Abstract
A practical and environmentally friendly way to harness solar energy is
through solar air heaters (SAHs). Various techniques to enhance heat
transfer have been explored to boost the thermal efficiency of SAHs. The
present experimental work examined the impact of dimpled rib coarseness
on the performance of a SAH with an equilateral triangular duct.
Experiments were conducted under various operating conditions, including
relative roughness height (e/D) ranging from 0.023 to 0.058, relative
roughness pitch (L/e) from 3 to 9, relative roughness width (S/e) from 6
to 18, and Reynolds numbers from 6000 to 18000. The improvement in
Nusselt number (Nu) and friction factor ( f) over a flat surface
under similar operating and flow conditions has been performed.
Experimental findings showed that the SAH equipped with dimple ribs
achieved higher heat transfer rates compared to traditional SAH. The
maximum improvement in Nu, f is 5.78, and 2.26, respectively,
greater than that of a smooth SAH. The best value of performance
enhancement criteria (PEC) is 4.64 which is found at e/D of 0.058, L/e
of 3, and S/e of 6. The experimental findings have been used to derive
empirical correlations for Nu and f .