Thermal Performance Analysis

of a Rectangular Longitudinal
Satyender Singh1
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Institute of Technology,
Hamirpur 177005,
Himachal Pradesh, India
e-mail: satyender.nith@gmail.com
Prashant Dhiman
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Institute of Technology,
Hamirpur 177005,
Himachal Pradesh, India
e-mail: prashant_rec@yahoo.co.in
Finned Solar Air Heater With
Semicircular Absorber Plate
Thermal performance of a single-pass single-glass cover solar air heater consisting of
semicircular absorber plate finned with rectangular longitudinal fins is investigated. The
analysis is carried out for different hydraulic diameters, which were obtained by varying
the diameter of the duct from 0.3–0.5 m. One to five numbers of fins are considered. Reyn-
olds number ranges from 1600–4300. Analytical solutions for energy balance equations
of different elements and duct flow of the solar air heater are presented; results are com-
pared with finite-volume methodology based numerical solutions obtained from ANSYS
FLUENT commercial software, and a fairly good agreement is achieved. Moreover, analy-
sis is extended to check the effect of double-glass cover and the recycle of the exiting air.
Results revealed that the use of double-glass cover and recycle operation improves the
thermal performance of solar air heater. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4032010]

1 Introduction
Solar air heaters are designed to collect solar radiations to pro-
vide thermal comforts. Various designs of solar air heaters are
available, such as flat-plate solar air heater [1–3] with rectangular
[4–8] and triangular ducts [9–12]. Due to rapid increasing
research in the area of solar air heaters, several researchers sug-
gested to use porous packed-bed materials (media) in the heaters’
ducts in order to increase the thermal performance of solar air
heaters [13–17]. The voids that exist within the porous packed-
bed materials increase the convective heat transfer coefficient
between the packed-bed material and the flowing air, hence results
in increment in the thermal performance of the solar air heater.
It should be noted that an important parameter that has to be con-
sidered while employing the porous materials for the purpose of
heat transfer rate augmentation is the penalty arising from the
increased pressure drop. Consequently, the pressure drop is the
main concern while employing the porous media. Over the past
few decades, many authors have attempted several methods to
lower the pressure drop and to increase the thermal performance
of solar air heaters. Use of transverse or longitudinal fins is one of
them. Experimental investigations on the single [18,19] and dou-
ble [19–22] air pass solar air heaters with finned flat absorber plate
are reported in the literature. It is illustrated that employment of
fins results in increment in the thermal performance with a small
expenditure of the pressure loss of solar air heaters under both air
flow arrangements. Current literature of solar air heaters allied to
air flow operations revealed some new advancement in the air
flow operations, i.e., external [22–24] and internal [25] recycle
operations. Moreover, experimental [26] and theoretical [27,28]
evaluations of solar air heaters under these recyclic air flow opera-
tions are presented using flat absorber plate with fins attached.
Results indicate that employment of recycle operation and fins to
the solar air heater considerably increases the thermal perform-
ance of the solar air heater. In light of the above reported litera-
ture, it is concluded that significant attention is devoted to
1
Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Solar Energy Division of ASME for publication in the
JOURNAL OF SOLAR ENERGY ENGINEERING: INCLUDING WIND ENERGY AND BUILDING
ENERGY CONSERVATION. Manuscript received March 13, 2015; final manuscript
received November 5, 2015; published online December 8, 2015. Assoc. Editor:
Werner Platzer.
improve the thermal performance of solar air heaters but the scope
of air heating using semicircular absorber plate still needs to be
explored. The present study contributes toward an alternative for
air heating using longitudinally finned semicircular absorber plate
single-glass single-pass solar air heater. Analytical solutions capa-
ble of predicting thermal performance of the solar air heater in
conjunction with finite-volume methodology based numerical sol-
utions are presented. In addition to the research, the effect of
double-glass covers and recycle flow operation on the thermal per-
formance of solar air heater is also investigated and the obtained
results are delineated in the study.
2 Analytical Study
Three different cases of solar air heater using the same finned
semicircular absorber plate are considered for the analytical study.
The schematic drawings are presented in Fig. 1. The recycle oper-
ation is provided by introducing the airflow with mass flow rate,
m_ in , and inlet airflow temperature, Ta, through the heater duct.
Before entering the channel, air with mass flow rate, m_ in mixes
with the fluid exiting from the heater duct of the mass flow rate,
m_ out G as shown in Fig. 1(c). It is supposed that a conventional
blower is situated at the end of the heater duct which regulates the
recycled air mass flow rate, m_ out G. The following assumptions
are made [1,16]: (i) The system operates under steady-state condi-
tions. (ii) The thickness of the glass covers, the absorber, and insu-
lation is very small, hence their heat capacities are considered
negligible [1,4,5,19–21]. (iii) The flow is one-dimensional, i.e.,
the temperature of the flowing air varies only in the direction of
flow (x-direction). (iv) Thermophysical properties of the flowing
air are assumed to be varying linearly with temperature. (v) There
is no temperature gradient across the thickness of the glass covers
and the absorber plate. (vi) Heat loss from the sides and recycling
channel of the duct is very small, hence neglected.
2.1 The Energy Balance Equations for the Various
Elements of Single-Glass Single-Pass Solar Air Heater. The
glass cover
Ig ag ¼ ½hrðgaÞ þ hw ðTg  Ta Þ þ hrðgpÞ ðTg  Tp Þ
þ hcðgf Þ ðTg  Tf Þ (1)

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 For air flowing in the channel
 
dTf
min Cp ¼ /Bhcð pf Þ ðTp  Tf Þ þ whcðgf Þ ðTg  Tf Þ (3)
dx

2.2 The Energy Balance Equations for the Various

Elements of Double-Glass Single-Pass Solar Air Heater. For
the upper glass cover

Igu agu ¼ ½hrðguaÞ þ hw ðTgu  Ta Þ

þ ½hrðguglÞ þ hcðguglÞ ðTgu  Tgl Þ (4)

For the lower glass cover

Igl agl sgu ¼ ½hrðglguÞ þ hcðglguÞ ðTgl  Tgu Þ þ hcðglf Þ ÞðTgl  Tf Þ

þ hrðglpÞ ðTgl  Tp Þ (5)

For the absorber plate

Ip ap sgu sgl ¼ hcðpf Þ ðTp  Tf Þ þ Ub ðTp  Ta Þ þ hrðpglÞ ðTp  Tgl Þ

(6)

For the air flowing in the channel

 
dTf
min Cp ¼ /Bhcð pf Þ ðTp  Tf Þ þ whcðglf Þ ðTgl  Tf Þ (7)
dx

2.3 The Energy Balance Equations for the Various

Elements of Double-Glass Solar Air Heater Under Recycle
Operation. For the upper glass cover

Igu agu ¼ ½hrðguaÞ þ hw ðTgu  Ta Þ

þ ½hrðguglÞ þ hcðguglÞ ðTgu  Tgl Þ (8)

For the lower glass cover

Igl agl sgu ¼ ½hrðglguÞ þ hcðglguÞ ðTgl  Tgu Þ

þ hcðglf Þ ÞðTgl  Tf Þ þ hrðglpÞ ðTgl  Tp Þ (9)

For the absorber plate

Ip ap sgu sgl ¼ hcðpf Þ ðTp  Tf Þ þ Ub ðTp  Ta Þ þ hrðpglÞ ðTp  Tgl Þ

(10)

For the air flowing in the channel

 
dTf
ðm_ in þ m_ out GÞCp ¼ /Bhcð pf Þ ðTp  Tf Þ
dx
þ whcðglf Þ ðTgl  Tf Þ (11)

The meanings of all symbols and notations are given in the

Nomenclature. / is a dimensionless coefficient which appears in
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the finned solar air heater with (a) Eqs. (3), (7), and (11) due to the presence of fins on the absorber
single-glass single-pass, (b) double-glass single-pass, and (c) plate and can be given as [28]
double-glass recycled air
Af
/¼1þ g (12)
Ap  Afin;b fin
For the absorber plate
where gfin is the fin efficiency obtained as [28]

Ip ap sg ¼ hcðpf Þ ðTp  Tf Þ þ Ub ðTp  Ta Þ þ hrðpgÞ ðTp  Tg Þ tanhMHfin

gfin ¼ (13)
(2) MHfin

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 where Nukf
hcðfinf Þ ¼ (24)
 1=2 Dh
2hcðfinf Þ ð L þ tfin Þ
M¼ (14)
kfin Ltfin The convective heat transfer between the air flowing in the
heater channel and the glass cover hcðgf Þ and hcðglf Þ may be
Various heat transfer coefficients of the different elements of the obtained as
solar air heater are calculated using the following correlations
[29–31] as: Nug kf
hcðgf Þ ¼ hcðglf Þ ¼ (25)
  Dh
2
r Tgu þ Ta2 ðTgu þ Ta Þ
hrðguaÞ ¼   (15) where Nug is the given as [3]
1
1
egu Nug ¼ 0:0333Re0:8 Pr1:33 (26)
 
2
r Tgu þ Tgl2 ðTgu þ Tgl Þ Dh is the hydraulic diameter of the heater channel and is given
hrðguglÞ ¼   (16) as [34]
1 1
þ 1
egu egl 4ðAc  nHfin tfin Þ
Dh ¼ (27)
p þ 2nðHfin þ tfin Þ
 
r Tgl2 þ Tp2 ðTgl þ Tp Þ Nup is the Nusselt number for the semicircular absorber plate and
hrðgpÞ ¼ hrðglpÞ ¼   (17) is given by [35]
1 1
þ 1
egl ep
Num ¼ 0:023Re0:8 Pr0:4 (28)
 
r Tp2 þ Tgl2 ðTp þ Tgl Þ where Re is the Reynolds number for the finned solar air heater
hrð pglÞ ¼   (18) channel and is calculated as
1 1
þ 1
ep egl qvDh
Re ¼ (29)
l
The convective heat transfer coefficient for air flowing over the
outside surface of the glass cover is proposed by McAdams [32]
as follows: 2.4 Analytical Solution of Energy Balance Equations of
Solar Air Heater. Energy balance equations (1), (2), (4)–(6), and
hw ¼ 5:7 þ 3:8V (19) (8)–(10) of different elements of the solar air heater are solved
simultaneously to give the following expressions for average
The convective heat transfer coefficient hcðglguÞ for the air flow- temperatures, Tg ; Tgu ; Tgl ; and Tp for all the investigated cases
ing between the upper and lower glass covers is as follows [33]: of solar air heater as:
For single-glass single-pass solar air heater
hcðglguÞ ¼ 1:25ðTgl  Tgu Þ0:25 (20)
Tp ¼ Z1 þ Z2 Tf þ Z3 Ta (30)
The flow is assumed to be hydrodynamically fully developed at
the collector inlet. The inner surface convective heat transfer coef- Tg ¼ Z4 þ Z5 Tf þ Z6 Ta (31)
ficients were modeled according to the flow system [6]
where
(a) Laminar flow system ðRe < 2300Þ:
"  1:71 # ða1 a5 þ a4 Þ ða1 a7 þ a2 Þ ða1 a8 þ a3 Þ
Z1 ¼ ; Z2 ¼ ; Z3 ¼ ;
Dh ð1  a1 a6 Þ ð1  a1 a6 Þ ð1  a1 a6 Þ
0:00190 RePr
L Z4 ¼ ða5 þ a6 Z1 Þ; Z5 ¼ ða6 Z2 þ a7 Þ; Z6 ¼ ða6 Z3 þ a8 Þ
Nu ¼ 5:4 þ "  1:17 # (21)
Dh
1 þ 0:00563 RePr and
L

(b) Transition flow system 2300 < Re < 6000 : hrð pglÞ hcð pflÞ
a1 ¼ ; a2 ¼ ;
"  2=3 # 0:14 hrð pglÞ þ hcð pflÞ þ Ub hrð pglÞ þ hcð pflÞ þ Ub
Dh l Ub Ip ap sp
Nu ¼ 0:116ðRe  125ÞPr þ 1 þ
2=3 1=3
a3 ¼ ; a4 ¼ ;
L lw hrð pglÞ þ hcð pflÞ þ Ub hrð pglÞ þ hcð pflÞ þ Ub
(22) Igu agu
a5 ¼ ;
where l is evaluated at the film temperature and lw is evaluated at hrðgupÞ þ hcðguf Þ þ hrðguaÞ þ hw
the wall temperature. hrðgupÞ
(c) Turbulent flow system (Re > 6000): a6 ¼ ;
hrðgupÞ þ hcðguf Þ þ hrðguaÞ þ hw
hcðguf Þ
a7 ¼ ;
Nu ¼ 0:018Re0:8 Pr0:4 (23) hrðgupÞ þ hcðguf Þ þ hrðguaÞ þ hw

hrðguaÞ þ hw
The convective heat transfer coefficient hcðfinf Þ between the air a8 ¼
flowing in the channel and fins is as follows: hrðgupÞ þ hcðguf Þ þ hrðguaÞ þ hw

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 For double-glass single-pass and double-glass recyclic air pass R0 R1
solar air heaters: T f ð xÞ ¼ Tp þ Tg þ C1 eK2 x (36)
R2 R2
Energy balance equations for different elements of the double-
glass single-pass and double-glass recyclic air pass solar air heat- where
ers are similar and formulated as follows:
R0 Tp R1 Tgl
Tgu ¼ Z7 þ Z8 Ta þ Z9 Tf (32) C1 ¼ Ta  
R2 R2
Tgl ¼ Z10 þ Z11 Ta þ Z12 Tf (33) The average air temperature of the stream may be obtained as
follows:
Tp ¼ Z13 þ Z14 Ta þ Z15 Tf (34)
ðL
1 R0 Tp R1 Tg C1 ðeK2 L  1Þ
where Tf avg ¼ Tf ð xÞdx ¼ þ  (37)
L 0 R2 R2 LK2
Z7 ¼ b5 ; Z8 ¼ b7 b15 þ b8 ; Z9 ¼ b6 þ b7 b14 ; Similarly, for flowing air temperature in the channel of double-
Z10 ¼ b9 þ b11 b13 ; Z11 ¼ b12 þ b11 b15 ; Z12 ¼ b10 þ b11 b14 ; glass single-pass finned and finned with recyclic solar air heater,
Z13 ¼ b13 ; Z14 ¼ b15 ; Z15 ¼ b14 ; and Eq. (10) is simplified to give analytical solution as
Igl agl sgu a14 a15 a16 dTf
b1 ¼ ; b2 ¼ ; b3 ¼ ; b4 ¼ ; þ S2 Tf ¼ S0 Tp þ S1 Tgl (38)
a13 a13 a13 a13 dx
ða17 þ a18 b1 Þ a18 b2 a18 b4
b5 ¼ ; b6 ¼ ; b7 ¼ ; where
ð1  a18 b3 Þ ð1  a18 b3 Þ ð1  a18 b3 Þ
a19
b8 ¼ ; b9 ¼ b1 þ b3 b5 ; b10 ¼ b3 b6 þ b2 ; hcð pf Þ hcðglf Þ
ð1  a18 b3 Þ So ¼ ; S1 ¼ ;
y y
ða1 b9 þ a12 Þ  
b11 ¼ ðb3 b7 þ b4 Þ; b12 ¼ b3 b8 ; b13 ¼ ; hcð pf Þ hcðglf Þ ðm_ in þ m_ in GÞCp
ð1  a9 b11 Þ S2 ¼ þ ; and y¼
y y w
ða1 b10 þ a10 Þ ða1 b12 þ a11 Þ
b14 ¼ ; b15 ¼ ;
ð1  a9 b11 Þ ð1  a9 b11 Þ After some mathematical manipulations, the solution of the ana-
hrð pglÞ hcð pflÞ lytical equation (38) may be obtained as
a9 ¼ ; a10 ¼ ;
hrð pglÞ þ hcð pflÞ þ Ub hrð pglÞ þ hcð pflÞ þ Ub
S0 S1
Ub Ip ap sg 2 Tf ð xÞ ¼ Tp þ Tgl þ C2 eK2 x (39)
a11 ¼ ; a12 ¼ ; S2 S2
hrð pglÞ þ hcð pflÞ þ Ub hrð pglÞ þ hcð pflÞ þ Ub

 where
a13 ¼ hcðglf 1Þ þ hrðglguÞ þ hcðguglÞ þ hrðglmÞ ;
 
a14 ¼ hcðglf 1Þ ; a15 ¼ hrðglguÞ þ hcðguglÞ ; a16 ¼ hrðglpÞ ; 1 S 0 Tp S1 Tgl
C2 ¼ ð
NTa þ K  1 Þ ð
þ K1Þ
Igu agu ð1  KeK2 L Þ S2 S2
a17 ¼ ;
hrðguglÞ þ hcðguglÞ þ hrðguaÞ þ hw

 with
hrðguglÞ þ hcðguglÞ
a18 ¼ ; 1 G
hrðguglÞ þ hcðguglÞ þ hrðguaÞ þ hw N¼ and K¼ (40)
 1þG 1þG
hrðguaÞ þ hw
a19 ¼
hrðguglÞ þ hcðguglÞ þ hrðguaÞ þ hw The average air temperature of the stream may be obtained as
follows:
Gauss elimination technique is used to solve Eqs. (30)–(34) to ðL
1 S0 Tp S1 Tgl C2 ðeK2 L  1Þ
give Tg ; Tgu ; Tgl ; and Tp as given in Ref. [36]. Tf avg ¼ Tf ð xÞdx ¼ þ  (41)
L 0 S2 S2 LS2

It should be noted that in case of double-glass single-pass finned

solar air heater, the value G is considered as zero.
2.5 Formulation of the Air Stream Temperature. For the The following boundary conditions (BC) were applied:
air stream temperature in case of single-glass single-pass finned For the single-glass single-pass
solar air heater, Eq. (3) is simplified to give analytical solution as

dTf Tf jx¼0 ¼ Ta (42)

þ R2 Tf ¼ R0 Tp þ R1 Tg (35)
dx
For the double-glass single and recycle air pass
where
GTf ;o jx¼L þ Tin
Tf jx¼0 ¼ ; Tf jx¼L ¼ Tf ;o (43)
hcð pf Þ hcðgf Þ 1þG
Ro ¼ ; R1 ¼ ;
y y
 
hcð pf Þ hcðgf Þ _ p
mC
R2 ¼ þ ; and y ¼ 3 Performance Parameters
y y w
The properties of the air are evaluated at the average value of
After some mathematical manipulations, the solution of the ana- the inlet and outlet temperatures of the flowing air under steady-
lytical equation (35) may be obtained as state condition.

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The useful thermal output power, Qu (W), of the solar air heater qv2 L
is given as DP ¼ 4fp (50)
2 Dh
Qu ¼ mC
_ p ðTf ;o  Tf ;i Þ (44)
where fp is the friction factor for finned duct and is calculated as
The thermal efficiency of the solar air heater is calculated as [34]
16
Qu fp ¼ ðLaminar flow regimeÞ (51)
gth ¼ (45) Re
IAp
Whereas, for turbulent flow regime, fp can be calculated as [34]
The thermohydraulic efficiency of the solar air heater is
calculated as fp ¼ 0:0791 Re0:25 (52)

gthe ¼ ðQu  Pfan Þ=IAp Cf (46)

4 Iterative Solution Procedure
where Cf is the conversion factor and is considered as 0.2 [13].
Iterative solution procedure is based on MATLAB and proceeds as
The fan power required for forcing the air through channels is
follows [17]:
calculated as
 Energy balance equations for different elements and duct
Pflow flow of the solar air heater were solved simultaneously to
Pfan ¼ (47)
gfan gmotor obtain the temperature of the glass covers, the absorber plate,
and the air flowing in the channel.
where fan ðgfan Þ and electric motor ðgmotor Þ efficiency are  The initial temperatures of all the elements of the solar air
assumed to be 70% and 90%, respectively [15]. The flow pumping heater and the air input to the flow channel are assumed
power, Pflow , required for forcing the air through the single air equal to the ambient temperature as recommended in
pass channel is calculated as Refs. [1,4], and [5].
 The heat transfer coefficients were computed accordingly.
_
mDP  An iterative procedure was then created and the mean tem-
Pflow ¼ (48) peratures for the different sections (the glass covers and the
q
absorber plate) of the solar air heater were computed by
In case of recycled air flow channel, Pflow , may be calculated as using the Gauss elimination method.
 The newly computed temperatures and heat transfer coeffi-
m_ ð1 þ GÞDP cients were substituted into the flow equations to obtain the
Pflow ¼ (49) outlet temperatures.
q
 The process was repeated until all consecutive mean temper-
The pressure drop across the finned duct (DP) can be expressed as atures do not meet the convergence criteria of 106.
follows:  At the end of the program, the required temperatures aver-
aged over the entire length of the heater are obtained in addi-
tion to the outlet temperature of the airflow and thermal and
thermohydraulic efficiencies of the heater.

5 Numerical Study
Numerical solution is carried out for a single-glass single-pass
finned solar air heater. Radiation model is employed followed by

Fig. 3 (a) Isometric view of the meshed domain and (b) cross-
Fig. 2 ANSYS FLUENT employment process sectional veiw of the meshed domain

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 Table 1 Typical values of operating and system parameters
used in analytical and numerical study

Parameters Value

System parameters
Collector length, L 1.5 m
Duct width (diameter), w 0.3–0.5 m
Number of fins, n 1, 3, 5
Angle between the fins, h ¼ 180 deg/(n þ 1) 90 deg, 45 deg, 30 deg
Fin height, Hfin 0.05 m
Thermal conductivity of fins, kfin 14.9 W/m K
Thermal conductivity of air, Ka 0.0242 W/m K
Fin thickness, tfin 0.003 m
Emissivity of absorber plate, ep 0.94
Emissivity of glass cover, eg 0.9
Absorptivity of absorber plate, ap 0.95
Absorptivity of glass cover, ag 0.05
Transmissivity of glass cover, sg 0.875
Operating parameters
Ambient temperature, Ta 300 K
Wind velocity, V 1 m/s
Specific heat of air, Cpa 1006 J/kg K
Specific heat of glass, Cpg 2596 J/kg K
Solar insolation, I 800 W/m2
Recycle ratio, G 0.1–1.5

a standard k–x turbulence model with enhanced wall function.

Moreover, second-order upwind scheme is used to facilitate the
accuracy of the result. Mesh is generated using ANSYS mesh mod-
eler. Schematic employment process of the numerical model is
shown in Fig. 2. Inflation is provided to catch the thermal phe-
nomena more accurately at the boundaries. Generated computa-
tional meshed domains are presented in Fig. 3. Figure 3(a) shows
the isometric view of the meshed domain, while the cross-
sectional view can be seen in Fig. 3(b). Five numbers of inflation
layers are applied. Solar air heater duct is analyzed for 1, 3, and 5
numbers of fins. Convergence criteria of 103 are used in the sim-
ulation of the cases. Moreover, grid independence test is con-
ducted for approximately 320,000 numbers of node and results are
further validated with analytical results. A fairly good agreement
is achieved. A mass flow inlet as an inlet and pressure outlet as
outlet boundary conditions are applied. Fig. 4 Contours of the temperature for different numbers of
fins at various locations

6 Results and Discussion

In the present work, analytical investigations are carried out in
order to check the heating potential in terms of thermal perform-
ance of a solar air heater consisting of semicircular absorber plate
finned with rectangular longitudinal fins under the effect of vary-
ing mass flow rate, recycle ratio, and width of the duct. The list of
operating parameters considered in the analytical and numerical
simulation is presented in Table 1. Three different cases are con-
sidered for analytical study, such as single-glass single-pass,
double-glass single-pass, and double-pass recycle air pass. It must
be noted that only the single-glass single-pass solar air heater is
considered for numerical study. Figure 4 shows the contours of
the temperature for finned single-glass single-pass solar air heater
obtained using ANSYS FLUENT. Temperature contours are presented
at three locations, i.e., at the inlet, middle, and outlet of the solar
air heater. Contours presented in Figs. 4(a)–4(c) are helpful in
knowing how temperature profile is varying at these three

_ 5 0.01–0.025 kg/s, and w 5 0.3–0.5 m

Table 2 Theoretical performance prediction of the solar air heater when n 5 3, G 5 1.5, m

Single-glass single-pass Double-glass single-pass Double-glass recycle air pass

m_ w Tout gth Tout gth Tout gth

0.01 0.3 315.4392 0.28 318.3225 0.3323 325.6208 0.4647

0.4 312.3587 0.1673 320.1737 0.2731 323.4802 0.3178
0.5 310.2731 0.1109 318.0198 0.1946 321.1275 0.2281
0.015 0.3 313.3854 0.3641 315.3594 0.4178 320.8383 0.5669
0.4 311.0057 0.2235 316.8481 0.3421 319.949 0.4051
0.5 309.2311 0.1495 315.3991 0.2494 318.2075 0.2949
0.025 0.3 310.6624 0.4834 311.8018 0.5351 315.1932 0.6889
0.4 309.1895 0.311 312.8164 0.4337 315.3447 0.5193
0.5 307.9289 0.214 312.2346 0.3303 314.7704 0.3987

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 Table 4 Theoretical performance prediction of the solar air
_
heater when w 5 0.3 m, m50:025 kg=s; G 5 0.1–1.5, and n 5 1–5

Double-glass recycle air pass

G N Tin Tout gth gthe

0.1 1 300.8864 309.75 0.4364 0.4364

3 301.107 312.1772 0.5521 0.5521
5 301.337 314.7071 0.6756 0.6756
0.5 1 303.6007 310.8021 0.4835 0.4835
3 304.5203 313.561 0.6149 0.6149
5 305.4223 316.2668 0.7473 0.7472
1 1 305.8246 311.6492 0.5214 0.5214
3 307.2397 314.4795 0.6565 0.6565
5 308.653 317.306 0.795 0.794
1.5 1 307.3109 312.1848 0.5454 0.5454
3 309.1159 315.1932 0.6889 0.6889
5 310.8155 318.0259 0.8281 0.8280

performance are summarized in Table 2. Simulation is carried out

Fig. 5 Contours of the velocity distribution for different num-
bers of fins at various locations
specified locations of the heater duct. Moreover, contours show
that temperature of the air increases with increasing length of the
duct as well as increasing number of fins. This is due to increasing
number of fins, which increases heat transfer area along the length
of the heater. Consequently, similar trend is observed in the
results obtained from analytical study for this particular case of
the solar air heater as shown in Table 2. Results of the comparison
between all three cases for outlet air temperature and thermal
for fixed three numbers of fins and recycle ratio of 1.5, while the
width of the duct and mass flow rate is varied from 0.3 to 0.5 m
and 0.01 to 0.25 kg/s, respectively, to see the effect of three corre-
sponding hydraulic diameters. It is found that outlet air tempera-
ture of all heater cases decreases with increasing width of the
collector, resulting in decrement in the thermal performance.
Increasing width of the heater increases the hydraulic diameter of
the heater. Consequently, decreases the Reynolds number which
further decreases the thermal performance. For the reason that
thermal performance of solar air heaters directly depends upon the
heat removal rate. Thermal performance of the proposed solar air
heater is obtained higher at a duct width of 0.3 m and mass flow
rate of 0.025 kg/s, moreover when operated under recycle opera-
tion. Contours of the velocity distribution for the solar air heater
duct finned with the investigated numbers of fins at different loca-
tions are shown in Fig. 5. The maximum velocity profile is
observed at the outlet of the heater duct.
The thermal performance prediction of the solar air heater with
variable mass flow rate and number of fins as operating parame-
ters is presented in Table 3. The results revealed that thermal per-
formance of the collector increases as the mass flow rate and
number of fins increase. The results indicated the best thermal per-
formance at a mass flow rate of 0.025 kg/s and five numbers of
fins. As can be seen from Tables 2 and 3 that for the investigated
range of mass flow rate, duct width, and number of fins, thermal
performance of the recycled air solar air heater is found higher.
This is because of the reason that for a set value of mass flow rate,
increasing recycle ratio increases the velocity of the fluid flowing
in the heater duct which creates more turbulence for the increased
heat transfer area due to the attached fins, whereas the heat
removal rate depends directly on the velocity of the fluid, hence

Table 3 _ 5 0.01–0.025 kg/s, and n 5 1–5

Theoretical performance prediction of the solar air heater when w 5 3, G 5 1.5, m

Single-glass single-pass Double-glass single-pass Double-glass recycle air pass

m_ N Tout gth Tout gth Tout gth

0.01 1 311.9012 0.2131 314.4689 0.2591 320.9581 0.3752

3 315.4392 0.28 318.3225 0.3323 325.6208 0.4647
5 318.9358 0.3479 322.1309 0.4067 330.2059 0.555
0.015 1 310.2974 0.2765 312.1342 0.3259 316.8658 0.4529
3 313.3854 0.3641 315.3594 0.4178 320.8383 0.5669
5 316.5184 0.4553 318.7334 0.5163 324.7321 0.6817
0.025 1 308.3199 0.3724 309.4084 0.4211 312.1848 0.5454
3 310.6624 0.4834 311.8018 0.5351 315.1932 0.6889
5 313.1088 0.6022 314.3 0.6569 318.0259 0.8281

Journal of Solar Energy Engineering FEBRUARY 2016, Vol. 138 / 011006-7

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 hg  i
th;recycle 2gth;doubleglass single or doublepass
Table 5 Percentage enhancement in the thermal performance, %gth 5 gth;doubleglass single or doublepass 3100 of the recycled solar
air heater as compared to other

Single-glass Double-glass Single-glass Double-glass Single-glass Double-glass

single-pass single-pass single-pass single-pass single-pass single-pass

m_ n¼5 n¼3 n¼1

0.01 59.5286 36.46422 65.96429 39.84351 76.06757 44.80895

0.015 49.72546 32.03564 55.69898 35.68693 63.79747 38.96901
0.025 37.51245 26.06181 42.51138 28.74229 46.45542 29.51793

results in increment in the thermal performance. In order to illus- h¼ heat transfer coefficient ðW=m2 KÞ
trate the results obtained for the proposed solar air heater under H¼ height ðmÞ
the effect of recycle operation, results are tabulated in Table 4. It I¼ global solar radiation ðW=m2 Þ
is worth noting from the table that for a fixed value of mass flow k¼ thermal conductivity ðW=m KÞ
rate as the recycle ratio increases, outlet air temperature increases L¼ length of the heater ðmÞ
with further enhancement in the thermal efficiency. However, m_ ¼ mass flow rate ðkg=sÞ
thermal efficiency of the heater is found to be increased with n¼ number of fins
increasing number of fins as the recycle ratio increases. The maxi-   Nu ¼ Nusselt number
w
mum value of the outlet air temperature and thermal efficiency is p¼p þw¼ perimeter of duct ðmÞ
found to be 18  C and 82%, respectively, at a mass flow rate of 2 Pr ¼ Prandtl number
0.025 kg/s, recycle ratio of 1.5, duct width of 0.3 m, and five num- Qu ¼ thermal power output (W)
bers of fins. Wherein, significant rise in the thermohydraulic effi- Re ¼ Reynolds number
ciency is also noticed with increasing mass flow rate and recycle. t¼ thickness of fins (m)
As apparent that pressure drop must be higher when solar air T¼ temperature ( C)
heater is operated under recycle operation. However, it should be Ub ¼ back loss coefficient ðW=m2 KÞ
noticed that a negligible difference in the values of the thermal v¼ velocity of air (m/s)
and thermohydraulic efficiencies is obtained under the effect of V¼ wind velocity (m/s)
investigated range of mass flow rate and recycle ratio. That means w¼ width/diameter of the collector (m)
a very small pressure loss is accounting for the investigated range
of input parameters. Hence, the mass flow rate of 0.025 kg/s,
recycle ratio of 1.5, duct width of 0.3 m, and five numbers of fins
Greek Symbols
are advised to be used for the temperature requirements of a¼ absorptivity
15–18  C using longitudinal finned semicircular absorber plate d¼ thickness (m)
solar air heater as an alternative. Table 5 summarized the results e¼ emissivity
of percentage thermal performance enhancement of recycled solar g¼ efficiency
air heater as compared with others. The maximum percentage l¼ dynamic viscosity ðkg=m sÞ
thermal performance enhancement is obtained as 76% when com- q¼ density ðkg=m3 Þ
pared with single-glass single-pass solar air heater at a mass flow s¼ transmissivity
rate of 0.01 kg/s and n ¼ 1, when w ¼ 0.3 m and G ¼ 1.5. /¼ dimensionless quantity
u¼ porosity
7 Conclusions
Subscripts
 Thermal performance of a finned semicircular absorber plate
a¼ ambient, air
solar air heater using mass flow rate, recycle ratio, duct
b¼ back plate
width, and number of fins as performance parameters is
c¼ convective, channel
investigated.
f¼ fluid, flow
 Three different cases, such as single-glass single-pass,
fin ¼ fin
double-glass single-pass, and double-glass recycle air pass,
fin; b ¼ fin base
are considered for the present analytical study.
g¼ glass
 Thermal performance of the solar air heater when operated
i; in ¼ inlet
using double-glass cover as well as recycle operation is
l¼ lower
found to be higher which is obtained as 82%.
m¼ packed-bed material
 The proposed double-glass cover finned semicircular
o; out ¼ outlet
absorber plate solar air heater under recycle operation for the
p¼ absorber plate
performance parameter of m_ ¼ 0:025 kg/s, G ¼ 1.5, n ¼ 5,
r¼ radiative
and w ¼ 0.3 is recommended for the temperature require-
th ¼ thermal
ments of 15–18  C as an alternative.
the ¼ thermohydraulic
u¼ upper
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