IRJET- Design and Fabrication of Solar Air Heater to Increase Heat Transfer Rate using Artificial Roughness

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 06 Issue: 03 | Mar 2019 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072
© 2019, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 7.211 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 5284
Design and Fabrication of Solar Air Heater to Increase Heat Transfer
Rate using Artificial Roughness
Anjali Vyas1, Sanchit Gupta2, Amankumar Jaiswal3, Chaitanya Jire4, Aditya Joshi5
1Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, MCT's Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology,
Maharashtra, India
2,3,4,5Student, Mechanical Engineering Department, MCT's Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Mumbai,
Maharashtra, India
---------------------------------------------------------------------***----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abstract - The solar air heaters, because of their
simplicity are cheap and most widely used collection devices
of solar energy, has great potential for low temperature
applications. To create turbulence near the wall or to break
this boundary layer and to improve the thermal
performance of air heaters, artificial roughness in the form
of wires or ribs of different shapes and in various
arrangements have been used. In the present study,
Experimentation has been carried out on solar air heater to
find out enhancement in heat transfer coefficient due to
artificial roughness on absorber plate. Through this study
the results obtained had an increment in heat transfer
coefficient from 15% to 35%
Key Words:Solar air heater; Artificial roughness; Reynolds
Number: Heat transfer: Experimental setup
1. INTRODUCTION
Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is
harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies
such as solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy,
solar architecture, molten salt power plants and artificial
photosynthesis. [13]
Solar air heating is a solar thermal technology in which the
energy from the sun, insolation, is captured by an
absorbing medium and used to heat air. Solar air heating is
a renewable energy heating technology used to heat or
condition air for buildings or process heat applications. It
is typically the most cost-effective out of all the solar
technologies, especially in commercial and industrial
applications, and it addresses the largest usage of building
energy in heating climates, which is space heating and
industrial process heating. [2]
A simple solar air collector consists of a flat, dark metal
absorber plate encased in an airtight, insulated metal
frame with glass over the top. The increase in temperature
of air is directly proportional to the flow of air, for which
complex designs are used which inhibit roughened
surfaces or channels to increase the disturbance of air as it
flows through the collector. Commercial manufacturers
use black aluminum for the absorber plate. [14]
Concept of artificial roughness on plain surface is an
important technique to enhance heat transfer rate of air
flowing in solar air heater. The most common types of
artificial roughness are fins, perforations, small bumps,
wires, ribs, etc.
Applications of artificial roughness on the underside of
absorber plate in solar air heater duct have been widely
used to improve heat transfer rates. The design of the
roughness shape and arrangement is most important to
optimize the roughened surfaces. The roughness
parameters and ribs arrangement are responsible to alter
the flow structure and heat transfer mechanisms are
mainly governed by flow structure.
A glazing (a transparent glass) plays a vital role to allow
the incident solar radiation for entering the device and
substantially restricting infrared energy losses through re-
radiation. Reasonable collection of solar radiant energy at
moderate temperatures is one of the typical challenges,
which is faced by investigators in the field of solar energy
utilization. Practically, all absorption collectors proposed
to accomplish this function, also depend on the utilization
of glazing. A glazing should be used for a high
transmissivity to the solar spectrum and extensively
opaque to long (or infrared) wavelength solar radiation. A
transparent glass is used to transfer the energy from the
sun into the solar collector or absorber inside the solar
system. The transparent glazing is purposely used to
reduce convection losses from the absorber to the
environment through the restraint of the stagnant fluid
layer in between the absorber and glazing. [2]
An absorber plate is the main component of a SAH and has
a momentous effect on thermal performance of a solar
thermal system. Many aspects of materials (mainly
absorptivity of solar heat) and their properties have a
significant effect on the overall performance and the cost
of a solar energy device. The major concern will be with
different materials as applied to solar collectors, with a
reflection to material properties as they affect the overall
performance. Basic studies for absorptivity reasons have
suggested numerous mechanisms for a selection of
energy-absorbing surfaces. [2]

The literature survey of the papers “Thermal Performance
of Solar Air Heater Having Absorber Plate with V-Down
Discrete Rib Roughness for Space-Heating Applications”
by Rajendra Karwaand V. Srivastava and “A review on
roughness geometry used in solar air heaters” by Varun, R.
P. Saini, S. K. Singal, revealed that use of artificial
roughness to increase the rate of heat transfer and
turbulence is an effective way to improve the performance
of Solar Air Heater if the artificial roughness introduced on
the absorber plate is arranged in a V-Down discrete
pattern which adds to improvement in the turbulence of
the fluid flowing over the absorber plate.
Nomenclature
A area of absorber plate, m2 Q useful heat gain, W
Cp specific heat of air, J/kgK Ti inlet temperature of air, K
h heat transfer coefficient, W/m2K To outlet temperature of air, K
L length of test section of duct, m Tp mean plate temperature, K
ṁ mass flow rate, kg/s Tm mean fluid (air) temperature, K
Re Reynolds Number Density of air, kg/m3
∆PO Pressure drop in orifice v velocity of air, m/s
μ viscosity of air, N-m/s De effective diameter of pipe, m
2. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
An experimental setup has been fabricated to study the
effect of artificial roughness on heat transfer coefficient.
Table 1: Dimensions of Test Section
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Upper Wooden Box:
Length = 1200 mm
Breadth = 600 mm
Height = 50 mm
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Lower Wooden Box:
Length = 1200 mm
Breadth = 600 mm
Height = 20 mm
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Collector Plate:
Length = 1150 mm
Breadth = 550 mm
Height = 2 mm
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Test Section:
Length = 1.18 m
Breadth = 0.57 m
Square hole area = 0.07*0.07 m2
S-Pattern area = 2*(0.035*0.48) m2
Area = 0.66 m2
During the first pass, air is moved through and s-pattern
which gives more time for the air to exchange heat with
the absorber plate. This also leads to increase in
turbulence which in turn helps to increase the heat
transfer rate.
During the second pass air is made to flow through a duct
below the absorber plate. Artificial roughness i.e. fins have
been introduced on the bottom surface of the absorber
plate. They are arranged in a v-down discrete pattern and
as seen from the literature review, this pattern gives the
most increase in the heat transfer rate. The fin geometry is
selected as trapezoidal. This happens because the artificial
roughness introduces turbulence to the flowing air
resulting in an increase in flow time which benefits the
heat transfer from the absorber plate to the flowing air.
Thermocouples are used at regular intervals at both first
and second pass to measure the temperature rise of the
flowing air. Various Thermocouples are to be attached at
inlet, outlet and test section of absorber plate.
Then, the air is passed through an exit port and into a pipe.
Along this pipe, and orifice meter and a pressure gauge are
fixed to measure the flow rate and output pressure. A
blower is also fitted at the end of the exit pipe so that a
uniform air flow can be maintained through the heater.
By measuring the temperature and pressure difference
finally heat transfer coefficient is determined which is
further used to find heat transfer rate.

Fig -1:Layout of Geometry
The layout of geometry is shown in fig-1. After the
assembly of the heater and its final inspection, the
experimental setup was done on the balcony of the college.
The blower was turned on an hour prior to taking the
temperature readings every time so as to obtain accurate
results. Temperature readings of inlet, plate and outlet we
taken for three consecutive days at peak hours.The blower
attached was used to create suction in the solar air heater.
The air is first passed through the S-Pattern on top of the
Solar Air Heater. Then it enters the 2nd pass from the hole
cutout into the absorber plate and then navigates itself via
the fins and to the outlet. The arrangement of fins on
absorber plate in v-down discrete pattern is as shown in
fig-2
Fig -2: Arrangement of fins in V-Down Discrete Pattern
An orifice meter is also attached to get the pressure
difference of the air coming out of the outlet. An
anemometer was also used to measure the velocity of the
outlet air. Experimental setup is as shown in fig-3.
Fig -3: Experimental Setup
2.1 Data Reduction
Steady state values of temperature of air at various
locations where measured. Let outlet pressure drop across
the duct was measured by U-Tube Manometer. Mass flow
rate was calculated from the pressure difference.
ṁ = CdA√
Reynolds Number can be calculated as follows:
Re=
The useful heat gain Q can be calculated form first law as
𝑄 = 𝑚𝑐 𝑝 (𝑇o − 𝑇i)
Where m = mass flow rate, kg/sec
Ti= inlet temperature of air
To= outlet temperature of air
The useful gain can also be obtained from heat transfer
consideration, i.e.
𝑄 = ℎ𝐴c (𝑇pm– 𝑇m)
Where h= is convective heat transfer coefficient form plate
to the air Tpm= is the mean plate temperature,
Tm= (Ti+ To)/2 is the mean fluid (air) temperature in the air
heater duct,
Ac= is the area of heat transferring surface.
The top loss Q is the significant loss from an air heater. It is
function of the wind velocity, emissivity of the plate, air gap
between the absorber plate and the glass cover, collector
inclination, atmospheric temperature, and the plate
temperature.
If temperature depression of the absorber plate is reduced,
the top loss can be reduced to enhance the heat transfer
coefficient from the absorber plate to the air flowing
through collector duct.
Thermal optimization of Roughened Solar Air Heater:
Since the enhancement in heat transfer coefficient is strong
function of roughness parameters, it is essential that
optimum values of the parameters are found that result i.e.
Inlet
Outlet
Fins
Outlet
Outlet

result in maximum possible enhancement in heat transfer
rate.
A version of Solar Air Heater has been fabricated. Then, the
entire apparatus was kept in the college balcony and
temperature readings were taken at regular intervals for
peak hours of the day. Calculations have been done as
given earlier in this chapter.
Results were obtained from experimenting once without
fins and once with fins.
The maximum increase obtained in the heat transfer
coefficient is 34.09%
The range of increase in temperature difference between
inlet and outlet is obtained between 10 to 16 ℃ throughout
the day.
2.2 Results
Fig -4: Heat transfer coefficients obtained at different
times for actual experiment and referred paper
In this fig-4, obtained value of ‘h’ for rough plate is plotted
against value of h for smooth plate against different times
of experimentation.
Table -1:Results obtained with experimental setup
Fig -5: Values of heat transfer coefficient and Reynolds
Number obtained at various times
Fig -6: Temperature rise across the various sections of the
solar air heater
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00
Smooth Rough
Time
11:00
12:00
13:00
14:00
15:00
10
10.5
11
11.5
12
12.5
13
13.5
2500 2700 2900 3100 3300
'h'ofroughenedplate Reynolds Number
hrough v/s Re
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00
TEMPERATURE RISE ACROSS SAH
Section 1 Section 2 Section 3
Time Ti To
v
m/s
hsmooth hrough
%
Increase
in h
11:00 27 39 3.8 9.6 11.36 18.33
12:00 28 42 4.1 8.70 11.72 34.71
13:00 29 45 4.4 10.50 12.95 23.33
14:00 30 44 4.7 8.65 11.33 30.98
15:00 31 44 4.8 9.11 10.52 15.47
HEATTRANSFERCO-EFFICIENT
TEMPERATUREINo
C
Time

Fig -7: Position of thermocouples
3. CONCLUSIONS
Artificial roughness in the form of trapezoidal shaped fins
helped to increase the heat transfer coefficient of air up to
34.09% which is a significant rise in the value of h as
compared to the value of h as obtained in free-flowing air.
Multiple other factors contribute towards the increase in
temperature of air obtained at the outlet;
1. Solar air Heater having artificial roughened
absorber Plate have high rate of heat transfer than
that of smooth solar air heater
2. The aluminium sheet coated with black paint
allows for more absorptivity of sunlight that falls
on the absorber plate which increases the overall
temperature of the plate to values as high as
100oC.
3. The double pass provision allows more time for
the air flowing around the absorber plate to heat
up and to obtain significant rise in temperature.
4. The wooden blocks placed on the upper side of
the aluminium sheet also provide more time for
the flowing air to get heated up by radiation from
the aluminium sheet.
5. Greater volume on the upper side of the absorber
plate between the aluminium sheet and glass
panel allow for a large quantity of air to enter
through the inlet duct as compared to the low
volume between the under-side of the absorber
plate and wooden base where the volume is
significantly reduced to allow a rise in the heat
transfer coefficient with the provision of artificial
roughness.
6. The use of asbestos sheet along the periphery of
the Solar Air Heater helps to significantly reduce
the losses obtained due to absence of an insulator.
Fig-8:Percentage increase in heat transfer rate due to
artificial roughness
REFERENCES
1. Rudra Nandan Pramanik, Sudhansu Sekhar
Sahoo, Ranjan Kumar Swain, Tara Prasad
Mohaptra, Ashish Kumar Srivastava;
“Performance Analysis of Double Pass Solar
Air Heater with Bottom Extended Surface”;
March, 2017.
2. Abhishek Saxena, Varun, A. A. El-Sebaii; “A
thermodynamic review of solar air heater”;
November 2014.
3. FouedChabane, Noureddine Moummi, Said
Benramache; “Experimental study of heat
transfer and thermal performance with
longitudinal fins of solar air heater”; February
2013.
4. A. S. Yadav and J. L. Bhagoria, “A CFD analysis
of a solar air heater having triangular rib
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air heater provided with circular transverse
wire rib roughness on the absorber plate,”
Energy, vol. 55, pp. 1127–1142, 2013.
6. Rajendra Karwa and V. Srivastava; “Thermal
Performance of Solar Air Heater Having
Absorber Plate with V-Down Discrete Rib
Roughness for Space-Heating Applications”;
October 2012.
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10
15
20
25
30
35
40
11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00
% Increase
%INCREASEINh
Time

Heater Having Absorber Plate with Half-
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20. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jen/201
4/247287
21. https://www.thermocoupleinfo.com/
22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy
23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_air_heat

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IRJET- Design and Fabrication of Solar Air Heater to Increase Heat Transfer Rate using Artificial Roughness