Exergetic performance evaluation of a single pass baffled solar air heater

Abstract

In this study, the exergetic performance of a baffled type solar air heater has been evaluated theoretically. A detailed parametric study was done to investigate the effect of variation of fin and baffle parameters, number of glass covers, bottom insulation thickness and inlet air temperature at different mass flow rates on the exergy efficiency. The results indicated that attaching fins and baffles at low mass flow rates can lead to noticeable enhancement of the exergy efficiency. The results revealed that the trend of variation of the energy and exergy efficiencies are not the same and the exergy efficiency is the chief criterion for performance evaluation. Increasing the baffles width, reducing the distance between baffles and increasing the number of fins are effective at low mass flow rates, but at high mass flow rates the inverse trend is observable, such that exergy efficiency reduces sharply. The results showed that exergy efficiency increases with increasing the solar radiation intensity. By adding the second glass cover the exergy efficiency enhances at low mass flow rates. Increasing the insulation thickness over an optimum value doesn't improve the exergy efficiency. Increasing the inlet air temperature increases the exergy efficiency especially at high mass flow rates.