Heat Transfer and Thermal Efficiency of Solar Air Heater Having Artificial Roughness: A Review

Abstract

Artificial roughness applied on the absorber plate is the most efficient method to improve thermal performance of solar air heaters .Experimental investigations appropriate to distinct roughness geometries shows that the enhancement in heat transfer is accompanied by considerable rise in pumping power. In view of the fact, a designer needs to carefully examine shape and orientation of roughness elements in order to choose the best fit roughness geometry for intended application. In this paper some distinguished roughness geometry has been compared on the basis of heat transfer enhancement and thermo hydraulic performance. The objective of this paper is to review various studies, in which different artificial roughness elements are used to enhance the heat transfer rate with little penalty of friction. Correlations developed by various researchers with the help of experimental results for heat transfer and friction factor for solar air heater ducts by taking different roughened surfaces geometries are given in tabular form. These correlations are used to predict the thermo hydraulic performance of solar air heaters having roughened ducts.