Numerical investigation on the performance of a solar air heater using jet impingement with absorber plate

Abstract

Solar air heater is the simplest heating device for utilizing solar thermal energy. Jet impingement technique can be used to amplify the performance of a solar air heater by increasing the heat transfer between fluid and heated surface. Under the present study, an attempt has been made to carry out a numerical investigation on heat transfer behaviour of a solar air heater having absorber plate with impinging jet. 3D-Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation using ANSYS-18.1 has been carried out with RNG k–ɛ turbulence model, and the upwind scheme is applied for the discretization of governing equations. Jet diameter ratio and jet height ratio are the considered system parameters, and their considered ranges are 0.065 to 0.195 and 0 to 0.433, respectively. The performance of solar air heater with jet impingement is investigated under different flow conditions taking Reynolds number ranging from 3500 to 17,500. It has been found that a significant increase in heat transfer for jet impinging solar air heaters is achieved in comparison to smooth solar air heater under similar operating conditions. The maximum heat transfer enhancement of 7.58 with a friction factor penalty of 9.01 times is obtained at jet diameter ratio of 0.0650 and jet height ratio of 0.216 for Reynolds number of 17,500. Maximum thermal-hydraulic performance parameter value of 3.66 is obtained correspond to jet height ratio of 0.216 and jet diameter ratio of 0.065 for Reynolds number of 15,500.