Recent advances in modeling and simulation techniques used in analysis of solar air heater having ribs

Abstract

Energy is the driving force of the cosmos. Mechanical, electrical, chemical, and radiation energy are some of the numerous kinds of energy. One of such form is solar radiation energy. Soar air heating uses sunlight thermal energy to heat air. It is commonly used for heating air in buildings and industrial processes. It has an insulating rear plate, an absorbing plate, and a transparent cover that covers the exposed side. It is easy to set up and use. However, it is low-maintenance and inefficient. The low efficiency of a Solar air heater is mainly due to the formation of laminar sub-layer. This contributes to the overall thermal losses and lowers the efficiency. The efficiency can be enhanced by breaking up this layer with fins, ribs, twisted tapes etc. Attaching ribs to the surface appears to be a potential option. The literature has many different techniques for analysing such issues, However, this study will only focus on the computational method. Computational Fluid dynamics is a simulation technique that employs sophisticated computer and applied mathematics to simulate fluid flow conditions in order to forecast heat, mass, and momentum transfer and to optimise design in a variety of heat transfer and fluid flow processes. This paper provides a detailed literature analysis on several attachments of better Solar air heater modifications using Computational fluid dynamics approach.