Hindawi Publishing Corporation

Journal of Renewable Energy

Volume 2013, Article ID 151578, 13 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/151578

Research Article
Thermal Performance of Solar Air Heater Having
Absorber Plate with V-Down Discrete Rib Roughness for
Space-Heating Applications

Rajendra Karwa and V. Srivastava

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Architecture, Jai Narain Vyas University,
Jodhpur 342 011, Rajasthan, India

Correspondence should be addressed to Rajendra Karwa; karwa_r@yahoo.com

Received 15 August 2012; Revised 29 October 2012; Accepted 30 October 2012

Academic Editor: Zuhal Oktay

Copyright © 2013 R. Karwa and V. Srivastava. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly
cited.

e paper presents results of thermal performance analysis of a solar air heater with v-down discrete rib roughness on the air
�ow side of the absorber plate, which supplies heated air for space heating applications. e air heater operates in a closed loop
mode with inlet air at a �xed temperature of 295 K from the conditional space. e ambient temperature varied from 278 K to 288 K
corresponding to the winter season of Western Rajasthan, India. e results of the analysis are presented in the form of performance
plots, which can be utili�ed by a designer for calculating desired air �ow rate at different ambient temperature and solar insolation
values.

1. Introduction square, chamfered, wedge, etc.), and expanded metal wire

Flat plate solar air heaters have been employed for space
heating, drying, and similar industrial applications requiring
heated air at low to moderate temperatures. e thermal
efficiency of a solar air heater (collector) is a function of
many design and operating parameters. Convective heat
transfer coefficient between the absorber plate and air �owing
through the collector duct is one of the key parameters.
Arti�cial roughness on heat transferring surface of asym-
metrically heated high aspect ratio rectangular ducts, mod-
eled as solar air heater ducts, has been shown to signi�cantly
enhance the heat transfer coefficient with minimum pressure
loss penalty because the roughness creates turbulence near
the heat transferring surface only [1–7]. us such roughness
can be used on the air �ow side of the absorber plate of the
solar air heaters as shown in Figure 1(a) for the improvement
of their thermal efficiency.
Figure 1(b) depicts the basic roughness geometries com-
piled by Karwa et al. [8], which includes different rib
arrangements, such as transverse, angled, continuous, and
discrete, in v-pattern for ribs of different shapes (circular,
mesh. Arti�cial roughness on a heat transferring surface
creates local wall turbulence due to a complex �ow structure
depending on the shape and arrangement of the ribs and
hence the degree of the heat transfer enhancement in both the
heat transfer coefficient and friction factor also varies with the
roughness type.
Heat transfer enhancement in the case of the inclined
or the v-pattern ribs has been reported to be higher than
the transverse ribs [9]. e enhancement in the case of the
transverse ribs (at 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑝 𝑝) occurs only due to the �ow,
separated at the ribs, reattaching between the ribs while it
has been attributed both to the reattachment effect and the
secondary �ow of the air induced by the rib inclination in
the case of inclined and v-pattern ribs [7, 9] as depicted in
Figure 2. e secondary �ow (movement of heated air in
contact with the plate surface) is along the plate surface to
the side wall in the case of the inclined ribs. is exposes
the heated plate to a relatively lower temperature air of the
axial or primary �ow over the ribs. In the case of v-down
ribs, there are two contradictory effects: the secondary �ow is
towards the central axis where it interacts with the axial �ow
2 Journal of Renewable Energy

Solar radiation, I
Heated air to the
conditioned space

Glass cover

Absorber
plate
L

H
Air from the Width, W
conditioned space
Solar insolation, I
Roughened Glass cover
absorber plate
Ribs e

Air in Air out

p

H Rib geometry
L
(a)
S
α 60◦
B

Flow W Flow

(i) Circular cross-section wire inclined to flow [1, 2] (iv) V-discrete rib roughness [7]

Flow l
(v) Circular cross-section wire as ribs [1, 2, 6]

φ
(ii) Expanded metal wire mesh [3]
α

(vi) Chamfered ribs [4]

Flow W φ

(iii) Circular cross-section wire in v-pattern [6] (vii) Wedge shaped roughness [5]
(b)

F 1: (a) Schematic diagram and longitudinal section of a solar air heater with roughened absorber plate, (b) roughness for solar air
heater ducts: (i)–(iv) plan view, (v)–(vii) longitudinal section [8].
Journal of Renewable Energy
α α
(i) Inclined ribs
x
sx
(iii) Crossed wire mesh
Primary flow
Secondary flow
X Mixing of primary and secondary flows
F 2: Effect of rib orientation on the �ow [8].
(at 𝑥𝑥 in Figure 2) creating additional turbulence leading to the
increase in the heat transfer rate while the rise in temperature
of the axial �ow air, just above the ribs in the central region
due to the mixing of the secondary �ow, reduces the heat
transfer rate. For the discrete ribs, the heated air moving as
secondary �ow mixes with the primary air a�er only a short
distance movement leading to a better mixing of the heated
air near the plate with the colder primary air. In the case of
crossed wire mesh, the �ow structure is quite complex. For
example, the axial distance 𝑠𝑠𝑥𝑥 /𝑒𝑒 between the rib elements of
the mesh of R. P. Saini and J. S. Saini [3] varies from 0 to 25.
e primary �ow over the mesh portion with 7 < 𝑠𝑠𝑥𝑥 /𝑒𝑒 𝑒 𝑒𝑒
causes enhancement due to the reattachment effect, while the
�ow between 0 < 𝑠𝑠𝑥𝑥 /𝑒𝑒 𝑒 𝑒 contributes poorly due to the
vortex �ow. e secondary �ow mainly occurs along the rib
elements where 𝑠𝑠𝑥𝑥 /𝑒𝑒 is greater than 7 and thus is likely to be
less strong. e secondary �ow air, here also, mixes a�er a
short distance movement with the primary �ow over the ribs
at 𝑥𝑥.
Various studies report different degrees of enhancements
in heat transfer and friction factor because of the difference
in the �ow structure as discussed above. us the preference
of any roughness type must be based on the objective of
3
W x
(ii) V-down continuous ribs
60◦
(iv) V-down discrete ribs
heat transfer enhancement with minimum pressure loss
penalty and hence a thermo-hydraulic performance analysis
is desired. Based on the criterion of equal pumping power,
Karwa et al. [8] carried out a comparison of different
roughness geometries depicted in Figure 1(b) to �nd out the
preferred type of roughness for the absorber plate of a solar
air heater. ey have recommended discrete rib roughness
geometry of Karwa et al. [7] for applications such as space
heating requiring heated air with temperature rise of the
order of 15∘ C–25∘ C.
Karwa and Chauhan [10] carried out studies on thermal
and effective efficiencies of solar air heaters, with open loop
operation, having 60∘ v-down discrete rectangular cross-
section repeated rib roughness on the air �ow side of the
absorber plate using a mathematical model, which was
validated against experimental data. e efficiency of the
solar air heater is de�ned as
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑝𝑝 Δ𝑡𝑡 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝑝𝑝 Δ𝑡𝑡
𝑄𝑄 (1)
𝜂𝜂 𝜂 = = ,
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 𝐼𝐼
where 𝑄𝑄 is the useful heat gain, 𝐼𝐼 is the incident solar
radiation intensity on the collector plane, 𝐴𝐴 is the area of
solar air heater receiving solar radiation, Δ𝑡𝑡 is the rise in the
4 Journal of Renewable Energy
temperature of the air, and 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺 is the air �ow rate per
unit area of the absorber plate.
e effective efficiency 𝜂𝜂𝑒𝑒 , in their study, is based on the
net gain aer taking account of the pumping power:
[(𝑄𝑄 𝑄 𝑄𝑄) − 𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃]
𝜂𝜂𝑒𝑒 = , (2)
𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼
where 𝐶𝐶 is a conversion factor used for calculating equivalent
thermal energy for obtaining the pumping power. It is a prod-
uct of the efficiencies of the fan, electric motor, transmission,
and thermoelectric conversion.
ey concluded that the preferred relative roughness
height is 0.07 for a solar air heater to be used for space
heating applications, where the air �ow rate per unit area of
the absorber plate is on the lower side (𝐺𝐺 𝐺 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺 kgs−1 m−2 ).
2. Objective
From the literature review presented above, it can be inferred
that roughened duct solar air heaters can provide enhanced
thermal and thermo-hydraulic performance. For low mass
�ow rates applicable to space heating applications, the previ-
ous studies have established that the 60∘ v-down discrete rib
roughness of Karwa et al. [7] is the preferred one. However,
results of studies on the performance of such roughened
solar air heaters operating in a closed loop for space heating
applications are not available in the open literature. Hence,
the present study has been planned to carry out performance
studies on solar air heaters with 60∘ v-down discrete rib
roughness of Karwa et al. [7] on the air �ow side of absorber
plate for closed loop operation, where the inlet temperature
of the air coming from the conditional space is constant. e
analysis in the present study will be carried out by suitably
modifying the mathematical model of Karwa and Chauhan
[10].
3. Mathematical Model for Thermal
Performance Prediction
e model used by Karwa and Chauhan [10] is based on
the nonlinear mathematical model presented for a smooth
duct solar air heater by Karwa et al. [11], which was suitably
modi�ed by them for the study of roughened solar air heaters
in their work. is model calculates the useful heat gain from
the iterative solution of basic heat transfer equations of top
loss and equates the same with the convective heat transfer
from the absorber plate to the air using proper heat transfer
correlations for the roughened and smooth duct air heaters.
is model has also been modi�ed by them to estimate the
collector back loss from the iterative solution of the heat
balance equation for the back surface for greater accuracy.
e edge loss has been calculated from the equation suggested
by Klein [12].
Figure 3(a) depicts the schematic diagram of a solar air
heater and its longitudinal section along with plan of the
roughened absorber plate having 60∘ v-down discrete rib
roughness of Karwa et al. [7].
e heat balance on a solar air heater gives the distribu-
tion of incident solar radiation 𝐼𝐼 into useful heat gain 𝑄𝑄 and
various heat losses as depicted in Figure 3(b). e useful heat
gain or heat collection rate of the collector is
𝑄𝑄 𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄 (𝜏𝜏𝜏𝜏) − 𝑄𝑄𝐿𝐿 =𝐴𝐴 󶁢󶁢𝐼𝐼 (𝜏𝜏𝜏𝜏) − 𝑈𝑈𝐿𝐿 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 󶀲󶀲󶀲󶀲 , (3)
where 𝐴𝐴 is the area of the absorber plate, (𝜏𝜏𝜏𝜏) is the
transmittance-absorptance product of the glass cover-
absorber plate combination. e overall heat loss 𝑄𝑄𝐿𝐿 from
the air heater is a sum of the losses from top 𝑄𝑄𝑡𝑡 , back 𝑄𝑄𝑏𝑏 ,
and edge 𝑄𝑄𝑒𝑒 of the collector. e overall loss coefficient 𝑈𝑈𝐿𝐿
is de�ned as
𝑄𝑄𝐿𝐿
𝑈𝑈𝐿𝐿 = , (4)
󶁢󶁢𝐴𝐴 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 󶀲󶀲󶀲󶀲
where 𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝 is mean absorber plate temperature and 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 is
ambient temperature.
e collected heat is transferred to the air to be heated.
us,
𝑄𝑄 𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑝𝑝 󶀡󶀡𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 − 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 󶀱󶀱 = 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝑝𝑝 󶀡󶀡𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 − 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 󶀱󶀱 . (5)
e heat transfer coefficient ℎ between the air and
absorber plate is determined from appropriate heat transfer
coefficient correlation. e useful heat gain in terms of the
heat transfer coefficient ℎ is
𝑄𝑄 𝑄𝑄𝑄𝑄 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝 − 𝑇𝑇𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 󶀲󶀲 , (6)
where 𝑇𝑇𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 is the mean temperature of air in the air heater
duct.
3.1. Top Loss. e top loss 𝑄𝑄𝑡𝑡 from the collector has been
calculated from the iterative solution of basic heat transfer
equations as detailed below.
Heat transfer from the absorber plate at mean tempera-
ture 𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝 to the inner surface of the glass cover at temperature
𝑇𝑇𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 takes place by radiation and convection. Hence,
−1
1 1
𝑄𝑄𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 =𝐴𝐴 󶁧󶁧𝜎𝜎 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇4𝑝𝑝 −𝑇𝑇4𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 󶀲󶀲 󶀲󶀲 + −1󶀶󶀶 +ℎ𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝 −𝑇𝑇𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 󶀲󶀲󶁷󶁷 .
𝜀𝜀𝑝𝑝 𝜀𝜀𝑔𝑔
(7a)
e heat transfer through the glass cover of thickness 𝛿𝛿𝑔𝑔
by conduction is
𝑘𝑘𝑔𝑔 𝐴𝐴 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 − 𝑇𝑇𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 󶀲󶀲
𝑄𝑄𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = , (7b)
𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿
where 𝑘𝑘𝑔𝑔 is the thermal conductivity of the glass and 𝑇𝑇𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 is
temperature of the outer surface of the glass cover.
From the outer surface of the glass cover, the heat is
rejected by radiation to the sky at temperature 𝑇𝑇𝑠𝑠 and by
convection to the ambient air. Hence,
Journal of Renewable Energy 5

Ribs e

p
Roughened w
absorber plate

S
60◦
B

Flow

p = pitch
e = height of rib
w/e = relative roughness width = 2
p/e = relative roughness pitch = 10
B/S = relative roughness length
of discrete ribs = 6

(a)

Absorber Ta Top loss, Qt Glass cover

I(τα)
plate
Tg Tp
δ pg

Air in Tfm Q Tb Air out

Insulation
(back side) Back loss, Qb Edge loss, Qe

(b)

F 3: (a) Longitudinal section of the roughened duct air heater with plane view of absorber plate having 60∘ v-down discrete rib roughness;
(b) heat balance.

𝑄𝑄𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 𝐴𝐴 󶁢󶁢𝜎𝜎𝜎𝜎𝑔𝑔 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇4𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 − 𝑇𝑇4𝑠𝑠 󶀲󶀲 + ℎ𝑤𝑤 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 󶀲󶀲󶁲󶁲 , (7c) For the estimate of the convective heat transfer coefficient
between the absorber plate and glass cover ℎ𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 the three-
where ℎ𝑤𝑤 is the wind heat transfer coefficient. region correlation of Buchberg et al. [14] has been used:
In the equilibrium, 𝑄𝑄𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 𝑄𝑄𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 𝑄𝑄𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 = 𝑄𝑄𝑡𝑡 .
1708 +
e sky temperature 𝑇𝑇𝑠𝑠 , in (7c), is a function of many Nu = 1 + 1.446󶀤󶀤1 − 󶀴󶀴 for 1708 ≤ Ra′ ≤ 5900 (9a)
parameters. Some studies assume the sky temperature to be Ra′
equal to the ambient temperature because it is difficult to
(the + bracket goes to zero when negative),
make a correct estimate of it, while others estimate it using
different correlations. One such widely used formula for clear 0.252
sky is due to Swinbank [13], which is Nu = 0.229󶀣󶀣Ra′ 󶀳󶀳 for 5900 < Ra′ ≤ 9.23 × 104 , (9b)
0.285
𝑇𝑇𝑠𝑠 = 0.0552 𝑇𝑇1.5
𝑎𝑎 . (8) Nu = 0.157󶀣󶀣Ra′ 󶀳󶀳 for 9.23 × 104 < Ra′ ≤ 106 , (9c)
6 Journal of Renewable Energy

where Ra′ = (Ra cos 𝛽𝛽𝛽 is the Rayleigh number for the e parameter 𝐹𝐹𝑅𝑅 in the above equation is given by the
inclined air layers. e Rayleigh number for the natural following relation:
convection �ow between parallel plates (absorber plate and
glass cover) is given by 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝑝𝑝 𝐹𝐹′ 𝑈𝑈𝐿𝐿
𝐹𝐹𝑅𝑅 = 󶀦󶀦 󶀶󶀶 󶁧󶁧1 − exp 󶀧󶀧− 󶀷󶀷󶁷󶁷 , (15)
𝑈𝑈𝐿𝐿 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝑝𝑝
𝑔𝑔 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝 − 𝑇𝑇𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 󶀲󶀲 𝛿𝛿3𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝
Ra = Gr Pr = 󶁧󶁧 󶁷󶁷 Pr, (10)
𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝜈𝜈2𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 where 𝐹𝐹′ in the above equation is de�ned as

where 𝛿𝛿𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 is the gap between the absorber plate and glass 𝑈𝑈𝐿𝐿 −1
𝐹𝐹′ = 󶀤󶀤1 + 󶀴󶀴 . (16)
cover. ℎ
e outlet temperature of air in terms of 𝐹𝐹𝑅𝑅 is
3.2. Back and Edge Losses. e back loss from the collector,
refer Figure 3(b), has been calculated from the following 󶁡󶁡𝐼𝐼 (𝜏𝜏𝜏𝜏) − 𝑈𝑈𝐿𝐿 󶀡󶀡𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 󶀱󶀱󶀱󶀱
equation: 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 = 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 + 𝐹𝐹𝑅𝑅 . (17)
𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝑝𝑝
𝐴𝐴 󶀡󶀡𝑇𝑇𝑏𝑏 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 󶀱󶀱
𝑄𝑄𝑏𝑏 = , (11a) e mean air temperature equation in terms of 𝐹𝐹𝑅𝑅 and 𝐹𝐹′
󶀡󶀡𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿𝑖𝑖 + 1/ℎ𝑤𝑤 󶀱󶀱 is
where 𝛿𝛿 is insulation thickness and 𝑘𝑘𝑖𝑖 is the thermal conduc- 𝑄𝑄 󶀣󶀣1 − 𝐹𝐹𝑅𝑅 /𝐹𝐹′ 󶀳󶀳
tivity of the insulating material. 𝑇𝑇𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 = 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 + . (18)
Heat transfer by radiation from the heated absorber plate 𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿 𝐹𝐹𝑅𝑅
to the duct bottom surface is
Equations (14) and (17) have been used for the cross-
1 1
−1 check of the values of temperatures 𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝 and 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 calculated
𝑄𝑄𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = 𝜎𝜎 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇4𝑝𝑝 − 𝑇𝑇4𝑏𝑏 󶀲󶀲 󶀲󶀲 + − 1󶀶󶀶 . (11b) from (6) and (13), respectively.
𝜀𝜀𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝜀𝜀𝑏𝑏 Knowing that the accuracy of the results of the perfor-
mance analysis strongly depends on the use of appropriate
e heated bottom surface at temperature 𝑇𝑇𝑏𝑏 transfers heat transfer and friction factor correlations for the solar air
heat to the surroundings through the back insulation and to heater ducts, the model has taken extra care and efforts to
the air �owing through the duct at mean temperature 𝑇𝑇𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 , select them.
that is, For the asymmetrically heated high aspect ratio rectan-
𝑇𝑇𝑏𝑏 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 gular ducts of smooth duct solar air heater, Karwa et al.
𝑄𝑄𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 = + ℎ 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇𝑏𝑏 − 𝑇𝑇𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 󶀲󶀲 . (11c) [11] used the following correlation of Chen in [15] for the
󶀡󶀡𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿𝑖𝑖 + 1/ℎ𝑤𝑤 󶀱󶀱 apparent friction factor in the laminar regime:
e absorber plate inner surface and duct bottom surface 24 (0.64 + 38/ Re) 𝐷𝐷ℎ
long wave emissivity values 𝜀𝜀𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 and 𝜀𝜀𝑏𝑏 in (11b) have been 𝑓𝑓app = + . (19)
Re 4𝐿𝐿
assumed to be 0.9. e heat balance for the back surface gives
𝑄𝑄𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = 𝑄𝑄𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 . e temperature of the duct bottom surface 𝑇𝑇𝑏𝑏 e last term in the equation takes account of the increase in
has been estimated from the iterative solution of this heat the friction factor in the entrance region of the duct.
balance equation. e following heat transfer correlation from Hollands and
For the edge loss estimate, the following empirical equa- Shewen [16] for the thermally developing laminar �ow for the
tion suggested by Klein [12] has been used: smooth duct has been used:
𝐻𝐻
𝑄𝑄𝑒𝑒 = 0.5𝐴𝐴𝑒𝑒 󶀢󶀢𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 󶀲󶀲 , (12) Nu = 5.385 + 0.148 Re 󶀤󶀤 󶀴󶀴 for Re < 2550. (20)
𝐿𝐿
where 𝐴𝐴𝑒𝑒 is the area of the edge of the air heater transferring e friction factor correlation suggested by Bhatti and
heat to the surroundings. Shah [17] for the transition to turbulent �ow regime in
e outlet air temperature has been estimated from rectangular cross-section smooth duct (0 ≤ 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻 𝐻𝐻𝐻 is
𝑄𝑄 0.1125𝐻𝐻
𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 = 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 + . (13) 𝑓𝑓 𝑓 󶀤󶀤1.0875 − 󶀴󶀴 𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑜 , (21)
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑝𝑝 𝑊𝑊

e mean plate temperature equation in terms of heat where

removal factor 𝐹𝐹𝑅𝑅 and efficiency factor 𝐹𝐹′ is 𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑜 = 0.0054 + 2.3 × 10−8 Re1.5 , for 2100 ≤ Re ≤ 3550,

𝑄𝑄 󶀡󶀡1 − 𝐹𝐹𝑅𝑅 󶀱󶀱 𝑓𝑓𝑜𝑜 = 1.28 × 10−3 + 0.1143Re−0.311 , for 3550 < Re ≤ 107 .
𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 = 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 + . (14)
𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐿𝐿 𝐹𝐹𝑅𝑅 (22)
Journal of Renewable Energy 7

e reported uncertainty is ±5% in the predicted friction e thermophysical properties of the air have been taken
factor from the above correlation. at the corresponding mean temperature 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚 = 𝑇𝑇𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 or 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 .
Considering the entrance region effect, the apparent fric- e following relations of the thermo-physical properties,
tion factor has been determined from the following relation obtained by correlating data from Holman [20], have been
for �at parallel plate duct in the turbulent �ow regime [17]: used:
𝐷𝐷ℎ 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚 0.0155
𝑓𝑓app = 𝑓𝑓 𝑓 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 󶀤󶀤
󶀴󶀴 . (23) 𝑐𝑐𝑝𝑝 = 1006󶀥󶀥 󶀵󶀵 ,
𝐿𝐿 293
e Nusselt number correlations used for the transition
𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚 0.86
and turbulent �ow regimes from Hollands and �hewen [16] 𝑘𝑘 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘󶀥󶀥 󶀵󶀵 ,
are: 293
𝐻𝐻 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚 0.735
Nu = 4.4 × 10−4 Re1.2 + 9.37Re0.471 󶀤󶀤 󶀴󶀴 𝜇𝜇 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇−5 󶀥󶀥 󶀵󶀵 , (30)
𝐿𝐿 (24a) 293
for 2550 ≤ Re ≤ 104 󶀡󶀡transition �ow regime󶀱󶀱 , 293
𝜌𝜌 𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌 󶀥󶀥 󶀵󶀵 ,
𝐻𝐻 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚
Nu = 0.03Re0.74 +0.788Re0.74 󶀤󶀤 󶀴󶀴
𝐿𝐿 (24b) 𝜇𝜇𝜇𝜇𝑝𝑝
Pr = .
4 5
for 10 < Re ≤ 10 󶀡󶀡early turbulent �ow regime󶀱󶀱 . 𝑘𝑘
e above set of (3) to (30) constitute a non-linear model
e uncertainty of an order of 5-6% in the predicted for the solar air heater that has been used for the performance
Nusselt number has been expected [11]. As suggested by study. e model has been solved by following an iterative
Karwa et al. [11], the laminar regime has been assumed process presented in Figure 4. For the heat collection estimate,
in the model up to Re = 2800. e inconsistency of the the iteration was terminated when the successive values of
predicted Nusselt number and friction factor values from the plate and mean air temperatures differed by less than
the correlations presented above is about 5% at the laminar- 0.05 K, while the iteration for the estimate of top loss has been
transition interface [11]. continued till the heat loss estimates from the absorber plate
e friction factor and heat transfer correlations for the to the glass cover and glass cover to the ambient, that is, 𝑄𝑄tpg
60∘ v-down discrete rectangular cross-section repeated rib and 𝑄𝑄tgo from (7a) and (7c), respectively, differed by less than
roughness used for the roughened duct solar air heater are 0.2%.
[7] e mathematical model presented by Karwa and
0.045
𝑅𝑅 𝑅 𝑅𝑅𝑅𝑅󶀡󶀡𝑒𝑒+ 󶀱󶀱 , for 15 ≤ 𝑒𝑒+ ≤ 75, (25) Chauhan [10] was validated by Karwa et al. [11] against the
−0.2
𝑔𝑔 𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔󶀡󶀡𝑒𝑒+ 󶀱󶀱 , for 15 ≤ 𝑒𝑒+ < 25, (26a) data from the experimental study of a smooth duct solar
air heater published in an earlier work of Karwa et al. [21]
𝑔𝑔 𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔󶀡󶀡𝑒𝑒+ 󶀱󶀱
0.217
, for 25 ≤ 𝑒𝑒+ ≤ 75, (26b) with reported uncertainties of ±4.65% in Nusselt number
and ±4.56% in friction factor. e standard deviations of
+
where 𝑅𝑅 is termed as roughness function and 𝑒𝑒 is the the predicted values of thermal efficiency and pumping
roughness Reynolds number. ese functions are de�ned as power from the experimental values of these parameters from
[18] Karwa et al. [21] have been reported by Karwa et al. [11] to
2 2𝑒𝑒 be ±4.9% and ±6.2%, respectively.
𝑅𝑅 𝑅 𝑅𝑅 󶀥󶀥 󶀵󶀵 + 2.5 ln 󶀥󶀥 󶀵󶀵 + 3.75, e uncertainties in the predicted values of various
𝑓𝑓 𝐷𝐷ℎ parameters for the roughened duct solar collector with 60∘ v-
(27)
+ 𝑓𝑓 𝑒𝑒 down discrete rib roughness of Karwa et al. [7] in the present
𝑒𝑒 = 󵀂󵀂 󶀥󶀥 󶀵󶀵 Re 󶀥󶀥 󶀵󶀵 . work have been estimated to be ±6.4% in Nusselt number,
2 𝐷𝐷ℎ
±5.9% in friction factor, ±7.3% in thermal efficiency and
e heat transfer function 𝑔𝑔 in (26a)-(26b) is de�ned as ±7.2% in pumping power.
[19]
𝑓𝑓 2 4. Range and Values of Various Parameters
𝑔𝑔 𝑔 󶁥󶁥󶀥󶀥 󶀵󶀵 − 1󶁵󶁵 󵀂󵀂 󶀥󶀥 󶀵󶀵 + 𝑅𝑅𝑅 (28)
2𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑓𝑓
e range and values of the various parameters have been
e pressure loss, from the known value of friction factor decided from the following considerations.
𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑓𝑓𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 for smooth duct) and pumping power have been
(1) e width 𝑊𝑊 of air heater is usually kept as 1 m while
calculated from the following equations. the length 𝐿𝐿 is 1-2 m, because of the constraints of
4𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑀𝑀 2 available sizes of plywood and glass sheets, ease of
𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿 󶁥󶁥 󶁵󶁵 󶁵󶁵 󶁴󶁴 , installation and handling, especially for individual
2𝜌𝜌𝜌𝜌ℎ 𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊
(29) solar air heaters sloped to face south.
𝑀𝑀 (2) A low duct depth is favoured for high thermal effi-
𝑃𝑃 𝑃 󶀥󶀥 󶀵󶀵 𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿𝛿
𝜌𝜌 ciency of air heater. At �ow rates 𝐺𝐺 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺 kgs−1 m−2 ,
8 Journal of Renewable Energy

Start

Read Ti , Ta , I, hw , G, ε p , εg , τα , β, δ pg , δg , δ, ki , kg , W, H, L, e/Dh

Initialize Tm = Ti + 1

Compute air properties at Tm

Initialize T p = Ta + 20

Compute Qe

Initialize Tg = Ta + 1

Compute Qt pg , Qtgo

Yes ABS (Qt pg − Qtgo ) ≤

Initialize Tb = (T p + Ta )/2 Tg = Tg + 0.1
accuracy
No

Compute Q pb , Qba

Tb = Tb + 0.005
Yes
No No
ABS (Q pb − Qba ) ≤ Q pb > Qba Tb = Tb − 0.005
accuracy

Yes Compute Qb , QL , Q, UL

No
Initialize e+ = 15 Smooth duct

Compute Re, R, f , e+ (termed as e1+ ) Yes

Compute Re, Nu, h, Q,
f , T p (termed as T pm )
No
ABS (e+ − e1+ ) ≤
e+ = e1+ accuracy

Yes
Compute g, St, h, Q, T p (termed as T pm )

Yes No
ABS (T pm − T p ) ≤
Compute FR , F  , Tm (termed as Tmc ) accuracy T p = T pm

No Yes
ABS (Tm − Tmc ) ≤ Compute To , Ut , ∆T/I,
Tm = Tmc accuracy

Print G, m, I, Ta , hw , β, ε p , H, W, L, Re, Nu,

e/Dh , e+ , Q, To , T p , UL , η, (Ti − Ta )/I, P Stop

F 4: Flow chart for iterative solution of the mathematical model.

Journal of Renewable Energy
Karwa and Chauhan [10] recommended a duct depth
of 10 mm.
(3) Low cost solar air heaters employ an absorber plate
with black paint, which gives short wave emissivity of
0.95.
(4) For maximum collection of solar energy in the winter,
the collector slope 𝛽𝛽 must be about 15∘ higher than
latitude of the place. us, for Western Rajasthan
(latitude ≈ 27∘ ) the optimum collector slope is about
45∘ .
(5) Since the solar air heater, under discussion, is meant
for space heating, the inlet temperature of the air
to the collector has been taken as 295 K for winter
operation.
(6) e ambient temperature in Western Rajasthan, espe-
cially Jodhpur, varies from 5∘ –15∘ C with generally
encountered minimum temperature of 8–10∘ C.
(7) e wind heat transfer coefficient ℎ𝑤𝑤 is a strong
function of wind velocity. In Jodhpur, no wind
to very mild wind condition exists in winter. e
wind blows mainly from north to south. Since the
collector is sloped to face south, any small variation
in wind velocity will not affect the wind heat transfer
coefficient signi�cantly. Hence, the present analysis
has been carried out for a �xed value of 5 Wm−2 K−1
for the wind heat transfer coefficient.
(8) Solar radiation in Jodhpur, Rajasthan (India) varies
from 500 Wm−2 at 9 am to around 1000 Wm−2 at the
noon during a clear day in the winter on a south facing
surface at 45∘ slope. Hence, in the present analysis,
the solar insolation, 𝐼𝐼, values have been considered to
vary from 500 to 1000 Wm−2 .
(9) For space heating applications, a medium to high
temperature rise of air is desired depending on
the ambient temperature. Further, Karwa and
Chauhan [10] have shown that at �ow rates less
than 0.045 kgs−1 m−2 , roughened collector is thermo-
hydraulically better than smooth duct air heater.
Since the ambient temperature varies in the range of
5–15∘ C in winter in Jodhpur, a mass �ow rate of 0.01
to 0.045 kgs−1 m−2 per unit area of the absorber plate
has been used in the analysis.
(10) For space heating applications where �ow rates are
not high and pumping power is not of much concern,
a solar air heater with relative roughness height of 0.07
has been used as suggested by Karwa et al. [8] and
Karwa and Chauhan [10].
(11) For the air �ow rate per unit area of the absorber plate,
the Reynolds number in the present study ranges
from about 2000 to 9000.
e values of other collector parameters used in the
analysis are listed in Table 1.
It is to note that the collector length may vary from 1 to
4 m. However, Karwa and Chauhan [10] have shown that, if
the ratio of collector length to height of the duct (𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 is
9
80
70
G = 0.045 kgs−1 m−2
60
Efficiency (%)
50
40
30
G = 0.01 kgs−1 m−2
20
10
0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035
(Ti − Ta )/I (Km2 W−1 )
Roughened
Smooth
F 5: Enhancement in thermal performance due to arti�cial
roughness (𝐿𝐿 𝐿 𝐿 m, 𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻 mm, 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ =0.07, 𝜀𝜀𝑝𝑝 =0.95, 𝛽𝛽 𝛽 𝛽𝛽∘ ,
𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 = 295 K, 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 = 278 K, ℎ𝑤𝑤 = 5 W/m2 K).
kept constant at 200, the variation in heat collection rate and
hence the thermal efficiency of the collector for a given �ow
rate does not change signi�cantly. us, the results of analysis
presented here can be utilized for higher length collectors if
𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 is kept constant.
5. Results and Discussion
e comparison of the thermal efficiencies of the roughened
and smooth duct solar air heaters has been presented in
Figure 5. It can be seen that the arti�cial roughness on the
absorber plate signi�cantly improves the performance of the
air heater, which is attributed to the heat transfer coefficient
enhancement due to the arti�cial roughness on the air �ow
side of the absorber plate. e enhancement in the thermal
efficiency is 6–26%; the highest advantage can be seen at the
lowest �ow rate of 0.01 kgs−1 m−2 of the study.
ermal performance analysis of the roughened duct
solar air heater has been carried out, using the mathematical
model presented above, at three different ambient temper-
atures (278 K, 283 K, and 288 K). e air heater operates in
closed loop mode with inlet air at a constant temperature of
295 K from the conditioned space. e results are presented
in Figures 6–8 as performance plots, wherein the thermal
efficiency values have been plotted against the temperature
parameter [(𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 )/𝐼𝐼𝐼 for �xed values of collector length
𝐿𝐿 𝐿 𝐿 m, collector width 𝑊𝑊 𝑊𝑊 m, collector duct depth
𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻𝐻 mm, absorber plate emissivity 𝜀𝜀𝑝𝑝 =0.95, collector
slope 𝛽𝛽 𝛽 𝛽𝛽∘ and wind heat transfer coefficient ℎ𝑤𝑤 =
5 Wm−2 K−1 , while air �ow rate ranges from minimum of 0.01
to the maximum of 0.045 kgs−1 per m2 of the absorber plate.
10 Journal of Renewable Energy

T 1: Values of parameters.

Parameter Value
Absorber plate-glass cover transmittance absorptance product, 𝜏𝜏𝜏𝜏 0.8 (�xed) for single glass cover
Gap between the absorber plate and glass cover, 𝛿𝛿𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 40 mm
Insulation Foamed polystyrene or glass wool
ermal conductivity of insulation, 𝑘𝑘𝑖𝑖 0.037 Wm−1 K−1
Insulation thickness, 𝛿𝛿 50 mm
Long wave emissivity of glass cover, 𝜀𝜀𝑔𝑔 0.88

70 From the constant temperature lines in the performance

plots, the required �ow rate for a given temperature parame-
65 ter value can be estimated from the plots. A correct value of
the mass �ow rate per unit area of the absorber plate can be
60
determined as explained below.
Let 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 = 283 K and solar insolation 𝐼𝐼 is 800 Wm−2 . e
Efficiency (%)

55
desired temperature rise of the air (𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 − 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 ) is 15 K. en, for
50 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 = 295 K, (𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 )/𝐼𝐼 equals 0.015. A vertical line, as shown
in Figure 7, cuts the (𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 −𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 ) = 15 K line at thermal efficiency
45
𝜂𝜂 of 59.2%. From which, the mass �ow rate per unit area of
40 plate 𝐺𝐺 is calculated as:
𝜂𝜂𝜂𝜂 0.592 × 800
35 𝐺𝐺 𝐺 = = 0.0314 kg s−1 m−2 .
󶁢󶁢𝑐𝑐𝑝𝑝 󶀡󶀡𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 − 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 󶀱󶀱󶀱󶀱 (1005 × 15)
30
(31)
25
0.015 0.02 0.025 0.03 0.035 5.2. Effect of Ambient Temperature on ermal Efficiency.
(Ti − Ta )/I (Km2 W−1 ) Comparison of the performance plots in Figures 6–8 shows
G = 0.045 G = 0.04 that the thermal efficiency increases with the rise in the
G = 0.03 G = 0.02 ambient temperature. e analysis shows that, with change in
G = 0.01 To − Ti = 10 K the ambient temperature from 278 K to 288 K, the efficiency
To − Ti = 15 K To − Ti = 20 K increases by 7.5% when solar radiation intensity is 500 Wm−2 ,
To − Ti = 25 K
while the increase in the efficiency is 17.8% when 𝐼𝐼 𝐼
1000 Wm−2 . is can be attributed to the fact that with
F 6: ermal efficiency of roughened solar air heater as
function of temperature parameter (𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 )/𝐼𝐼 at 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 = 278 K the rise in the ambient temperature the heat loss from the
(𝐿𝐿 𝐿𝐿 m, 𝐻𝐻 𝐻 𝐻𝐻 mm, 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ = 0.07, 𝜀𝜀𝑝𝑝 = 0.95, 𝛽𝛽 𝛽 𝛽𝛽∘ , 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 = 295 K, collector reduces because of a lower temperature excess (plate
ℎ𝑤𝑤 = 5 W/m2 K).
temperature—ambient temperature).

5.3. ermo-Hydraulic Performance. e requirement of the

5.1. Variation of ermal Efficiency with Flow Rate. It is
worth noting that the �ow rate is basically decided from the
rise of the temperature of the air desired for a particular
application. In the case of space heating applications, a
constant temperature rise of the air may be desired.
Looking to the above mentioned basic requirement of
constant temperature rise of the air for the space heating
applications, lines of constant temperature rise (𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 − 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 ) =
10∘ C, 15∘ C, 20∘ C, and 25∘ C have also been plotted in Figures
6–8. From the study of constant temperature rise lines, it
can be seen that, as the solar insolation increases, parameter
(𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 )/𝐼𝐼 decreases and the air �ow rate must increase,
and vice versa. us, from the morning (around 9 am) to
noon, the �ow rate must increase with the increase in solar
insolation and, then, must decrease from its maximum value
in the noon again to the lowest value at around 4:30 pm.
pumping power as fraction of the heat collection rate at the
highest and the lowest solar insolation values is shown in
Figure 9 as function of the mass �ow rate of the air through
the collector duct per unit area of the absorber plate. At the
highest �ow rate of 𝐺𝐺 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺 kgs−1 m−2 and the lowest
solar insolation 𝐼𝐼 of 500 Wm−2 in the study, the pumping
power is about 5.5% of the heat collection rate but this is
not of much concern because at the low values of the solar
insolation the �ow rate is also kept low to achieve a reasonable
rise of the temperature of the air. It reduces to about 2.4%
when 𝐼𝐼 𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 Wm−2 at the same �ow rate because of the
greater heat collection rate. With the decrease in the �ow
rate 𝐺𝐺, the required pumping power decreases drastically.
For example, at 𝐺𝐺 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺 kgs−1 m−2 and I = 500 Wm−2 , the
pumping power is less than 0.1% of the heat collection rate
and is only 0.045% of the heat collection rate when solar
insolation is 1000 Wm−2 . us, in the case of solar air heater
Journal of Renewable Energy 11

70

65

60

55

Efficiency (%)
50

45

40

35

30

25
0.01 0.015 0.02 0.025
(Ti − Ta )/I (Km2 W−1 )
G = 0.045 G = 0.04
G = 0.03 G = 0.02
G = 0.01 To − Ti = 10 K
To − Ti = 15 K To − Ti = 20 K
To − Ti = 25 K

F 7: ermal efficiency of roughened solar air heater as function of temperature parameter (𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 )/𝐼𝐼 at 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 = 283 K (𝐿𝐿 𝐿𝐿 m,
𝐻𝐻 𝐻 𝐻𝐻 mm, 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ = 0.07, 𝜀𝜀𝑝𝑝 = 0.95, 𝛽𝛽 𝛽 𝛽𝛽∘ , 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 = 295 K, ℎ𝑤𝑤 = 5 W/m2 K).

for space heating applications, the pumping power is not of 75

much concern, that is, the thermo-hydraulic performance 70
de�ned by (2) is not signi�cantly different from the thermal
efficiency e�cept at the �ow rate 𝐺𝐺 𝐺 𝐺𝐺𝐺𝐺 kgs−1 m−2 . Hence, 65
the plots of the effective efficiency 𝜂𝜂𝑒𝑒 have not been drawn in 60
the presented performance plots.
Efficiency (%)

55

6. Conclusions 50

45
ermal performance analysis of a solar air heater with v-
down discrete rib roughness has been carried out using a 40
mathematical model. e collector, which supplies heated
35
air for space heating application, is installed at a slope of
45∘ facing south and operates in a closed loop mode with 30
inlet air at a ��ed temperature of 2�5 K from the conditional
25
space in winter season of Western Rajasthan, India. e 0.006 0.009 0.012 0.015
ambient temperature has been varied from 278 K to 288 K. (Ti − Ta )/I (Km2 W−1 )
e important observations of the study are as follows.
G = 0.045 G = 0.04
(1) e thermal efficiency of the roughened duct air G = 0.03 G = 0.02
heater is 6–26% higher than that of a smooth duct air G = 0.01 To − Ti = 10 K
heater� the highest advantage is at the lowest �ow rate To − Ti = 15 K To − Ti = 20 K
of 0.01 kgs−1 m−2 of the study. To − Ti = 25 K

(2) e mass �ow rate of air per unit area of absorber
plate needs to be varied according to the variation
in the solar insolation during the day for constant
temperature rise of air through the collector and
greater overall heat collection.
F 8: ermal efficiency of roughened solar air heater as
function of temperature parameter (𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 − 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 )/𝐼𝐼 at 𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 = 288 K
(𝐿𝐿 𝐿𝐿 m, 𝐻𝐻 𝐻 𝐻𝐻 mm, 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ = 0.07, 𝜀𝜀𝑝𝑝 = 0.95, 𝛽𝛽 𝛽 𝛽𝛽∘ , 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 = 295 K,
ℎ𝑤𝑤 = 5 W/m2 K).
12 Journal of Renewable Energy

10 ℎ: Heat transfer coefficient, W⋅m−2 ⋅ K−1

9
ℎ𝑤𝑤 : Wind Heat transfer coefficient,
W⋅m−2 ⋅ K−1
8 𝐻𝐻: Height of duct, m
7
𝐼𝐼: Solar insolation, W⋅m−2
𝐾𝐾: ermal conductivity of air,
6 W⋅m−1 ⋅ K−1
P/Q (%)

5
𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙: Relative longway length of mesh
𝐿𝐿: Length of collector, m
4 𝑀𝑀: Mass �ow rate, kg⋅s−1
3
𝑚𝑚: Mass velocity of air =(𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀,
kg⋅s−1 ⋅ m−2
2 Nu: Nusselt number
1
𝑝𝑝: Rib pitch, m
𝑃𝑃: Pumping power, W
0 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝: Relative roughness pitch
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 Pr: Prandtl number
G (kgs−1 m−2 ) 𝑄𝑄: Heat collection rate, W
I = 500 𝑅𝑅: Roughness function
I = 1000 Re: Reynolds number
𝑠𝑠: Shortway length of mesh, m
F 9: Pumping power as percentage of the heat collection rate. 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠: Relative shortway length of mesh
𝑆𝑆: Length of a discrete rib element, m
St: Stanton number = Nu/(Re Pr)
𝑇𝑇𝑎𝑎 : Ambient temperature, K
(3) With the increase in the ambient temperature from 𝑇𝑇𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 , 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚 : Mean air temperature = (𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 + 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 )/2, K
278 K to 288 K, the thermal efficiency increases by 𝑇𝑇𝑖𝑖 : Inlet air temperature, K
7.5% to 17.8%, increasing with solar insolation. 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 : Mean of the plate and glass
temperatures = (𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝 + 𝑇𝑇𝑔𝑔𝑔𝑔 )/2, K
(4) e pumping power requirement is not of concern 𝑇𝑇𝑜𝑜 : Outlet air temperature, K
at low �ow rates. At the highest �ow rate of 𝐺𝐺 𝐺 𝑇𝑇𝑝𝑝 : Mean plate temperature, K
𝑇𝑇𝑠𝑠 : Sky temperature, K
0.045 kgs−1 m−2 and the highest value of the solar
𝑈𝑈𝐿𝐿 : Overall loss coefficient, Wm−2 K−1
insolation 𝐼𝐼 𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼𝐼 Wm−2 , it is the maximum and is
𝑊𝑊: Width of duct, m.
of the order of 2.4% of the heat collection rate.

e results of analysis are presented in the form of Greek Symbols

performance plots with constant temperature rise lines of
10∘ C, 15∘ C, 20∘ C, and 25∘ C, which can be utilized by the 𝛼𝛼: Angle of attack, degree
designer for calculating desired air �ow rate under di�erent 𝛽𝛽: Collector slope, degree
operating conditions. 𝛿𝛿𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 : Gap between the absorber plate and glass cover, m
Δ𝑇𝑇: Temperature rise of air, ∘ C
𝜂𝜂: ermal efficiency of collector
Nomenclature 𝜀𝜀: Emissivity
𝐴𝐴: Area of absorber plate, m2 𝜈𝜈𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚g : Kinematic viscosity of air at temperature 𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 , m2 /s
𝐵𝐵: Half length of a full v-rib element, m 𝜏𝜏𝜏𝜏: Transmittance-absorptance product
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵: Relative roughness length of discrete ribs 𝜙𝜙: Chamfer angle, wedge angle, degree
𝑐𝑐𝑝𝑝 : Speci�c heat of air, J⋅kg−1 ⋅ K−1 𝜇𝜇: Dynamic viscosity of air, Pa⋅s.
𝐷𝐷ℎ : Equivalent diameter of
duct = 4𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊 𝑊 𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊, m
𝑒𝑒: Rib height, m Subscripts
𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒ℎ : Relative roughness height
𝑒𝑒+ : Roughness Reynolds number 𝑏𝑏: Duct bottom surface
𝑓𝑓: Friction factor 𝑔𝑔: Glass
𝑔𝑔: Heat transfer function 𝑚𝑚: Mean
𝐺𝐺: Mass �ow rate per unit area of absorber 𝑝𝑝: Plate
plate, kg⋅s−1 ⋅ m−2 𝑠𝑠: Smooth.
Journal of Renewable Energy 13

References Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, vol. 103, no. 4, pp. 323–330,
1981.
[1] D. Gupta, S. C. Solanki, and J. S. Saini, “Heat and �uid �ow [17] M. S. Bhatti and R. K. Shah, “�urbulent and transition �ow con-
in rectangular solar air heater ducts having transverse rib vective heat transfer,” in Handbook of Single-Phase Convective
roughness on absorber plates,” Solar Energy, vol. 51, no. 1, pp. Heat Transfer, S. Kakac, R. K. Shah, and W. Aung, Eds., Wiley,
31–37, 1993. New York, NY, USA, 1987.
[2] D. Gupta, S. C. Solanki, and J. S. Saini, “ermohydraueic
[18] J. Nikuradse, “Laws of �ow in rough pipes,” �echnical Memo-
performance of solar air heaters with roughened absorber
randum 1292, NACA, 1950.
plates,” Solar Energy, vol. 61, no. 1, pp. 33–42, 1997.
[19] D. F. Dipprey and R. H. Sabersky, “Heat and momentum
[3] R. P. Saini and J. S. Saini, “Heat transfer and friction factor
transfer in smooth and rough tubes at various prandtl numbers,”
correlations for arti�cially roughened ducts with expanded
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 6, no. 5, pp.
metal mesh as roughness element,” International Journal of Heat
329–353, 1963.
and Mass Transfer, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 973–986, 1997.
[20] J. P. Holman, Heat Transfer, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, USA,
[4] R. Karwa, S. C. Solanki, and J. S. Saini, “Heat transfer coefficient
7th edition, 1990.
and friction factor correlations for the transitional �ow regime
in rib-roughened rectangular ducts,” International Journal of [21] R. Karwa, S. C. Solanki, and J. S. Saini, “ermo-hydraulic
Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 42, no. 9, pp. 1597–1615, 1999. performance of solar air heaters having integral chamfered
rib roughness on absorber plates,” Energy, vol. 26, no. 2, pp.
[5] J. L. Bhagoria, J. S. Saini, and S. C. Solanki, “Heat transfer
161–176, 2001.
coefficient and friction factor correlations for rectangular solar
air heater duct having transverse wedge shaped rib roughness
on the absorber plate,” Renewable Energy, vol. 25, no. 3, pp.
341–369, 2002.
[6] A. M. Ebrahim Momin, J. S. Saini, and S. C. Solanki, “Heat
transfer and friction in solar air heater duct with V-shaped rib
roughness on absorber plate,” International Journal of Heat and
Mass Transfer, vol. 45, no. 16, pp. 3383–3396, 2002.
[7] R. Karwa, R. D. Bairwa, B. P. Jain, and N. Karwa, “Experimental
study of the effects of rib angle and discretization on heat
transfer and friction in an asymmetrically heated rectangular
duct,” Journal of Enhanced Heat Transfer, vol. 12, no. 4, pp.
343–355, 2005.
[8] R. Karwa, A. Sharma, and N. Karwa, “A comparative study of
different roughness geometries proposed for solar air heater
ducts,” International Review of Mechanical Engineering, vol. 4,
no. 2, pp. 159–166, 2010.
[9] R. Karwa, “Experimental studies of augmented heat transfer
and friction in asymmetrically heated rectabgular ducts with
ribs on the heated wall in transverse, inclined, v-continous and
v-discrete pattern,” International Communications in Heat and
Mass Transfer, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 241–250, 2003.
[10] R. Karwa and K. Chauhan, “Performance evaluation of solar air
heaters having v-down discrete rib roughness on the absorber
plate,” Energy, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 398–409, 2010.
[11] R. Karwa, N. Karwa, R. Misra, and P. C. Agarwal, “Effect of �ow
maldistribution on thermal performance of a solar air heater
array with subcollectors in parallel,” Energy, vol. 32, no. 7, pp.
1260–1270, 2007.
[12] S. A. Klein, “Calculation of �at-plate collector loss coefficients,”
Solar Energy, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 79–80, 1975.
[13] W. C. Swinbank, “Long-wave radiation from clear skies,” Quar-
terly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, vol. 89, pp.
339–348, 1963.
[14] H. Buchberg, I. Catton, and D. K. Edwards, “Natural convection
in enclosed spaces - a review of application to solar energy
collection,” Journal of Heat Transfer, vol. 98, no. 2, pp. 182–188,
1976.
[15] M. A. Ebadian and �. F. Dong, “Forced convection, internal �ow
in ducts,” in Handbook of Heat Transfer, W. M. Rohsenow, J. P.
Hartnett, and Y. I. Cho, Eds., McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, USA,
1998.
[16] K. G. �. Hollands and E. C. Shewen, “�ptimization of �ow
passage geometry for air-heating, plate-type solar collectors,”
Journal of Journal of International Journal of

Rotating
Energy Wind Energy Machinery

The Scientific Journal of

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Hindawi Publishing Corporation

http://www.hindawi.com
World Journal
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Structures
Hindawi Publishing Corporation Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Volume 2014 http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014

Journal of Journal of
Industrial Engineering Petroleum Engineering

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Hindawi Publishing Corporation

http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014

Journal of
Solar Energy
Submit your manuscripts at
http://www.hindawi.com

Journal of

Fuels
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
http://www.hindawi.com
Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014

Engineering Photoenergy
Journal of  International Journal of
Advances in Advances in Journal of
Power Electronics
Hindawi Publishing Corporation Hindawi Publishing Corporation
High Energy Physics
Hindawi Publishing Corporation Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Combustion
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014 http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014

International Journal of Journal of

Nuclear Energy Renewable Energy

International Journal of

Advances in
Tribology
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
http://www.hindawi.com
Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
http://www.hindawi.com
Volume 2014
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
http://www.hindawi.com
Aerospace
Volume 2014
Science and Technology of
Nuclear Installations
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014
Engineering
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
http://www.hindawi.com Volume 2014