Optimization of main geometric parameters of solar air heaters based on

energy balance

EL FEROUALI Hicham
LSET, Applied Physics Department, FST, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco, hichamelferouali@gmail.com,
ORCID: 0000-0001-7541-4193

ZOUKIT Ahmed
LSET, Applied Physics Department, FST, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco,
ahmed1991zoukit@gmail.com,ORCID: 0000-0001-5406-6038

SALHI Issam
LSET, Applied Physics Department, FST, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco, isalhi@yahoo.fr.

DOUBABI Said
LSET, Applied Physics Department, FST, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco, s.doubabi@uca.ma.

ABDENOURI Naji*
LSET, Applied Physics Department, FST, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh, Morocco, n.abdenouri@uca.ma, ORCID:
0000-0002-9399-5435

EL FEROUALI, H, ZOUKIT, A, SALHI, I, DOUBABI, S, ABDENOURI, N. Optimization of main

Cite this paper as: geometric parameters of solar air heaters based on energy balance. 6th Eur. Conf. Ren. Energy
Sys.25-27 June 2018, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract: The mathematical modeling of five most classical types of solar air heaters (SAH) was performed based
on energy balance. The thermal behavior, and efficiency of SAHs depends mainly on their physical and
geometric parameters. Therefore, the size of the geometric parameters of different configurations of
SAHs were optimized based on a study at forced and natural convection of the outlet air temperature,
the thermal efficiency, and the heat flux between the different elements of the SAHs. The optimal sizes
for the air gap between the glass and the absorber, and the air duct between the absorber and the
insulation for the single pass SAH with flat plate absorber are respectively 1cm and 2cm. For the single
pass SAH with V-corrugated absorber, the variation of the air gap between the glass and the absorber
has no effect on the thermal performances, and the optimal size of the air duct is 4cm. In addition,
reducing the distance between the V-corrugated absorber and the insulation, or even nullifying it,
improved the thermal performances of the collector. Moreover, the variation of the air ducts has no
significant effect on the counter flow double pass solar collectors. Finally, increasing the length and the
width of the SAH has contrary effect on respectively the outlet air temperature and the thermal
efficiency.
Keywords: Energy balance mathematical modeling, Geometric parameters optimization, Solar air heaters

© 2018 Published by ECRES

Nomenclature
L Length of the SAH (m)
W Width of the SAH (m)
G Solar radiation (W.m-2)
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

T Temperature (K)
C Specific heat (J.kg-1 .K -1)
h Heat transfer coefficient (W.m-2.K-1)
k Thermal conductivity (W.m-1.K-1)
m Air mass flow rate (kg.s-1)
U Bottom heat loss coefficient (W.m-1.K-1)
V Wind velocity (m.s-1)
x,y,z Spatial co-ordinate (m)
H1 Distance between the glass and the flat plate absorber (m)
H2 Distance between the flat plate absorber and the insulation (m)
H3 Ratio of the total power stored by storage media on the mean solar power (m)
H4 Height of the V-corrugated absorber (m)
H5 Distance between the lower vortex of the V-corrugated absorber and the insulation (m)
t Time (s)
N Total number of nodes along the flowing air direction x
Dh Hydraulic diameter (m)
Greek symbols
Φ eat flux density, (W.m-²)
 Thickness, (m)
 Absorptivity
 Emissivity
 Transmissivity
 Density, (kg.m-3)
 Tilt angle of the SAH, (rad)
 Thermal efficiency of the SAH, (%)
Subscripts
a Ambient
g Glass
(ag) The air gap between the glass and the absorber in the case of the single pass SAH
p Absorber
f The flowing air in the air duct below the absorber in the case of the single pass SAH
f1 The flowing air in the air duct above the absorber in the case of the counter flow double pass SAH
f2 The flowing air in the air duct below the absorber in the case of the counter flow double pass SAH
b Insulation in the bottom
out Outlet air
in Inlet air
c Convection
r Radiation
j Node in the flowing air direction

1. INTRODUCTION

Solar energy has received considerable attention due to its ease of access and high potentiality in generating heat. This
energy is widely applied in the drying process by using solar air heaters (SAH). These solar collectors are characterized
to be low-cost and have easy and cheap maintenance. In previous works, several studies were conducted so as to
improve the thermal performances. Rommel and Moock [1] investigated theoretically solar collectors with flat plate
absorber in order to study the effect of the rectangular duct’s height H2 (see Figure 1) on the thermal efficiency. It was
concluded that the duct height in the range of 3 to 6mm should be chosen for optimum use. In another work. Njomo
[2] made an extensive study on a solar air collector with combined plastic-glass cover. Thus, an analysis of the
influence of various parameters on the thermal behavior of the collector was performed, such as the inlet air
temperature, the mass flow rate and the distance between the absorber and the combined cover system. Thereby, it is
highlighted that the daily thermal efficiency of the collector continuously decreases by increasing the air duct height.
Hegazy [3] conducted a theoretical study in order to determine the optimal air duct height of flat plate SAHs H2. Hence,
a ratio of 2.5 x 10-3 between the duct height and the length of the collector yielded to best performance. Ferahta et al.
[4] performed a numerical study of the natural convection phenomena that occurs in the stationary air gap between the
absorber and the glazing of the solar collector. They disclosed the influence of varying the glazing-absorber distance
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

on the temperature of the absorber and on the amount of the lost heat from the collector to the environment. Yadav and
Bhagoria [5] performed a CFD analysis on the SAH’s duct H2 and found that an appreciable heat transfer enhancement
(2.89 times that of smooth duct) was observed due to the insertion of square sectioned transverse rib roughness on the
absorber plate. Sun et al. [6] investigated CFD simulations in order to study the effect of the air ducts’ height (H1 and
H2) on the energy gain of two configurations of flat plate SAHs, in which, the air flows between the absorber plate and
the glass cover for the first type, and the air flows above and below the absorber plate for the second type. Their results
showed that under a given air mass flow rate, the velocity and temperature distribution in the SAH vary greatly with
the change of the air duct’s height. They also found that this height shouldn’t be less than 2cm for the two
configurations in order to achieve favorable velocity distribution for high heat gain.
Ultimately, the main objective of the present paper is to predict the behavior of SAHs by an appropriate model, and to
optimize the sizes of their main geometrical parameters.
Four types of most representative SAHs are concerned in this study, namely:
 Type A: Single pass SAH with flat plate absorber (Figure 1).
 Type B: Single pass SAH with V-corrugated absorber (Figure 2).
 Type C: Single pass SAH with suspended V-corrugated absorber (Figure 3).
 Type D: Counter flow double pass SAH with flat plate absorber (Figure 4).
 Type E: Counter flow double pass SAH with V-corrugated absorber (Figure 5).

2. MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF THE STUDIED SOLAR AIR HEATERS

The governing equations of the models were derived by performing the energy balance on each component of the SAH
as given by Eq. [1]:
stored  in out  gen (1)

Where Φin is the stored heat flux density, Φin and Φout are the inlet and outlet heat flux densities, and Φgen is the
generated heat flux density in the analyzed control volume, Φgen=0 because the SAHs’ components don’t generate heat.
The numerical model consists of five main components: the glass cover, an air gap or flow channel between the glass
and the absorber, the absorber, a flow channel below the absorber and the bottom insulation.
In the present paper, hc,ik and hr,ik represent the heat transfer respectively by convection and by radiation from the
element i to the element k.
To simplify the analysis, the following assumptions are made:
 Temperatures of the collectors’ components vary only along the flowing air direction x [7].
 The temperature variations between the 2 sides of a component could be neglected.[8]
 Heat losses from the collector edges are negligible (According to Duffie and Beckman [9], the losses from the
edges of a large and well-built collector could be neglected).
 There is no air leakage to or from the SAHs.
For single pass SAHs, the inlet air gets from one side; it flows between the absorber and the insulation and gets out
from the other side. In counter flow double pass SAHs, the inlet air initially flows above the absorber, and it changes
direction once it reaches the end of the collector and flows below the absorber to the collector’s outlet.

Mathematical modeling of the single pass solar air heater with flat plate absorber

For the solar collector Type A (Figure 1), the stored inlet and outlet heat flux densities for the glass are respectively
given by Eqs. [2-4].
dTg
stored   g g Cg (2)
dt
in   g G (3)
out  (hc, ga  hr , ga )(Tg  Ta )  hc, g (ag ) (Tg  T(ag ) )  hr , gp (Tg  Tp ) (4)
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

Hence, the energy balance equation for the glass cover is given by Eq. [5]:
dT g
 g g Cg   g G  ( hc ,ga  hr ,ga )( Ta  T g )  hc ,g ( ag ) ( T( ag )  T g )  hr ,gp ( T p  T g ) (5)
dt
By performing the same method, the energy balance equations of the air gap, the absorber, the air duct and the
insulation are given by Eqs. [6-9]:
For the air gap:
dT( ag )
 ( ag ) H 1C( ag )  hc ,g ( ag ) ( T g  T( ag ) )  hc , p( ag ) ( T p  T( ag ) ) (6)
dt
For the absorber:
dT p
 p p C p   p g G  hc , p( ag ) ( T( ag )  T p )  hr ,gp ( T g  T p )  hc , pf ( T f  T p )  hr , pb ( Tb  T p ) (7)
dt
For the air duct:
T f m C f T f
 f H 2C f  hc , pf ( T p  T f )  hc ,bf ( Tb  T f )  (8)
t W x
For the insulation:
dTb
b bCb  hr , pb ( Tp  Tb )  hc ,bf ( T f  Tb )  U b ( Ta  Tb ) (9)
dt

Figure 1. Type A: SAH with flat plate absorber.

Mathematical modeling of the single pass solar air heater with V-corrugated absorber

For the solar collector Type B (Figure 2), the most effective angle of the V-corrugated absorber as reported by Karim
et al. [10] is 60°.
The energy balance equations of the glass and the insulation are given respectively by Eq. [5] and Eq. [9].
The energy balance equations of the other components are given by Eqs. [10-12].
For the air gap between the glass and the absorber:
H4 dT( ag )
 ( ag ) ( H 3  )C( ag )  hc ,g ( ag ) ( T g  T( ag ) )  2hc , p( ag ) ( T p  T( ag ) ) (10)
2 dt
For the 60° V-corrugated absorber:
dT p
2 p p C p   p g G  2hc , p( ag ) ( T( ag )  T p )  hr ,gp ( T g  T p )  2hc , pf ( T f  T p )  hr , pb ( Tb  T p ) (11)
dt
For the air duct:
H4 T f m C f T f
f Cf  2hc , pf ( T p  T f )  hc ,bf ( Tb  T f )  (12)
2 t W x
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

Figure 2. Type B: Single pass SAH with V-corrugated absorber.

Mathematical modeling of the single pass solar air heater with suspended V-corrugated absorber
The energy balance equations found for the solar collector Type C (Figure 3) are similar to those expressed for the
solar collector Type B, except that, the mean distance between the absorber and the insulation is replaced by H5+H4/2
instead of H4/2, and hydraulic diameter Dh is replaced by 2H4/3+4H5/3 instead of 2H4/3.

Figure 3. Type C: Single pass solar air heater with suspended V-corrugated absorber

Mathematical modeling of the counter flow double pass solar air heater with flat plate absorber

The energy balance equations of the counter flow double pass solar collector Type D (Figure 4) are given by Eqs. [13-
17]:
For the glass:
dT g
 g g Cg   g G  ( hc ,ga  hr ,ga )( Ta  T g )  hc ,gf 1 ( T f 1  T g )  hr ,gp ( T p  T g ) (13)
dt
For the air duct 1 above the absorber:
T f 1 m C f 1 T f 1
 f 1 H 1C f 1  hc , pf 1 ( T p  T f 1 )  hc ,gf 1 ( T g  T f 1 )  (14)
t W x
For the absorber:
dT p
 p p C p   p g G  hc , pf 1 ( T f 1  T p )  hr ,gp ( T g  T p )  hc , pf 2 ( T f 2  T p )  hr , pb ( Tb  T p ) (15)
dt
For the air duct 2 below the absorber:
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

T f 2 m C f 2 T f 2
 f 2 H 2C f 2  hc , pf 2 ( T p  T f 2 )  hc ,bf 2 ( Tb  T f 2 )  (16)
t W x
For the insulation:
dTb
 b b Cb  hr , pb ( T p  Tb )  hc ,bf 2 ( T f 2  Tb )  U b ( Ta  Tb ) (17)
dt

Figure 4.Type D: Counter flow double pass SAH with flat plate absorber.

Mathematical modeling of the counter flow double pass solar air heater with V-corrugated absorber

For the solar collector Type E (Figure 5); the energy balance equations of the glass and the insulation are respectively
given by Eq. [13] and Eq. [17]. The energy balance equations of the other components are given by Eqs. [18-20].
For the air duct 1:
H4 T f 1 m C f 1 T f 1
 f 1( H 3  )C f 1  2hc , pf 1 ( T p  T f 1 )  hc ,gf 1 ( T g  T f 1 )  (18)
2 t W x
For the absorber:
dT p
2 p p C p   p g G  2hc , pf 1 ( T f 1  T p )  hr ,gp ( T g  T p )  2hc , pf 2 ( T f 2  T p )  hr , pb ( Tb  T p ) (19)
dt
For the air duct 2:
H4 T f 2 m C f 2 T f 2
f2 Cf2  2hc , pf 2 ( T p  T f 2 )  hc ,bf 2 ( Tb  T f 2 )  (20)
2 t W x

Figure 5.Type E: Counter flow double pass SAH with V-corrugated absorber.
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

Heat transfer coefficients

In the proposed method, the heat transfer coefficients are calculated at every iteration for all nodes (j=1… N). They
are presented by El Ferouali et al. [11]. The natural convection air mass flow rate is mainly determined by two aspects,
which are stack pressure built up in the air duct and pressure losses at the inlet, the outlet and along the air duct. It is
given in Ref. [11].

3. THE NUMERICAL SOLUTION OF THE MATHEMATICAL MODELS

In numerical solution of the energy balance system, governing equations are nonlinear, and the number of unknown
variables is large. Under these conditions implicitly formulated equations are almost always solved using iterative
techniques. To do so, Systems of differential equations are solved using the implicit finite difference method. The
program’s outlets are the different component’s temperatures at all nodes along the flowing air direction x from j=1 to
j=N, with N is the total number of nodes. Thermal performances of the solar collectors are compared based on their
outlet air temperatures, their thermal efficiency and on the heat flux between their elements.
The thermal efficiency is defined as the ratio of the energy gain to the solar radiation incident on the collector plane.
It is given by Eq. [21]:
 C f ( Tout  Tin )
m
 (21)
LWG
The convective heat flux density from an element i to an element j is calculated by Eq. [22]:
 c,ij  hc,ij (Ti  T j ) (22)
Tables I and II specify respectively the thermo-physical and operational parameters employed in the numerical
calculations. In the proposed numerical method, thermo-physical properties of the air are temperature-dependent, based
on their values at some temperatures; the cubic spline interpolation is used to determine them at every temperature.
Values given in Table II for solar radiation, wind velocity and ambient temperature are based on the mean values of
data collected during one year from a weather station Vantage Pro 2 located in Marrakech (Morocco).
Table I. Thermo-physical parameters employed in the numerical calculations.
Parameter value Parameter value Parameter value
g 0.94 b 0.6 b(kg.m-3) 32
g 0.04 Cg(J.kg-1.K-1) 720 g(m) 0.003
g 0.1 Cp(J.kg-1.K-1) 385 p (m) 0.0005
p 0.96 Cb(J.kg-1.K-1) 1400 b(m) 0.05
p 0.12 g(kg.m-1) 2500 L (m) 1.7
kb(W.m-1.K -1) 0.025 p(kg.m-1) 8940 W(m) 0.75

Table II. Operational parameters employed in the numerical calculations.

Parameter value Parameter value Parameter value
G (W.m-2) 700 V (m.s-1) 5  (degree) 30
Ta(°C) 25 m (kg.s-1) 0.025

4. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON A SINGLE PASS SOLAR AIR HEATER WITH FLAT PLATE ABSORBER
Experiments were conducted during April 2017 on a single pass solar collector with flat plate absorber. The solar
collector is described in details in Ref. [11]. This experimental study was performed in order to validate the
mathematical modeling method that is used in the geometric parameters’ optimization, and to investigate the transient
state of the collector. The SAH was operated at natural air flow rate (Exp. 1), and at the air flow rates of 300 and 150
m3.h-1 (Exp.2 and Exp. 3). The SAH was kept in shadow before the experiment in order to cancel the solar effect. The
inlet air temperature and the solar radiation were recorded every 5 minutes during 1hour from 11h30 to 12h30 (GMT).
During this period, solar radiation and ambient temperature can be assumed constants. The experimental data are
exhibited in Table III. Figure 6 shows that experimental temperatures got to the threshold values after almost 20 min.
This figure exhibits also a comparison between the experimental and the theoretical outlet air temperature of the SAH
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

at the air flow rates of 150, 300 m3.h-1 and at natural air flow rate. The theoretical outlet air temperature was determined
by solving the energy balance equations Eqs. [5-9] by the implicit finite difference method, it is the air duct temperature
Tf at the time t, and at the node j=N. The mean relative errors of the theoretical outlet temperatures are 4.86 %, 8.54 %
and 5.98 % respectively for Exp. 1, Exp. 2 and Exp. 3.

Table III. Experimental data.

Experiment Date m (kg.s-1) G (W.m-2) Ta (°C) V (m.s-1)
Exp. 1 April 24th , 2017 Natural air flow rate 1050.89 25.15 3
Exp. 2 April 13th, 2017 m =300m3.h-1 1099.09 20.84 3
Exp. 3 April 14th, 2017 m =150 m3.h-1 1035.27 22.54 5

Figure 6 .Comparison between the experimental and theoretical outlet air temperature of Exp. 1, Exp. 2 and Exp. 3.

5. OPTIMIZATION OF THE GEOMETRIC PARAMETERS OF THE STUDIED SOLAR AIR HEATERS

Optimization of the geometric parameters of the single pass solar air heaters

 Effect of the variation of H1: the distance between the glass and the flat plate absorber

The collector Type A is operated in forced convection. H1 is optimized between the values of 0.5cm and 6cm. There
is a maximal peak of the outlet air temperature when H1 is between 0.75 and 1cm (Figure 7). In this interval, the
Rayleigh number ranges from 1460 to 3445 that represents the transition of the heat transfer type in the air gap from
conduction to convection. By increasing H1 beyond 1cm, the outlet air temperature doesn’t vary significantly. It can
be deduced that the optimal value of H1 is 1cm. These results are in accordance with the results of Subiantoro and Ooi
[12].
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

Figure 7. Outlet air temperature versus H1 of the collector Type A.

 Effect of the variation of H2 : the distance between the flat plate absorber and the insulation

The outlet air temperature of the collector Type A decreases inversely with H2 in forced and natural convection modes
(Figure 8a). This result is in accordance with the results of Bahrehmand and Ameri [13], and Njomo and Daguenet
[14]. However, the thermal efficiency increases in natural convection by increasing H2 and reaches its maximal value
at H2=2cm (Figure 8b). Although, the useful convective heat flux density from the absorber to the flowing air Фc,pf
decreases by increasing H2 in forced convection. In addition, the lost convective heat flux densities from the absorber
to the air gap Фc,p(ag), and from the glass cover to ambient air Фc,ga increase by increasing H2 (Figure 9a). In natural
convection mode, Фc,pf has a maximal value at H2=2cm, and Фc,p(ag) and Фc,ga have minimal values at H2=2cm (Figure
9b).

Figure 8. a) Outlet air temperature, b) Thermal efficiency, of the solar air collector Type A versus H2 at forced and natural
convection modes.
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

Figure 9. Heat flux densities between the solar air collector’s elements at the node j=N/2 versus H2: a) Forced convection, b)
Natural convection.

 Effect of the variation of H3: the distance between the glass and the upper vertex of the V-corrugated absorber

The outlet air temperature doesn’t vary with the variation of H3 (Figure 10). Thereby, the variation of H3 has no
significant effect on the thermal performance of the collector.

Figure 10. Outlet air temperature versus H3 of the collector Type B.

 Effect of the variation of H4: the height of the V-corrugated absorber

For the collector Type B, the effect of increasing H4 is the drop of the outlet air temperature at forced and natural
convection (Figure 11a). The thermal efficiency of the collector in forced convection decreases by increasing H4, and
it becomes stable when H4≥4cm. But, in natural convection, it continuously increases by increasing H4 (Figure 11b).
In forced convection mode, the useful convective heat flux density from the absorber to the flowing air in the air duct
Фc,pf decreases by increasing H4,and it becomes stable when H4≥4cm. And, the lost convective heat flux densities from
the absorber to the air gap Фc,p(ag) and from the glass to the flowing air outside the collector Фc,ga increase by increasing
H4, and they become stable when H4≥4cm (Figure 12a). But, in natural convection mode, Фc,pf increases continuously
by increasing H4, and Фc,p(ag) and Фc,ga decrease continuously by increasing H4 (Figure 12b). Hence, the height of the
V-corrugated absorber around 4cm enables to reach almost maximal values of the thermal efficiency and the useful
heat flux, and minimal values of the lost heat flux.
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

Figure 11. a) Outlet air temperature, b) Thermal efficiency, of the solar air collector Type B versus H4 in forced and natural
convection modes.

Figure 12. Heat flux densities between the solar air collector’s elements at the node j=N/2 versus H4: a) Forced convection, b)
Natural convection.
 Effect of the variation of H5: the distance between the lower vortex of the V-corrugated absorber and the insulation
The collector Type E is operated in forced convection. By increasing H5, the outlet air temperature deceases (Figure
13), the useful convective heat flux density Фc,pf decreases and the lost convective heat flux densities Фc,p(ag) and Фc,ga
increase (Figure 14). Hence, reducing H5 or even nullifying it, increases the outlet air temperature and improves the
thermal performances of the collector.

Figure 13. Outlet air temperature versus H5. Figure 14. Heat flux densities between the solar air
collector’s elements at the node j=N/2 versus H5.
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

Optimization of the geometric shape of counter flow double pass solar air heaters

The outlet air temperature of the solar collectors with flat plate and V-corrugated absorbers (Type D and Type E) does
not vary significantly by increasing respectively H1, H2, H3 and H4 (Figures 15 and 16). In fact, increasing H1 and H3
have as effect, the lowering of the useful convective heat flux density from the absorber to the flowing air in the air
duct 1 above the absorber Фc,pf1. However, the amount of the lost heat in the air duct 1 is recovered in the air duct 2
below the absorber (Figure 15). In addition, increasing H2 and H4 has as effect, the reduction of the useful convective
heat flux density from the absorber to the flowing air in the air duct 2 below the absorber Фc,pf2. However, the amount
of the lost heat in the air duct 2 is recovered in the air duct 1 above the absorber (Figure 16).

Figure 15. a) Outlet air temperature and heat flux densities versus H1, b) Outlet air temperature and heat flux densities versus
H3.

Figure 16. a) Outlet air temperature and heat flux densities versus H2, b) Outlet air temperature and heat flux densities versus
H4.

Effect of the variation of the length and the width of the solar air heater
The collector Type A was operated in forced convection. By varying L and W from 0.5m to 4m, the outlet air
temperature increases and the thermal efficiency decreases (Figure 17 and Figure 18), the drop of the thermal efficiency
is due to the absorber area LW that increases. The rise of the outlet air temperature is in accordance with the results of
Ref. [13]. The increase of the outlet air temperature is due to the contact time between the flowing air in the air duct
and the absorber which is extended when the collector is longer, and to the decrease of the air velocity when the
collector is wider. The useful convective heat flux density Фc,pf decreases by increasing L and W (Figure 19 and Figure
20), and the lost convective heat flux densities Фc,p(ag) and Фc,ga increase by increasing L and W. Consequently, heat
losses become significant by increasing the collector size.
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

Figure 17. Outlet air temperature and thermal efficiency Figure 18. Outlet air temperature and thermal efficiency
versus L. versus W.

Figure 19. Heat flux densities between the solar air Figure 20. Heat flux densities between the solar air
collector’s elements at the node j=N/2 versus L. collector’s elements at the node j=N/2 versus W.

6. Conclusion

The present paper presented the mathematical modeling of five types of single pass and counter flow double pass SAHs
with flat plate and V-corrugated absorbers. Experimental studies were carried out on the collector Type A in natural
convection and at the air flow rates of 300 and 150 m3.h-1. Experiments were performed during one hour at almost
constant solar radiation in order to investigate the transient response of the collector and to validate the mathematical
modeling method that is used in the geometric parameters’ optimization. It is perceived that experimental temperatures
got to the threshold values after almost 20 min. In addition, experiments showed good agreement between the
mathematical modeling and the experimental results for different air flow rates with mean relative errors that range
between 4.86% and 8.54%. A parametric study was carried out in order to optimize the geometry of these solar
collectors by studying the effect of varying H1, H2, H3, H4 and H5.Therefore, the optimal sizes of H1 and H2 in the case
of the single pass solar collector Type A are respectively 1cm and 2cm. The variation of H3 has no effect on the thermal
performances of the SAH Type B. In addition, the optimal size of H4 in the case the single pass collector Type B is
4cm. Reducing H5 or even nullifying it, increases the outlet air temperature and improves the thermal performances of
the collector Type C. Moreover, the variation of H1, H2, H3 and H4 has no significant effect on the thermal performances
of the counter flow double pass solar collectors Type D and Type E under the compensation effect between the flowing
air above and under the absorber. Finally, increasing the SAH’s size increases the outlet air temperature while the
thermal efficiency decreases, and heat losses become significant.
 THE 6TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS Istanbul/Turkey 25-27 June 2018

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This work was supported by the research institute for solar energy and new energies (IRESEN) as part of the project
SSH and all of the authors are grateful to the IRESEN institute for its cooperation.

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