Modelling of Flat Plate and V-Corrugated

Solar Air Heaters for Single and Counter

Flow Operating Modes

Hicham El Ferouali, Said Doubabi, Mohammed Kouhila,

and Naji Abdenouri

1 Introduction

Solar energy is becoming a valuable renewable energy alternative for the limited
fossil fuel resources. Among the simplest and most direct applications of this
energy is the conversion of solar radiation into heat, which can be applied in drying
process. Hence, the realization of an efficient solar dryer requires a thorough study
of its main element, namely, the solar air heater that generates thermal energy.
Several designs and improved technologies of solar air heaters have been
proposed and discussed in literature. These researches carry out on the type of the
air channel (single, double, or counter-flow channel), the number of glazing, and the
type the absorber (flat, corrugated, or finned). For example, Karim and Hawlader
(2006) showed that the V-corrugated absorber is 10–15% and 5–11% more effec-
tive in single pass and double pass modes, respectively, compared to flat plate
absorbers. Omojaro and Aldabbagh (2010) found that the efficiency of the double
pass collector is greater than the single pass by 7–19.4%. El-Sebaii et al. (2011)
showed that the V-corrugated is greater than the flat plate absorber by 5% in terms
of outlet temperature and by 11–14% in terms of efficiency. At last but not least,
Karim et al. (2014) investigated theoretically and experimentally a counter-flow
V-corrugated solar air heater and found that solar radiation, inlet air temperature,

H.E. Ferouali (*) • S. Doubabi

Cadi Ayyad University, Department of Physics, LSET, Marrakech B.P 549, Morocco
e-mail: hichamelferouali@gmail.com
M. Kouhila
Cadi Ayyad University, LESPAM, Marrakech B.P 2400, Morocco
N. Abdenouri
Cadi Ayyad University, LP2M2E, Marrakech B.P 549, Morocco

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 303

F. Aloui, I. Dincer (eds.), Exergy for A Better Environment and Improved
Sustainability 1, Green Energy and Technology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62572-0_21
304 H.E. Ferouali et al.

flow rate and collector’s length have a significant effect on the efficiency of the air
collector.
The aim of the present paper is to develop a dynamic mathematical model which
can be applied to different configurations of solar air heaters, namely, flat plate and
V-corrugated solar air heaters operated in single and counter-flow modes in order to
assist in the interpretation of the phenomena observed in the collectors, predict
trends, and assist in the optimization of suitable devices.
Nomenclature
L Length of the collector (m)
W Width of the collector (m)
Dh Hydraulic diameter (m)
G Solar radiation on titled surface (W
m2)
T Temperatures (K)
V Wind velocity (m
s1)
C Specific heat (J
kg1
K1)
h Heat transfer coefficient (W
m2
K1)
k Thermal conductivity (W
m1
K1)
mf Air mass flow rate (kg
s1)
Hc Gap between V-corrugated absorber and glass cover (m)
Hg Height of V-corrugated absorber (m)
Ub Bottom heat loss coefficient (W
m2
K1)
Re Reynolds number
Pr Prandtl number
Nu Nusselt number
Ra Rayleigh number
x Spatial coordinate (m)
n Number of nodes in flow direction
r Rate of the aperture area
g Gravitational constant (9.81 m2.s1)
Greek letters
δ Thickness (m)
α Absorptivity
ɛ Emissivity
τ Transmissivity
ρ Density (kg
m3)
θ Tilt angle of the collector, degrees
η Instantaneous thermal efficiency of the collector (%)
Subscripts
a Ambient
s Sky
w Wind
g Glass cover
ag Air gap between glass cover and absorber
p Absorber
(continued)
Modelling of Flat Plate and V-Corrugated Solar Air Heaters for Single. . . 305

f Air working fluid

f1 Air working fluid in the upper channel
f2 Air working fluid in the lower channel
b Insulation in the bottom
out Outlet air
in Inlet air
c Convection
r Radiation

2 Theoretical Analysis

To simplify the analysis, the following assumptions were made:

• One-dimensional heat transfer through the system layers.
• The heat transfer from the collector edges is negligible (Duffie and
Beckman 1991).
• Properties of the glass, the absorber, and the insulation are independent of
temperature.
• The flowing air temperature is assumed to vary only in the direction of the flow.

2.1 Mathematical of Flat Plate and V-Corrugated Solar Air

Heaters for Single-Flow Operating Mode

In the present models, the analyzed control volume of the collector is divided into
five parts which are perpendicular to the air flow direction, namely, the glass cover,
the air gap between the cover and the absorber, the absorber, the air working fluid,
and the insulation. The governing equations are derived by applying the general
energy balance for each element of the collector.

2.1.1 Flat Plate Solar Air Heater

The considered solar air heater configuration is shown in Fig. 1.

The energy balance equations that describe the glass cover, the air gap, the
absorber, the air working fluid, and the insulation are expressed, respectively, as
follows:

dT g


ρg δ g C g ¼ αg G þ hw þ hrgs T a  T g
dt


 ð1Þ
þ hcgðagÞ T ag  T g þ hrgp T p  T g
306 H.E. Ferouali et al.

Fig. 1 Single-flow flat

plate solar air heater


dT ag

ρag T ag δag Cag T ag ¼ hcgðagÞ T g  T ag
dt

 ð2Þ
þ hcðagÞp T p  T ag
dT p

ρp δp Cp ¼ rαp τg G þ hcðagÞp T ag  T p
dt



 ð3Þ
þ hrgp T g  T p þ hcpf T f  T p þ hrpb T b  T p

where r is the rate of the aperture area of the absorber on which the solar radiation
falls, in this case r ¼ 1.

∂T f
 mf Cf ðT f Þ ∂T f
ρf ðT f Þδf Cf ðT f Þ ¼ hcpf T p  T f þ hcbf ðT b  T f Þ  ð4Þ
∂t W ∂x
dT b

ρb δ b C b ¼ hrpb T p  T b þ hcbf ðT f  T b Þ
dt ð5Þ
þ U b ðT a  T b Þ

The heat transfer coefficients are calculated using familiar methods and formulas
available in the literature. For example, the convection heat transfer coefficient in
the air gap between the cover and the absorber is calculated according to Hollands
et al. (1976):

Nuag K ag
hcgðagÞ ¼ hcðagÞp ¼ ð6Þ
δag

where the Nusselt number1 is expressed by:

1
The “þ” symbol in the superscript means that only positive values of the terms in the square
brackets are to be used.
Modelling of Flat Plate and V-Corrugated Solar Air Heaters for Single. . . 307

  !
1708 þ ð sin 1:8 θÞ1:6 1708
Nuag ¼ 1 þ 1:44 1  1
Ra cos θ Ra cos θ
" 1 # þ ð7Þ
Ra cos θ 3
þ 1
5830

The convection heat transfer coefficient between the absorber and the air flow is
expressed as follows:

Nuf K f
hcpf ¼ hcbf ¼ ð8Þ
Dh

• For laminar air flow Ref < 2100, the Nusselt number may be calculated from the
equation proposed by Mercer et al. (1967):

0:0606ðRef Pr f Dh =LÞ1:2
Nuf ¼ 4:9 þ ð9Þ
1 þ 0:0909ðRef Pr f Dh =LÞ0:7 Pr 0:17
f

• For turbulent air flow, Ref  2100, the Nusselt number may be calculated from
the equation below proposed by Kays and Crawford (1980):

Nuf ¼ 0:0158Re0:8
f ð10Þ

2.1.2 V-Corrugated Solar Air Heater

The V-corrugated collector is represented in Fig. 2. The angle between V-grooves

is 60 .
The energy balance equations that describe the air gap, the absorber and the
working fluid are:

Fig. 2 Single-flow
V-corrugated solar air
heater
308 H.E. Ferouali et al.

For the air gap:

 

 Hg
dT ag

ρag T ag H c þ Cag T ag ¼ hcgðagÞ T g  T ag
2 dt ð11Þ


þ 2hcðagÞp T p  T ag

For the absorber, the energy balance is given by (3) but in this case r ¼ 2/3.
For the working fluid:

Hg ∂T f

ρf ðT f Þ Cf ðT f Þ ¼ 2hcpf T p  T f þ hcbf ðT b  T f Þ
2 ∂t
ð12Þ
mf Cf ðT f Þ ∂T f

W ∂x
The convection heat transfer coefficient in the air gap between the cover and the
absorber is calculated as follows:

Nuag K ag
hcgðagÞ ¼ hcðagÞp ¼  ð13Þ
H
Hc þ 2g

where the Nusselt number is given by (5).

The convection heat transfer coefficient between the absorber and the air flow is
proposed by Hollands et al. (1976) and expressed by (8):
• For laminar flow Ref < 2800:

Hg
Nuf ¼ 2:821 þ 0:126Ref ð14Þ
L

• For transition flow 2800 < Ref < 104:

Hg
Nuf ¼ 1:9  106 Re1:79
f þ 225 ð15Þ
L

• For turbulent flow 104 < Ref < 105:

Hg
Nuf ¼ 0:0302Re0:74
f þ 0:242Re0:74
f ð16Þ
L

2.2 Mathematical Modelling of Flat Plate and V-Corrugated

Solar Air Heaters for Counter-Flow Operating Mode

In these models, the analyzed control volume of the collector is divided into five
parts, which are the glass cover, the working fluid’s first pass, the absorber, the
working fluid’s second pass, and the insulation.
Modelling of Flat Plate and V-Corrugated Solar Air Heaters for Single. . . 309

Fig. 3 Counter-flow flat

plate solar air heater

2.2.1 Flat Plate Solar Air Heater

The studied configuration is presented in Fig. 3.

In this part, just the energy balance equations that describe the working fluid’s
first pass, the absorber, and the working fluid’s second pass are given, and they are
expressed, respectively, as follows:

∂T f1


ρf1 ðT f1 Þδf1 Cf1 ðT f1 Þ ¼ hcpf1 T p  T f1 þ hcgf1 T g  T f1
∂t
ð17Þ
mf1 Cf1 ðT f1 Þ ∂T f1

W ∂x
dT p



ρp δp Cp ¼ rαp τg G þ hcpf1 T f1  T p þ hrgp T g  T p þ hcpf2 T f2  T p
dt


þ hrpb T b  T p
ð18Þ

where r ¼ 1.

∂T f2

ρf2 ðT f2 Þδf2 Cf2 ðT f2 Þ ¼ hcpf2 T p  T f2 þ hcbf2 ðT b  T f2 Þ
∂t
ð19Þ
mf2 Cf2 ðT f2 Þ ∂T f2
þ
W ∂x

The convection heat transfer coefficients between the absorber and the air flow
in the first and second passes are expressed by the same formulas utilized in single-
flow mode (8), (9) and (10).
310 H.E. Ferouali et al.

Fig. 4 Counter-flow
V-corrugated solar air
heater

2.2.2 V-Corrugated Solar Air Heater

The considered configuration is shown in Fig. 4.

The energy balance equations that describe the working fluid’s first pass, the
absorber, and the working fluid’s second pass are respectively:
 
Hg ∂T f1

ρf1 ðT f1 Þ H c þ Cf1 ðT f1 Þ ¼ 2hcpf1 T p  T f1
2 ∂t
ð20Þ

 mf1 Cf1 ðT f1 Þ ∂T f1
þhcgf1 T g  T f1 
W ∂x
For the absorber, the energy balance is given by (18), but in this case r ¼ 2/3.

Hg ∂T f2

ρf2 ðT f2 Þ Cf2 ðT f2 Þ ¼ 2hcpf2 T p  T f2
2 ∂t
ð21Þ
mf2 Cf2 ðT f2 Þ ∂T f2
þhcbf2 ðT b  T f2 Þ þ
W ∂x
The convection heat transfer coefficients between the absorber and the air flow
in the first and second passes are expressed by the same formulas utilized in single-
flow mode (8), (14), (15) and (16).

2.3 Thermal Efficiency

Thermal performance of collectors is compared by using the concept of thermal

efficiency. It is generally believed that the thermal efficiency is the major require-
ment for the prediction of thermal performance of the complete solar air heater. It is
calculated by using the following formula:

mf Cf ðT out  T in Þ
η¼ ð22Þ
LWG
Modelling of Flat Plate and V-Corrugated Solar Air Heaters for Single. . . 311

2.4 Numerical Solution of the Mathematical Models

In numerical solving 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 tech-
niques. To do so, systems of differential equations are solved using the implicit
finite-difference method.

3 Results and Discussions

3.1 Relevant Parameters Employed for Numerical

Calculation

The specifications of the elements that constitute the solar air heaters simulated in
MATLAB code are the following: The glass cover is a low-iron glass that has high
transmissivity with small absorption coefficient. The absorber material is copper
with black nickel selective coating. And the chosen material for the insulation is
polyurethane foam that has low conductivity which is required to reduce the heat
losses from the collector.
The input of the program includes design and operational parameters. Tables 1
and 2 present, respectively, the various design and operational relevant parameters
used for numerical calculations.
In the proposed numerical method, the thermophysical 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.

Table 1 Relevant design parameters employed for numerical calculations

Relevant parameter Value Relevant parameter Value
τg 0.94 ρp (kg
m3) 8940
αg 0.04 ρb (kg
m3) 32
ɛg 0.1 L (m) 2.5
αp 0.96 W (m) 1
ɛp 0.12 δg (mm) 3
kb (W
m1
K1) 0.025 δag, δf1 (cm) 5
ɛb 0.6 δp (mm) 0.5
Cg (J
kg1
K1) 720 δf, δf2 (cm) 2.5
Cp (J
kg1
K1) 385 δb (cm) 5
Cb (J
kg1
K1) 1400 Hc (cm) 2.5
ρg (kg
m3) 2500 Hg (cm) 5
312 H.E. Ferouali et al.

Table 2 Relevant operational parameters employed for numerical calculations

Relevant parameter Value Relevant parameter Value
G (W
m2) 700 V (m
s1) 5
Ta ( C) 25 θ (degree) 30
mf (kg
s1) 0.025

Table 3 Range of error and running time for each number of nodes
Number of nodes n 4 6 14 22 38 80
Mean error (%) 2.20 1.48 0.52 0.28 0.12 0
Running time (min) 2.98 3.54 8.2 12.76 26.25 74.20

3.2 Convergence Study

The theoretical outlet temperature of the solar air heater was evaluated for different
numbers of nodes (n ¼ 4, 6, 14, 22, 38 and 80) along the flow direction. The interval
of each simulation is 60 min.
Table 3 presents the running time and the mean error of the obtained tempera-
tures compared to the 80 nodes model. Consequently, the results suggest limiting
the number of nodes to 22 in order to reduce the running time with acceptable errors
from the optimum case of 80 nodes. And so, all simulations in the present paper are
made for n ¼ 22.

3.3 Theoretical Results of the Flat Plate Solar Air Heater

The proposed numerical solution is able to predict the instantaneous temperatures

of any component at any section of the collector. For example, the predicted
temperatures of the collector components at the middle section are presented in
Fig. 5. As it can be recognized from the figure, under constant operating conditions,
the response of the system becomes stable after a transitional period.
As it was expected, the temperature of the absorber records the highest value
along the running time, since the mean function of the absorber is to trap as much as
possible of the incident solar radiation transmitted by the upper cover and to
transfer the retained heat by convection to the working fluid.
The aim of the glass cover is to transfer the greater part of the solar radiation
received and opposes the heat losses. From the cover temperature presented
above, the cover has the lowest variation along time; thus it works efficiently for
this aim.
Modelling of Flat Plate and V-Corrugated Solar Air Heaters for Single. . . 313

Fig. 5 Temperatures of the 130

flat plate collector’s 120 Tg
components at the middle
cross section 110 Tf
100

Temperature (°C)
Tb
90
80 Tag
70 Tp
60
50
40
30
20
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Time (min)

Fig. 6 Instantaneous 90
Instantaneous Thermal Efficiency (%)

thermal efficiency of flat

plate and V-corrugated 80
solar air heaters for single- 70
flow operating mode
60
50
40
30 Single-flow flat plate collector
Single-flow V-corrugated collector
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (min)

3.4 Comparison Between Flat Plate and V-Corrugated Solar

Air Heaters

The results under identical operating conditions are shown in Figs. 6 and 7. It is
found that the V-corrugated collector is considerably superior to the flat plate
collector by about 21.64% higher efficiency for single-flow mode and about
17.16% higher efficiency for counter-flow operating mode, indicating that the use
of the V-corrugated absorber improves significantly the thermal performance of a
solar air heater, which is in line with the results of Karim and Hawlader (2006), and
El-Sebaii et al. (2011).
314 H.E. Ferouali et al.

Instantaneous Thermal Efficiency (%)

Fig. 7 Instantaneous 100
thermal efficiency of flat
plate and V-corrugated 90
solar air heaters for counter- 80
flow operating mode 70
60
50
40 Counter-flow flat plate collector
30 Counter-flow V-corrugated collector
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (min)
Instantaneous Thermal Efficiency (%)

Fig. 8 Instantaneous
80
thermal efficiency of flat
plate solar air heater for 70
single and counter-flow
operating modes 60
50
40
30 Single-flow flat plate collector
Counter-flow flat plate collector
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (min)

3.5 Comparison Between Single and Counter-Flow

Operating Modes

According to Figs. 8 and 9, the counter-flow collectors are more efficient than
single-flow ones by about 17.01% and 12.53%, respectively, for the flat plate and
the V-corrugated solar air heaters. Hence, solar collectors with double air passage
as also reported by Omojaro and Aldabbagh (2010) increase the thermal efficiency.
However, their application in natural flow convection is limited because the air
must be forced through the two flow channels for optimal use of the system.
Modelling of Flat Plate and V-Corrugated Solar Air Heaters for Single. . . 315

Instantaneous Thermal Efficiency (%)

Fig. 9 Instantaneous
thermal efficiency of 100
V-corrugated solar air
heater for single and
80
counter-flow operating
modes
60

40
Single-flow V-corrugated collector
Counter-flow V-corrugated collector
20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (min)

Fig. 10 Front view of the

utilized flat plate solar air
heater

4 Experimental Verification

All the experiments that were done to verify the code took place in Marrakech
(Morocco), using an existing flat plate solar collector (see Fig. 10). They were
conducted for 2 days of December 2014 with clear sky condition. The ambient
316 H.E. Ferouali et al.

temperature, collector’s outlet temperature, and the solar radiation were measured
and recorded every 30 min from 9 to 17 h. The average wind velocity was 9 km
h1
and the average humidity was 65%.
The experimental apparatus used for this experimental study are:
• Single glazed flat plate collector of 2.5 m2 area (2.5 m x 1 m) orientated
southward under the angle of 30 versus the horizontal. The top cover is an
ordinary glass of 3 mm (τ g ¼ 0.9, ɛ g ¼ 0.85). The absorber is a 0.5 mm
galvanized iron painted in black (αp ¼ 0.7, ɛp ¼ 0.23, Cp ¼ 444 J
kg1
K1,
ρp ¼ 7860 kg
m3). The insulation in the bottom and the edges of the collector is
a 5 mm polyurethane foam (kb ¼ 0.025 W
m1
K1, ɛ b ¼ 0.6). The thickness of
the air gap between the top glass cover and the absorber is 5 cm and the thickness
of the air channel between the absorber and the insulation is 2.5 cm.
• A centrifugal fan (300 m3
h1, 80 mm CE, 220 V), with an upstream restrictor
which allows to vary the air flow rate from 50 to 300 m3
h1.
• PT 100 platinum thermocouples.
• A pyranometer Kipp & Zonen CM11 for measuring the solar radiation on 30
inclined surface.
The solar air heater was operated at a flow rate of 300 m3
h1(0.0939 kg
s1)
during the first day of experience and a flow of 150 m3
h1 (0.0469 kg
s1) during
the second day of experience.
Figure 11 compares the theoretical and experimental outlet temperatures of the
air working fluid for a flow rate of 300 and 150 m3
h1. The comparison shows good
agreement between measured and predicted results.

Fig. 11 Predicted and

experimental outlet air 40
Outlet Temperature Tout (°C)

temperature of the existing

flat plate collector 35

30

25
Theoretical result (300 m3/h)
20
Experimental result (300 m3/h)
Theoretical result (150 m3/h)
15
Experimental result (150 m3/h)

10
9h 10h 11h 12h 13h 14h 15h 16h 17h
Time (hour)
Modelling of Flat Plate and V-Corrugated Solar Air Heaters for Single. . . 317

5 Conclusion

The mathematical models developed for the flat plate and V-corrugated solar air
heaters and the simulation codes created in MATLAB are able to correctly predict
the instantaneous temperatures of any component at any section of the air collector,
the outlet air temperature, and the instantaneous thermal efficiency.
The simulation results are verified by experimental and theoretical results found
in the literature. Also, an experimental study at an existing flat plate collector was
made in order to verify the proposed model; the analysis shows very good agree-
ment between the measured and the numerically predicted values for different
running conditions and flow rates. And it was found that the proposed model has
the ability to predict the performance of the collector’s different configurations.

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