Comparative Study of the Effect of Two Type of Ribs on Thermal Performance of Solar Air Heaters

Abstract

Abstract. This paper aims to analyze uid ow characteristics and heat transfer augmentation in the air duct of a solar air heater using CFD techniques. The air duct has a rectangular section, the top wall is the glazing and the bottom one is the absorber provided with transverse rectangular or squared ribs. The simulations are performed in the turbulent regime and RANS formulation is used to model the ow and resolve mass, momentum, and energy equations using Finite Volumes method. The air ow analysis shows that the velocity pro le is not disturbed by the ribs outside the laminar sublayer. Heat transfer analysis based on the calculation of Nusselt Number, friction factor, and thermo-hydraulic performance highlights the heat transfer enhancement and no big friction losses are recorded. A comparative study between two rib shapes (square and rectangular) is performed, which shows better thermohydraulic performance of the rectangular ribs.