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Thermal performance of an n-pass solar air heater

Author

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  • Al Mahdi, N.
  • Al Baharna, N.S.

Abstract

A mathematical model is developed for the prediction of the thermal performance for an n-pass solar air collector. The thermal efficiency and the temperature rise in teh collector are increased by preheating the air within the collector before it comes into contact with the absorber plate. The thermal losses to the ambient, through the bottom plate, are minimized due to the lower bottom plate temperature. The analysis describes how the governing equations are manipulated with the aid of the boundary conditions to obtain a set of equations which is solved numerically. In order to demonstrate the capability of the model, the analysis is applied to investigate the effect of increasing the number of air passes within the collector on the thermal efficiency and the temperature rise for a range of air mass flow rates. The results indicate that the thermal efficiency of the collector increases rapidly and approaches the optical efficiency of the collector as the mass flow rate is increased. In general, the model can be used to analyze the effect of various design parameters on the thermal performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Al Mahdi, N. & Al Baharna, N.S., 1991. "Thermal performance of an n-pass solar air heater," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 1(3), pages 527-532.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:1:y:1991:i:3:p:527-532
    DOI: 10.1016/0960-1481(91)90067-Y
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    Cited by:

    1. Rajarajeswari, K. & Sreekumar, A., 2016. "Matrix solar air heaters – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 704-712.

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