Application of New Artificial Neural Network to Predict Heat Transfer and Thermal Performance of a Solar Air-Heater Tube

In the present study, the heat transfer and thermal performance of a helical corrugation with perforated circular disc solar air-heater tubes are predicted using a machine learning regression technique. This paper describes a statistical analysis of heat transfer by developing an artificial neural network-based machine learning model. The effects of variation in the corrugation angle (θ), perforation ratio (k), corrugation pitch ratio (y), perforated disc pitch ratio (s), and Reynolds number have been analyzed. An artificial neural network model is used for regression analysis to predict the heat transfer in terms of Nusselt number and thermohydraulic efficiency, and the results showed high prediction accuracies. The artificial neural network model is robust and precise, and can be used by thermal system design engineers for predicting output variables. Two different models are trained based on the features of experimental data, which provide an estimation of experimental output based on user-defined input parameters. The models are evaluated to have an accuracy of 97.00% on unknown test data. These models will help the researchers working in heat transfer enhancement-based experiments to understand and predict the output. As a result, the time and cost of the experiments will reduce.