Numerical investigation on the performance of solar air heater having staggered semi-frustum roughness on the absorber plate

IF 5.4 3区工程技术 Q2 ENERGY & FUELS

Thermal Science and Engineering Progress Pub Date : 2025-09-30 DOI:10.1016/j.tsep.2025.104167

Ramit Choudhury , Apurba Layek , Siddhita Yadav , Abhimannyu Sharma

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Abstract

Solar air heater is widely employed in applications such as space heating and agricultural drying, due to their simplicity and cost-effectiveness. In this study, a three-dimensional numerical investigation is conducted to evaluate the thermal and hydraulic performance of a solar air heater featuring an absorber plate modified with semi-frustum-shaped roughness elements. The simulations are performed using ANSYS FLUENT, incorporating the RNG k-ε turbulence model to capture the complex flow characteristics. The SIMPLE algorithm is applied for pressure–velocity coupling, and the finite volume method is used to discretize the governing equations. Two key geometric parameters, the relative exit radius and the relative roughness pitch, are varied within the ranges of 0.156–0.781 and 0.0078–0.0156, respectively. The analysis is conducted over a Reynolds number range of 4,000 to 24,000. Results indicate a considerable improvement in maximum heat transfer enhancement of 2.47 times compared to a smooth duct. The maximum value of the thermo-hydraulic performance parameter is found to be 1.70 at a relative exit radius of 0.0156 and a relative roughness pitch of 0.312.

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吸收板上具有交错半截面粗糙度的太阳能空气加热器性能的数值研究

太阳能空气加热器以其简单、经济的优点，广泛应用于空间加热和农业干燥等领域。本文采用三维数值研究方法，对采用半截形粗糙度单元改造的吸收体太阳能空气加热器的热工性能和水力性能进行了评价。利用ANSYS FLUENT软件，结合RNG k-ε湍流模型进行了模拟，以捕捉复杂的流动特性。压力-速度耦合采用SIMPLE算法，控制方程采用有限体积法离散化。相对出口半径和相对粗糙度两个关键几何参数的变化范围分别为0.156 ~ 0.781和0.0078 ~ 0.0156。分析是在4,000到24,000的雷诺数范围内进行的。结果表明，与光滑管道相比，其最大传热增强率提高了2.47倍。在相对出口半径为0.0156、相对粗糙度节距为0.312时，热液性能参数的最大值为1.70。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Thermal Science and Engineering Progress Chemical Engineering-Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes

CiteScore

7.20

自引率

10.40%

发文量

327

审稿时长

41 days

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