IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i15p5633-d1203211.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Thermohydraulic Efficiency of a Solar Air Heater in the Presence of Graded Aluminium Wire Mesh—A Combined Experimental–Numerical Study

Author

Listed:
  • Rawal Diganjit

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, Mangalore 575025, India)

  • Nagaranjan Gnanasekaran

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Surathkal, Mangalore 575025, India)

  • Moghtada Mobedi

    (Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Shizuoka University, 3-5-1 Johoku, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu-shi 432-8561, Japan)

Abstract

In this work, aluminium wire mesh (WM) samples with 3, 9, and 18 pores per inch (PPI) and porosities of 0.894, 0.812, and 0.917, respectively, were combined together to form graded structures including 3-9-18, 9-18-3, and 18-3-9 PPIs. A 5 mm thickness for each WM was considered for a length of 2 m and inserted into a single-pass solar air heater (SAH) in which the height of the SAH was 120 mm. For the numerical analysis, a 3D numerical model was considered in ANSYS fluent software, and the Rosseland radiation model renormalization group (RNG) k-ε enhanced wall function was incorporated to account for solar radiation. The local thermal equilibrium (LTE) model was considered to obtain the heat-transfer characteristics of the WM. The numerical results of the thermohydraulic performance parameter (THPP) of the 9-18-3 PPI WM were 13.04% and 11.92% higher than the 3-9-18 and 18-3-9 PPI samples, respectively. Later, 25% of the 9-18-3 graded wire mesh (GWM) was considered at four different locations, i.e., 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 m away from the inlet, and analysed to obtain the best location for efficient heat transfer. The computational results show that 1.5 m away from the inlet is the best location among the different locations considered. The experimental results of the GWM at 1.5 m away from the inlet demonstrated a 20.91% and 23.32% increase in thermal efficiency compared to the empty channel for the 0.027 kg/s and 0.058 kg/s mass flow rates, respectively. From numerical-cum-experimental analysis, it was found that inserting 25% length of GWM of the entire length of the test section at a distance of 1.5 m from the inlet in single pass SAH improves the overall performance of the empty channel of single-pass SAH.

Suggested Citation

  • Rawal Diganjit & Nagaranjan Gnanasekaran & Moghtada Mobedi, 2023. "Thermohydraulic Efficiency of a Solar Air Heater in the Presence of Graded Aluminium Wire Mesh—A Combined Experimental–Numerical Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-32, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:15:p:5633-:d:1203211
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/15/5633/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/15/5633/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anirudh, K. & Dhinakaran, S., 2020. "Performance improvement of a flat-plate solar collector by inserting intermittent porous blocks," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 428-441.
    2. Avila-Marin, A.L. & Fernandez-Reche, J. & Martinez-Tarifa, A., 2019. "Modelling strategies for porous structures as solar receivers in central receiver systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 15-33.
    3. Gang Liu & Yuanji Li & Pan Wei & Tian Xiao & Xiangzhao Meng & Xiaohu Yang, 2022. "Thermo-Economic Assessments on a Heat Storage Tank Filled with Graded Metal Foam," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-16, September.
    4. Singh, Satyender, 2020. "Experimental and numerical investigations of a single and double pass porous serpentine wavy wiremesh packed bed solar air heater," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 1361-1387.
    5. Zhao, Zhiqi & Luo, Lei & Qiu, Dandan & Wang, Zhongqi & Sundén, Bengt, 2021. "On the solar air heater thermal enhancement and flow topology using differently shaped ribs combined with delta-winglet vortex generators," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    6. Omojaro, A.P. & Aldabbagh, L.B.Y., 2010. "Experimental performance of single and double pass solar air heater with fins and steel wire mesh as absorber," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(12), pages 3759-3765, December.
    7. Rawal Diganjit & N. Gnanasekaran & Moghtada Mobedi, 2022. "Numerical Study for Enhancement of Heat Transfer Using Discrete Metal Foam with Varying Thickness and Porosity in Solar Air Heater by LTNE Method," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-28, November.
    8. Jadhav, Prakash H. & Gnanasekaran, N. & Mobedi, Moghtada, 2023. "Analysis of functionally graded metal foams for the accomplishment of heat transfer enhancement under partially filled condition in a heat exchanger," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PA).
    9. Kumar, Dheeraj & Layek, Apurba, 2022. "Nusselt number and friction characteristics of solar air heater roughened with novel twisted V-shaped staggered ribs using liquid crystal thermography," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P1), pages 651-666.
    10. Hu, Jianjun & Guo, Meng & Guo, Jinyong & Zhang, Guangqiu & Zhang, Yuwen, 2020. "Numerical and experimental investigation of solar air collector with internal swirling flow," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 2259-2271.
    11. Anirudh, K. & Dhinakaran, S., 2020. "Numerical study on performance improvement of a flat-plate solar collector filled with porous foam," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 1704-1717.
    12. Aldabbagh, L.B.Y. & Egelioglu, F. & Ilkan, M., 2010. "Single and double pass solar air heaters with wire mesh as packing bed," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 3783-3787.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rawal Diganjit & N. Gnanasekaran & Moghtada Mobedi, 2022. "Numerical Study for Enhancement of Heat Transfer Using Discrete Metal Foam with Varying Thickness and Porosity in Solar Air Heater by LTNE Method," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-28, November.
    2. Singh, Satyender & Chaurasiya, Shailendra Kumar & Negi, Bharat Singh & Chander, Subhash & Nemś, Magdalena & Negi, Sushant, 2020. "Utilizing circular jet impingement to enhance thermal performance of solar air heater," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 1327-1345.
    3. Dhiman, Prashant & Thakur, N.S. & Chauhan, S.R., 2012. "Thermal and thermohydraulic performance of counter and parallel flow packed bed solar air heaters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 259-268.
    4. Fudholi, Ahmad & Sopian, Kamaruzzaman, 2019. "A review of solar air flat plate collector for drying application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 333-345.
    5. Roozbeh Vaziri & Akeem Adeyemi Oladipo & Mohsen Sharifpur & Rani Taher & Mohammad Hossein Ahmadi & Alibek Issakhov, 2021. "Efficiency Enhancement in Double-Pass Perforated Glazed Solar Air Heaters with Porous Beds: Taguchi-Artificial Neural Network Optimization and Cost–Benefit Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-18, October.
    6. Tabish Alam & Nagesh Babu Balam & Kishor Sitaram Kulkarni & Md Irfanul Haque Siddiqui & Nishant Raj Kapoor & Chandan Swaroop Meena & Ashok Kumar & Raffaello Cozzolino, 2021. "Performance Augmentation of the Flat Plate Solar Thermal Collector: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-23, September.
    7. Alam, Tabish & Kim, Man-Hoe, 2017. "Performance improvement of double-pass solar air heater – A state of art of review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 779-793.
    8. Hassan, Hamdy & Abo-Elfadl, Saleh & El-Dosoky, M.F., 2020. "An experimental investigation of the performance of new design of solar air heater (tubular)," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 1055-1066.
    9. Zukowski, M., 2015. "Experimental investigations of thermal and flow characteristics of a novel microjet air solar heater," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 10-20.
    10. Oztop, Hakan F. & Bayrak, Fatih & Hepbasli, Arif, 2013. "Energetic and exergetic aspects of solar air heating (solar collector) systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 59-83.
    11. Singh, Satyender & Dhiman, Prashant, 2016. "Thermal performance of double pass packed bed solar air heaters – A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1010-1031.
    12. Varun Pratap Singh & Siddharth Jain & Ashish Karn & Ashwani Kumar & Gaurav Dwivedi & Chandan Swaroop Meena & Nitesh Dutt & Aritra Ghosh, 2022. "Recent Developments and Advancements in Solar Air Heaters: A Detailed Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-55, September.
    13. Ravi, Ravi Kant & Saini, Rajeshwer Prasad, 2016. "A review on different techniques used for performance enhancement of double pass solar air heaters," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 941-952.
    14. Anirudh, K. & Dhinakaran, S., 2021. "Numerical analysis of the performance improvement of a flat-plate solar collector using conjugated porous blocks," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 382-391.
    15. Razak, A.A. & Majid, Z.A.A. & Azmi, W.H. & Ruslan, M.H. & Choobchian, Sh. & Najafi, G. & Sopian, K., 2016. "Review on matrix thermal absorber designs for solar air collector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 682-693.
    16. Yu Wang & Mikael Boulic & Robyn Phipps & Manfred Plagmann & Chris Cunningham, 2020. "Experimental Performance of a Solar Air Collector with a Perforated Back Plate in New Zealand," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    17. Kumar, Rajneesh & Goel, Varun, 2021. "Unconventional solar air heater with triangular flow-passage: A CFD based comparative performance assessment of different cross-sectional rib-roughnesses," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 1267-1278.
    18. Bezbaruah, Parag Jyoti & Das, Rajat Subhra & Sarkar, Bikash Kumar, 2021. "Experimental and numerical analysis of solar air heater accoutered with modified conical vortex generators in a staggered fashion," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 109-131.
    19. Rajarajeswari, K. & Sreekumar, A., 2016. "Matrix solar air heaters – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 704-712.
    20. Kumar, Anil & Kim, Man-Hoe, 2017. "Solar air-heating system with packed-bed energy-storage systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 215-227.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:15:p:5633-:d:1203211. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.