IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v18y2025i21p5831-d1787789.html

Numerical Investigation of a New Segmented Annular Ring Tube for Heat Transfer Enhancement in Solar Water Heating Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Mohamed Said Kahaleras

    (Laboratory of Energy Systems Technologies (LTSE), Department of Process Engineering and Energetics, National Higher School of Technology and Engineering, Annaba 23005, Algeria)

  • Sabbah Ataya

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh 11432, Saudi Arabia)

  • Lina Chouichi

    (Laboratory of Energy Systems Technologies (LTSE), Department of Process Engineering and Energetics, National Higher School of Technology and Engineering, Annaba 23005, Algeria)

  • Yacine Karmi

    (Mechanical Department, Institute of Applied Sciences and Technologies, University of Constantine 1, Constantine 25017, Algeria)

  • Omar Reffas

    (Mechanical Department, Institute of Applied Sciences and Technologies, University of Constantine 1, Constantine 25017, Algeria)

  • Issam Bousba

    (Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Jijel, Jijel 18000, Algeria)

  • Abdessalam Otmani

    (Laboratory of Energy Systems Technologies (LTSE), Department of Process Engineering and Energetics, National Higher School of Technology and Engineering, Annaba 23005, Algeria)

  • Haithem Boumediri

    (Mechanical Department, Institute of Applied Sciences and Technologies, University of Constantine 1, Constantine 25017, Algeria)

Abstract

This study presents a numerical investigation of a parabolic trough absorber tube equipped with a novel Angularly Segmented Ring Turbulator (ASRT), designed to enhance heat transfer through periodic flow disturbance and improved wall–fluid interaction. The proposed ASRT geometry consists of segmented annular rings arranged along the tube length, characterized by two key parameters: the number of angular segments per ring ( Nr = 4, 6, 8) and the angular spacing of each segment ( α = 20° and 40°). Three dimensional simulations were performed using the finite volume method under turbulent flow conditions, with Reynolds numbers ranging from 3300 to 11,000. A non-uniform solar heat flux, obtained via Monte Carlo Ray Tracing (MCRT), was applied as a boundary condition at the outer wall to replicate realistic solar concentration. The results reveal that the ASRT significantly improves convective heat transfer, with the Nusselt number ratio N u / N u s reaching up to 3.7 for α = 20° and Nr = 8. This enhancement is accompanied by a moderate rise in the friction factor ratio f / f s , reaching approximately 7.5 at Re = 3300, indicating efficient turbulence promotion with acceptable hydraulic penalties. The Performance Evaluation Criterion ( PEC ) ranges from 1.7 to 1.9, confirming the superiority of ASRT over the smooth tube.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohamed Said Kahaleras & Sabbah Ataya & Lina Chouichi & Yacine Karmi & Omar Reffas & Issam Bousba & Abdessalam Otmani & Haithem Boumediri, 2025. "Numerical Investigation of a New Segmented Annular Ring Tube for Heat Transfer Enhancement in Solar Water Heating Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:21:p:5831-:d:1787789
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/21/5831/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/21/5831/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:18:y:2025:i:21:p:5831-:d:1787789. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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 The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (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.