Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry (2024) 149:1831–1857

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12855-1

Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics

Chinmaya Mund1 · Sushil Kumar Rathore1 · Ranjit Kumar Sahoo1

Received: 15 June 2023 / Accepted: 9 December 2023 / Published online: 17 February 2024
© Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary 2024

Abstract
The energy requirement of the world will keep on rising, and fossil fuels have been increasingly used in this regard. The use
of fossil fuels brings about different sets of problems like climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, etc. So, a desperate
need for an alternative source of energy which can be cheap and sustainable is being felt. Renewable forms of energy are
environment friendly and can be looked into for our energy needs. Among renewable forms of energy, solar energy is free
and extensively obtainable. This paper reviews solar air heater (SAH) that utilizes solar energy to provide medium tempera-
ture air output. The main disadvantage of SAH is its low efficiency. So, researchers have used different ways to improve its
efficiency. This paper looks into the numerical methods and new techniques implemented by investigators to numerically
model a SAH while organizing their results in a tabular form. Subsequently, the study analyses the thermal performance of
SAH in terms of thermohydraulic performance parameter (THPP) and organizes their results in tabular form. The maximum
THPP achieved among the cases studied was from Jouybari and Lundstrom (Energy 190:116437, 2020) and equalled 5.5.
Finally, the current study will provide researchers with a quick view of the turbulence models used by investigators along
with information on the number of grids to gauge the computational power required for the study and concludes with few
key points on the subjects that can be further explored.

Keywords Solar · Air heater · Renewable energy · Heat transfer · Simulation · CFD

List of symbols Introduction

e Height of transverse triangular block (m)
g/e Relative discrete width Human beings require energy, and they mostly derive it from
l Length of transverse triangular block (m) non-renewable sources, which adversely affect our environ-
p Pitch of transverse triangular block (m) ment with issues like the melting of polar ice, rise in sea
P/e Relative roughness pitch level, increase in the level of greenhouse gases, etc. This
PPSC Parallel pass solar collector has forced our thinkers to look into alternative sources of
PPSCB Parallel pass solar collector with baffles energy which will reduce the burden of our existence on
PPSCDB Parallel pass solar collector with double baffles Mother Nature. There are many energy sources like wind,
THPP Thermohydraulic performance parameter ocean, solar energy, etc. Among these, solar energy is free
and available in plenty.
Renewable energy has many benefits. Renewable energy
is free and abundantly available. Zero carbon emission, thus
eliminating the emission of greenhouse gases. Nevertheless,
the energy harvested from renewable energy is low. We need
to invest in technology which would enable us to harvest
energy from renewable energy efficiently and in a sustain-
able way. This would require more incentives for research-
All Authors contributed equally to the work. ers and support from governments for studying renewable
energy. It is estimated that 4 million exajoules (1Ej = ­1018 J)
* Sushil Kumar Rathore of solar energy reaches earth, of which 4 × ­105 EJ can be
isushilrathore@gmail.com
harvested [2]. This shows the tremendous potential of solar
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute energy.
of Technology, Rourkela 769008, India

Vol.:(0123456789)
1832 C. Mund et al.

Solar thermal collectors are devices that capture the Convection loss
sun’s energy and convert it to thermal energy to heat fluids. Solar radiation (I) Air out at To
Radiation loss
The solar air heater (SAH) has air as its working fluid. It
is very cheap to manufacture and economical to use. This Absorber plate
device has its use in many industrial applications. Moreo-
ver, it can be widely used by people with low financial Reflection loss Bottom fo
resources and thus is an essential device which can raise collector
I ( τα)e
awareness of the usefulness of solar energy in rural areas. Insulation

SAHs find applications in food drying, space heating, Transparent cover

textile industries, etc. SAH can also be used for drying Conduction loss
cash crops like tea, coffee, cardamom, cashew nuts, etc. It Air passage
is known that hot air drying with its temperature varying
Air in at Ti
from 60 to 80 °C is optimum for drying paddy. With this
in view, SAH is a suitable device for such purposes. Open
Fig. 1  Working diagram of a solar air heater. Reprinted from [9] with
drying of food products results in a loss in quality, so SAH
permission from Elsevier
can be used effectively for such purposes [3].
A SAH has a few drawbacks. First is its low efficiency.
The low efficiency of SAHs is due to the low specific heat
of air [4]. Air is also not suitable for the role of storing
heat due to its low thermal capacity [5]. The device has
also been found to have a low heat transfer coefficient
because of the development of a viscous sublayer between Parameters to analyse the performance
the absorber plate and air [6, 7].
Investigators have used many ways to enhance the func- The thermal characteristics of SAH are computed based on
tioning of SAH. They have increased the surface area of the mentioned parameters:
the collector plate by applying ribs and baffles and altering
the shape and size of the absorber plate or by adjusting Thermal efficiency The thermal efficiency of the SAH is
the way fluid flows through it. They vary the fluid flow computed by the expression presented below:
rate and try to gauge the optimum Reynolds number for q
efficient heat transfer. Investigators install various modi-
𝜂= (1)
I×A
fications to interrupt the laminar sublayer and induce tur-
bulence [5] and use different types of obstructions on the where q = ṁ × Cp × (To − Ti )
path of the fluid like ribs, baffles, porous medium [8].
Effective efficiency The effective efficiency of the SAH is
computed by finding out effective efficiency and is men-
Solar air heater tioned below:
( )
P
q − Cm
A SAH is a heat exchanger which converts the incident (2)
𝜂eff =
solar radiation into heat and transfers this heat to a work- I×A
ing fluid for end use. Solar air heaters usually have a duct
where C is defined as the conversion factor which estimates
with a rectangular cross section. The top portion is covered
the overall efficiency of the transformation of thermal energy
by glass, which does not let the incoming long-wavelength
to mechanical energy, which is equivalent to 0.18 [10, 11].
solar radiation from reflecting out. The absorber plate is
The mechanical pumping power (Pm) necessary for fluid
usually made up of metal like aluminium and copper with
flow across the duct is presented below:
high thermal conductivity for better absorption of incident
radiation. The absorber plate stores the energy of the inci- Pm = V̇ × ΔP (3)
dent solar radiation. Air is flown through the underside
of the absorber plate, which picks up the thermal energy where the volume flow rate is referred to by V̇ , and pressure
from the absorber plate and gets heated up. A conventional change across the test section is represented by ΔP.
SAH is depicted in Fig. 1 for a better understanding of the
concept. Thermohydraulic efficiency The thermohydraulic efficiency
is computed with the use of expression presented by Webb
[12]:
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1833

employed during the pre-processor stage. Various com-

( )
Nu∕Nus
THPP = ( )1∕3 (4) mercial software like Fluent, FLOW 3D, etc., are used
f ∕fs for solving these equations. In the post-processing stage,
software suites are applied to plot the outcome of the equa-
where Nu is the Nusselt number of the given system. Nus
tions employed in the solver stage, such as contours and
is the Nusselt number of traditional solar air heater. f and
plots of vector diagrams.
fs represent the friction factor of the given prototype and
traditional solar air heater, respectively.
Novelty and aim of the manuscript

Methods of analysis There are review papers that report the investigations that
have been implemented to enhance the working of SAH.
Researchers have used three methods to investigate the But, there are very few papers that review the numerical
functioning of a SAH. These three methods can be named methods and the process followed. This paper aims towards
experimental method, computational fluid dynamics or the recent investigations that investigators have conducted
analytical methods [13]. on SAH using numerical methods only. The current manu-
script is written with an aim to fill this gap and achieve the
Experimental methods following objectives:

Researchers fabricate prototypes in line with the standard To look into the various computational methods and tur-
practice as per ASHRAE guidelines [14] to investigate the bulence models used to simulate the heat transfer and
thermal characteristics of SAH. Consequently, researchers frictional characteristics of SAH with a variety of modi-
develop a SAH with plywood or wood, attach a blower to fications.
its inlet and use different devices to know the state of the To take a closer look at the number of grids and the com-
fluid (air) flowing through it. They use a solar simulator putational power used to achieve their objective and ana-
like a nichrome-based heater coil to simulate the sun’s lyse the variety of ways implemented to validate their
radiation indoors. They employ voltmeters and ammeters computational model.
to know the flux input to the absorber plate of SAH and To find out any useful technique that enabled complex
use RTD or K-type thermocouple to record the tempera- models to be simulated easily.
ture of the absorber plate at the inlet and outlet of the To find any research area that can be explored more.
fluid. Additionally, they employ a manometer or differ- To summarize the cases studied in terms of their thermal
ential pressure measuring device to monitor the pressure performance and find out studies that have performed
drop suffered by the fluid in the SAH. well.

Analytical methods
Literature review
In this method, a set of differential equations, which gov-
erns fluid and energy flow, is solved using classical math- The current section looks into investigations performed
ematics with simplified assumptions. by researchers using analytical and numerical methods.
The investigators have used various types of ribs, porous
Computational fluid dynamics medium, different duct shapes and phase change materials
and varied the structure of the absorber plate or used baf-
In this method, a computer system is used to process and fles to improve the thermal attributes of the system. Hereaf-
analyse different fluid properties by solving a set of dif- ter, a detailed review of the performance of SAH has been
ferential equations which govern fluid or heat transfer. In provided, which has been categorized based on the type of
this context, CFD codes are used to obtain the solution. modifications imparted to the setup, and remarks of each
This method can then be classified into three stages: a section have been provided in tabular form captioned in
pre-processor, a solver, and a post-processor. During Tables 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
pre-processing, the researcher defines the computational
domain, develops a grid for the domain, defines boundary Ribs
conditions, employs the required physical model and fluid
properties, etc. In the solver stage, the application employs This section revolves around the use of ribs and its effect
various numerical techniques to evaluate the equation on the thermal performance of the system. This section is
further categorized into rectangular, V-shaped, triangular,
1834 C. Mund et al.

Table 1  Summary on investigation

Author Type of modification No. of grids Turbulence model used Remarks

Kumar and Premachandran [15] Rectangular fins 4,585,823 Realizable k-ε N.A
Yadav and Bhagoria [17] Square-sectioned transverse ribs 229,863 RNG k-ε THPPmax = 1.82
Boukadoum and Benzaoui [18] Transverse rectangular ribs N.A SST k-ω N.A
Chaube et al. [19] Transverse ribs 60,910 SST k-ω N.A
Qader et al. [21] Inclined fins 148,281 RNG k-ε THPPmax = 1.916
Singh et al. [23] Multiple broken transverse ribs N.A RNG k-ε THPPmax = 1.62
Sharma and Kalamkar [26] Thin transverse and truncated ribs 16,34,118 RNG k-ε THPPavg = 0.967
Yadav et al. [28] Square-sectioned transverse ribs 384,678 RNG k-ε THPPmax = 1.88

Table 2  Summary on investigation

Author Type of modification No. of grids Turbulence Remarks
model used

V-shaped ribs
Kumar et al. [29] a think circular wire in multi-v-pattern N.A RNG k-ε THPP = 2.74–3.82
Sharma and Bhargva [30] V-Shaped ribs 158,003 RNG k-ε N.A
Triangular-shaped
Choi and Choi [31] transverse triangular block 2,39,385 RNG k-ε THPPmax = 1.001
Gawande et al. [32] right-angle triangular rib 1,95,041 RNG k-ε THPPopt = 2.03
Yadav and Bhagoria [33] equilateral triangular sectioned ribs 432,187 RNG k-ε THPPmax = 2.11
Alphabets or object-shaped
Gawande et al. [22] L-shaped ribs 211,582 RNG k-ε THPPopt = 1.90
Singh et al. [34] Y-shaped N.A RNG k-ε THPPmax = 2.62
Singh et al. [35] kite-shaped obstruction N.A RNG k-ε THPPmax = 2.94
Conic or conical or NACA PROFILE RIB
Ngo and Phu [36] Conic-curve profile ribs Around 80,000 RNG k-ε THPPhighest = 1.9
Alam et al. [37] Conical protrusion roughness rib 16 × ­106 RNG k-ε Enhancement in
Nu = 2.49 times con-
ventional SAH
Patel et al. [7] Reverse NACA profile ribs Around 0.40 million RNG k-ε THPPmax = 2.53
Patel et al. [38] Reverse NACA 0040 profile ribs 0.9 million mesh elements in RNG k-ε THPPmax = 2.578

Table 3  Summary on investigation

Author Type of modification No. of grids Turbulence model used Remarks

Spherical or circular
Yadav et al. [39] Circular-sectioned transverse ribs 161,568 RNG k-ε THPPmax = 1.635
Manjunath et al. [40] Spherical turbulence generators 1.71 million SST k-ω Max. enhancement
in Nu = 2.52 times
base model
Yadav and Bhagoria [41] Circular transverse wire rib 161,568 RNG k-ε enhancement in
Nu = 2.31 times
conventional SAH
Mahanand and Senapati [42] Quarter circular ribs 369,384 cells RNG k-ε THPPmax = 1.88
Vortex generator or winglets or turbulators
Bezbaruah et al. [43] Truncated half-conical vortex generator 10,125,262 RNG k-ε THPPmax = 2.19
Antony et al. [44] Stepped cylindrical turbulator 2.49 million RNG k-ε THPPmax = 1.14
Provonge et al. [46] Delta winglet Grid density of 666,140 realizable k-ε THPPmax = 2.16
Zhao et al. [47] Ribs and delta winglet vortex generator 6 million grids RNG k-ε THPPmax around 1.42
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1835

Table 4  Summary on investigation

Author Type of modification No. of grids Turbulence model used Remarks

Miss
Hu et al. [48] Dynamical vortex generator 4,569,928 SST k-ω Nu increased by 40% to 100%
using piezoelectric fan array
Tuncer et al. [49] Quadruple-pass SAH 600,000–760,000 k-ε ηmean = 71.63–80.66%
Guler et al. [50] Double-pass indirect solar 500,000 mesh number RNG k-ε Max. Mean collector effi-
dryer with iron mesh ciency = 80.39%
Jalil et al. [51] Multiple air inlets N.A N.A N.A
Potgieter et al. [52] Counter-parallel flow air heater Complex SST k-ω ηavg,collector = 11–44%
Kumar and Verma [53] Sinusoidal protruded ribs 9,28,9500 element SST k-ω optimal value of THPP equal to 2.02
Saurabh et al. [54] Double concave ribs 112,677 cells RNG k-ε THPPmax = 1.725
Tan et al. [55] Recycled Aluminium cans 213,991 cells Realizable k-ε Rise in temperature across one
passage by 8.84% for S-SHC and
12.1% for M-SHC

Table 5  Summary on investigation

Author Type of modification No. of grids Turbulence Remarks
model used

Porous medium
Rajarajeshwari et al. [4] SAH with wire mesh 495,157 elements SST k-ω Efficiency enhancement 21%
Anirudh and Dhinakaran [56] Solar collector with porous foam 308 × 152 N.A THPPmax = 1.628
Singh et al. [61] A serpentine wavy channel 263,580 nodes N.A THPPmax = 4.52
Jouybari and Lundstrom [1] Thin, porous layer of Aluminium 2,93,000 elements Macroscopic THPPmax = 5.5
oxide ceramic k-ε turbu-
lence model
Phase change material
Verma et al. [64] Paraffin wax RT42 100 × 81 N.A Maximum thermal efficiency of 64.1%
Verma et al. [65] Paraffin wax RT42 100 × 81 N.A Maximum thermal efficiency of 62.62%

Table 6  Summary on investigation

Author Type of modification No. of grids Turbulence model Remarks

Baffles
Bensai et al. [67] SAH with different baffle position 432,432 RNG k-ε THPPmax = 0.75
Menasria et al. [68] Rectangular baffles with inclined upper part 223,002 RNG k-ε THPPmax = 0.857
Khanlari et al. [69] Perforated plus-shaped baffles Approx. 2,400,000 mesh elements RNG k-ε Average thermal
for PPSCDB efficiency for
PPSCDB = 71.12–
75.11%
Khanlari et al. [70] Absorber plate with CuO nano-embedded 12,564,944 elements for VSAHPB RNG k-ε 7% increase average
black paint and perforated baffles Nusselt number
due to nano-
coating
Parsa et al. [71] Staggered cuboid baffles 1,876,352 mesh elements RNG k-ε THPPmax = 3.43
Nidhul et al. [72] Semi-cylindrical side wall and discrete 1.5 million mesh elements RNG k-ε THPPmax = 2.69
multiple inclined baffles
1836 C. Mund et al.

Table 7  Summary on investigation

Author Type of modification No. of grids Turbulence model used Remarks

Impinging jet solar air heater

Nayak et al. [73] Jet plate solar air heater NA SST k-ω Enhancement Nu = 22%
Yadav and Saini [74] IJSAH with varied jet height 8.03 million elements RNG k-ε THPPmax = 3.66
ratio
Singh et al. [75] Wavy channel and porous 60,956 nodes RNG k-ε maximum thermal efficiency
medium for Design I = 94.5% and
84.5%
Matheswaran et al. [76] Arc-shaped obstacle N.A Analytical model increase in exergetic efficiency
by 56.8%
Varied duct shape
Kumar et al. [77] Forward chamfered rib 923,384 k-ε Nuenh, max = 2.88 times the Nu
of SAH sans ribs
Nidhul et al. [78] V-ribbed triangular rib Around 2.4 million RNG k-ε THPPmax = 2.01
Absorber plate modification
Manjunath et al. [80] Sinusoidal corrugation on 1.71million SST k-ω Average increase in thermal
absorber plate efficiency = 12.5%
Singh et al. [81] Arched absorber plate N.A RNG k-ε Increment in Nu = 80% for
plane-arched SAH
Singh et al. [82] Serpentine wavy wire mesh as 87,722 nodes RNG k-ε THPPmax = 4.92
absorber plate
Kumar et al. [83] Perforated absorber plate 4.2 million elements RNG k-ε Maximum thermal and ther-
mohydraulic efficiencies of
87.06 and 83.01% respec-
tively
Kumar et al. [84] Curved double-pass counter 401,078 elements RANS equation and realiz- The maximum increase in
flow able k-ε thermal effectiveness was
about 37%
Kumar et al. [85] Counter-curved double-pass N.A Realizable k-ε Nu being 20–28% higher than
SAH having arched baffles the system without baffles

alphabets or object-shaped, conic or NACA profile-shaped, Yadav and Bhagoria [17] numerically studied the ther-
and spherical ribs. mal characteristics of artificially roughened SAH having
square-sectioned rectangular transverse ribs. They varied
Rectangular ribs the relative roughness pitch (P/e) from 7.14 to 17.86 while
modifying Re from 3800 to 18,000. The authors simulated
The current subsections look into the use of rectangular ribs a 2D domain with 229,863 cells. They applied the RNG k-ε
and their geometric specification, and its effect on the per- model and validated the numerical analysis with experimen-
formance of the system. Kumar and Premachandran [15] tal data. They estimated that the maximum Nu reached 2.72
numerically evaluated the optimum arrangement of rectan- for P∕e = 7.14 while maintaining the fluid flow rate at Re
gular fins attached to the absorber plate of a SAH to enhance = 15,000. They further computed that the setup achieved
the thermal workings of the setup. The authors used two THPP equivalent to 1.82 for Re = 15,000 and P∕e = 10.71.
equations realizable k-ε model alongside enhanced wall Boukadoum and Benzaoui [18] numerically studied the
functions. They developed a 3D numerical model having effect of transverse roughness of rectangular sections on the
4,585,823 cells for grid generation and subsequently val- efficiency of a SAH, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The authors
idated the model with results from Lau et al. [16]. They found that the Nu increased, and the f decreased with a rise
applied different spacings for three fin heights (0.25H, in Re. They further observed that the outlet temperature
0.50H, and 0.75H) and observed that the staggered arrange- reduced with an increase in Re.
ment of fins resulted in the uniform temperature distribution Chaube et al. [19] numerically analysed the fluid flow
in the absorber plate compared to inline discontinuous fins. and thermal characteristics of a 2D rectangular duct with
They further noted that long fins could be avoided and that ribs attached to one of its walls, which is subjected to uni-
staggered fins with necessary modification can perform bet- form heat flux, as shown in Fig. 3. The Reynolds number
ter with reduced usage of material. was varied from 3000 to 20,000. They generated mesh for
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1837

x Qader et al. [21] numerically evaluated the heat transfer

Glazing
y
u = 0, v = 0, Q = 0 performance of a SAH with inclined fins while maintaining
Re within 4000 and 24,000, as shown in Fig. 4. The authors
u = u0 L developed a 2D model and generated a grid which achieved
Inlet v = 0
H Outlet grid independence at 148,281 elements. They analysed five
I = I0
turbulence models and finally chose the RNG k-ε model for
the analysis of SAH, as the results were closest to Dittus-
Boelter correlations. The authors used Ansys Fluent 16.1
Absorber to calculate the results. They validated their model with
u = 0, v = 0, Q = q
experimental data of Gawande et al. [22]. They observed that
W
e the maximum average Nusselt number enhancement ratio
reached 2.699 at fin length = 1.5 mm, pitch (p) = 15 mm, and
p
inclined angle (α) = 75°. They further worked out that the
optimum THPP value equalled to 1.916 at 𝛼 = 45◦, p = 20
Fig. 2  Figure of the system used by Boukadoum and Benzaoui.
Reprinted from [18] with permission from Elsevier mm at Re = 20000.
Singh et al. [23] analysed the thermal traits of a SAH
having square wave transverse ribs, as shown in Fig. 5.
their 2D domain, which achieved grid independence at The experimental setup was validated with empirical cor-
66,524 cells, and the SST k-ω model was adopted to calcu- relations [24], and CFD methodology was validated with
late the required variables as it yielded results closer to the experimental data of Sahu and Bhagoria [25]. The authors
experimental results. The authors validated the result by noted that RNG k-ε alongside enhanced wall treatment gave
comparing it with the experimental results of Tanda et al. the optimum results. They further deduced that the Nusselt
[20]. They analysed 3D and 2D models and concluded number developed by multiple transverse broken ribs was
that the 2D model gave comparable results. The authors higher than ribs having a square shape. Furthermore, they
used rectangular ribs, square ribs, circular ribs, chamfered evaluated that the maximum THPP achieved by multiple
ribs, and semi-circular ribs and observed that chamfered transverse broken ribs was equal to 2.10 at Re = 15,000, and
ribs developed the highest Nusselt number, but rectangular the maximum THPP estimated from square wave-shaped
ribs developed the best performance index. They noted ribs equalled 1.62 at Re = 15,000.
that circular and semi-circular ribs developed lower fric- Sharma and Kalamkar [26] evaluated the workings of a
tion but developed low heat transfer enhancement. They SAH, experimentally and numerically, having four differ-
further recorded that the heat transfer was maximum at the ent arrangements of multiple thin transverse continuous
reattachment point. and truncated ribs in combination, as depicted in Fig. 6.

Fig. 3  Three-dimensional (a)

model and 2D domain of the Test section
Rib
study implemented by Chaube Outlet
et al. Reprinted from [19] with
permission from Elsevier
by

Bottom ribbed andheated broad wall

Inlet

(b)
1838 C. Mund et al.

Fig. 4  Schematic diagram of Absorber plate Fin

the setup used by Qader et al.
Reprinted from [21] with per- P = 15 mm P =15 mm P = 15 mm P = 15 mm
mission from Elsevier
α α α α
e = 1.5 mm
α = 30° α = 45° α = 60° α = 75°

P = 20 mm P = 20 mm P = 20 mm P = 20 mm

α α α α
e = 1.5 mm
α = 30° α = 45° α = 60° α = 75°

P = 25 mm P = 25 mm P = 25 mm P = 25 mm

α α α α
e = 1.5 mm
α = 30° α = 45° α = 60° α = 75°

Fig. 5  Schematic diagram of P P

the setup used by Singh et al.
Reprinted from [23] with per- w w
mission from Elsevier Air Air
W W

L L

(a) (b)

1 2 Continuous rib Truncated rib

10 mm 30 mm 30 mm

30 mm 10 mm

300 mm
300 mm
10 mm

30 mm 10 mm

20 mm 1000 mm 1000 mm
3 4
15 mm 15 mm

300 mm 300 mm
10 mm 10 mm

15 mm 15 mm
1000 mm 1000 mm
Rib dimensions

b = 1 mm
e = 3 mm

Fig. 6  Geometric details and modifications researched by Sharma and Kalamkar. Reprinted from [26] with permission from Elsevier
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1839

Additionally, the authors developed a 3D model and vali- further stated that on Re greater than 14,000, AR + SAH
dated their CFD model with their experimental data. They set better effective efficiency than AR + Fin SAH. Moreo-
achieved grid independence at 16,34,118 nodes and selected ver, they calculated that the peak efficiency achieved by the
RNG k-ε with enhanced wall treatment as the result obtained prototype (SAH + Fin + AR) was 81.9%, and the maximum
with this model was closer to experimental data. They fur- thermal enhancement in thermal efficiency was equal to
ther noted that for the first case, the maximum average Nu 28.3% at width of baffle ­(WB) = 0.015 m and length of baffle
was equivalent to 49.28. They further stated that for all ­(LB) = 0.2 m. They finally concluded that on a higher mass
cases, there was an enhancement in average Nu with a rise flow rate and with ­WB greater than 0.005 m, the effective
in Re. Additionally, they worked out that case three attained efficiency of the setup decreased.
a maximum THPP equivalent to 0.967. Yadav et al. [28] numerically inspected the fluid flow and
Saravanakumar et al. [27] studied SAH and its thermohy- heat transfer properties of a SAH with repeated transverse
draulic performance with its fins and baffles attached to the square-sectioned transverse ribs with Re varying from 3800
absorber plate, as shown in Fig. 7. The numerical code was to 18,000. They generated a two-dimensional grid using
developed in MATLAB, and the output result was validated Ansys ICEM CFD V12.1 software and achieved grid inde-
with data attained from the literature. In the case of lower Re, pendence at 384,678 cells. They validated the results with
the authors noted that SAH with arc-shaped roughness (AR) Dittus-Boelter and Blasius correlations. The authors cal-
and fins developed higher efficiency than AR + SAH. They culated the average Nu increased by 2.86 times against a
conventional SAH for a relative roughness pitch (p/e) and
height (e/D) equal to 7.14 and 0.042, respectively, for Re =
Seperated flow 15,000. The authors finally concluded that the setup showed
Reattachment Seperated flow
P point over arc rib along arc rib optimum performance at p∕e = 10.71 and e∕D = 0.042 with
Flow over
baffles
e thermohydraulic performance parameter (THPP) = 1.88 at
Air flow
Re = 12,000.
Air flow in out
V‑shaped ribs

tf WB Investigators have implemented V-shaped ribs to achieve

better turbulence and heat transfer. Kumar and Kim [29]
α tB LB numerically analysed the thermal and fluid flow character-
istics of a SAH fitted with square-sectioned discrete multi-
Fig. 7  Details of the setup used by Saravanakumar et al. Reprinted V-pattern rib roughness as presented in Fig. 8. The authors
from [27] with permission from Elsevier used a 3D domain and RNG k-ε turbulence model to carry

P (a)Smooth surface SAH duct

Gd Air inlet

Lv
α
Air inlet

g
(b)Continuous multi V–rib SAH duct
Air inlet

e
w
α = Angle of attack
P = Rib pitch Air inlet
W e = Rib height
g = Gap of discrete rib width
w w = Width of single V – rib
Gd = Gap of discrete distance
Lv = Length of single V – rib (c) Discrete multi V–rib SAH duct
W = Width of channel

Fig. 8  Schematics of setup used by Kumar and Kim [29]

1840 C. Mund et al.

out the computations. The domain consisted of 2.0 million the Nu increased by 3.374 times in comparison with a flat
cells with maximum skewness equal to 0.61. They noticed plat unmodified SAH at height, pitch, and length equal to
that the average Nu/Nus increased with an increase in Reyn- 60 mm, 150 mm, and 10 mm, respectively, with Re = 8000.
olds number. They calculated that the setup reached the peak They further inferred that the Nusselt number rose with an
value of Nu/Nus at a relative discrete distance (g/e) equal increase in Re. They finally noted that the prototype reached
to 1.0. Furthermore, they noted that the setup developed a a maximum THPP value of 1.001 at e = 20 mm, l = 120
maximum thermohydraulic performance parameter equiva- mm, p = 150 mm with Re = 8000.
lent to 3.6 for g∕e = 1.0. Gawande et al. [32] experimentally and numerically
Sharma and Bhargva [30] numerically studied the thermal evaluated SAH and its performance with right-angled tri-
characteristics of SAH with V-shaped ribs. They developed angular ribs fitted to the underside of the absorber plate,
a three-dimensional domain and used the RNG k-ε model as shown in Fig. 10. The authors varied the relative rough-
to predict turbulent quantities. They noted the development ness pitch (P/e) between 7.14 and 35.71 while maintaining
of vortices downstream of ribs, which improved mixing and relative roughness height (e/D) between 0.021 and 0.042
increased heat transfer. They concluded that the effective and varying Re from 3800–18000. They solved the flow
efficiency of the system increased up to 74% for Re equal equation using Ansys 14.5 and used the RNG k-ε model
to 14,000. to model the turbulent quantities. They generated a two-
dimensional domain which achieved grid independence
Triangular‑shaped at 195,041 cells and validated their CFD model with the
experimental data. The experimental data were validated
Authors have tried triangular-shaped obstruction to better with existing correlations. They recorded that the Nus-
the thermal performance of the system. Choi and Choi [31] selt number improved by 3.10 times when equated against
generated a two-dimensional domain of a SAH modified by conventional SAH for P∕e = 7.14 , e∕D = 0.042 at Re =
a transverse triangular block and numerically computed its 15,000. Furthermore, the optimum magnitude of THPP
thermal and frictional characteristics, as shown in Fig. 9. was equal to 2.03 at P∕e = 7.14 , e∕D = 0.042 while main-
The authors developed the grid using Ansys ICEM CFD taining Re = 15,000. Additionally, it was noticed that the
and simulated using Ansys Fluent. They used the RNG k-ε average Nu decreased with an increase in P/e at a constant
model to solve for the variables as the Nusselt number calcu- e/D. They finally concluded that the average Nusselt num-
lated from the model deviated least from the Nu determined ber increased with an increase in e/D for constant P/e.
by the Dittus-Boelter correlation. The authors noted that

Outlet air duct

Inlet air duct Absorber plate Outlet air duct
Absorber plate

Air duct

Transverse triangular block

Inlet air duct Test section Transverse triangular block

(a) Exploded view (b) Side view

Absorber plate (heat plate) q = 800W m–2

Air in Air out

h = 80 mm l
p

400 mm = 2 WH 1800 mm 700 mm = 3.5 WH

Fig. 9  Sketch with geometric details and view of the research implemented by Choi and Choi [31]
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1841

Fig. 10  Views and modifica- Heater plate

tions of the system used by Insulation
Gawande et al. Reproduced
from [32] with permission from
Springer Nature

e
e

Test section
Absorber plate (heated section)

Constant heat flux q = 1000 W m–2

Air in H = 20 mm Air out

L1 = 245 mm L2 = 280 mm L3 = 115 mm

Radiative heat losses Convective heat losses

y Absorber plate (heated section)
Constant heat flux, q = 1000 W m–2

Heatede air

H = 20 mm
Air in Air out

x L1 = 245 mm L2 = 280 mm L3 = 115 mm

(Entrance section) (Test section) (Exit section)
(a)
Radiative heat losses Convective heat losses
y Absorber plate (heated section)
Constant heat flux, q = 1000 W m–2 Equilateral triangular transverse ribe

Heatede air

H = 20 mm
Air out
Air in

x L1 = 245 mm L2 = 280 mm L3 = 115 mm

(Entrance section) (Test section) (Exit section)
(b) (Not to the scale)

Fig. 11  Schematic sketch of the system used by Yadav and Bhagoria. Reprinted from [33] with permission from Elsevier

Yadav and Bhagoria [33] numerically evaluated the Alphabets or an object‑shaped

thermal attributes of a SAH having equilateral triangular
sectioned transverse ribs on the absorber plate, as depicted Authors have introduced alphabets or object-shaped
in Fig. 11. They developed a two-dimensional domain obstructions to enable higher turbulence and improve the
and validated the results obtained from Ansys Fluent with thermal performance of the SAH. Gawande et al. [22]
the experimental data available from the literature [17]. fabricated a SAH with reverse L-shaped ribs attached to
The authors reported the maximum enhancement of Nu its absorber plate. Additionally, they developed a two-
equivalent to 3.073 times the Nu achieved by smooth SAH dimensional numerical domain of the same with 211,582
at a relative roughness height (e/D) equal to 0.042 and elements and 199,816 nodes. The computations were car-
relative roughness pitch (p/e) at 7.14 with Re = 15,000. ried out using the RNG k-ε model. The CFD result was
They further reported that the optimum magnitude of validated with the experimental result, and the experimen-
THPP equalled 2.11 at e∕D = 0.042 , P∕e = 7.14 , and Re tal result was validated with Dittus-Boelter correlations.
= 15,000. The authors noted a rise in Nu by 2.827 times at relative
roughness height (P/e) = 7.14, relative roughness height
(e/D) = 0.042 at Re = 15,000. They finally concluded the
1842 C. Mund et al.

optimum value of THPP was equal to 1.90 at P∕e = 7.1, was performed by comparing the results with Gnielinski,
e∕D = 0.042 , and Re = 15,000. Dittus-Boelter, and Blasius correlations. They noticed an
Singh et al. [34] developed a 3D domain of SAH hav- improvement in average Nu by 1.30 times when equated
ing Y-shaped obstructions on the top and bottom parts of against spherical ribs for a relative rib pitch and height
the duct. They varied Re within 3000–18,000 and used the of 10 and 0.0298, respectively. Moreover, they obtained
RNG k-ε model to predict turbulent quantities. They calcu- peak Nu and friction factor at a relative pitch of 10 and
lated that the maximum THPP attained by the prototype was 6, respectively. They finally observed the maximum ther-
equivalent to 2.619 and recorded a Nu, which was 4.7557 mal efficiency and efficiency enhancement factor equal
times that of a conventional SAH. to 69.8% and 1.346, respectively, at a relative roughness
Singh et al. [35] studied a 3D domain of a SAH hav- height of 0.044 and relative rib pitch equal to 10.
ing kite-shaped roughness attached to the absorber plate. Patel et al. [7] experimentally and numerically analysed
They varied the Re from 1500 to 4000 and used the RNG the thermohydraulic attributes of SAH. The absorber plate
k-ε model to calculate the turbulent quantities. The authors was fitted with NACA 0040 profiled ribs having their posi-
recorded that the system achieved the peak Nu at 112.16 tion reversed, as illustrated in Fig. 13. The authors used
for a pitch spacing of 125 mm. They further recorded that a 2D domain with 0.40 million grid elements consisting
the model attained a peak efficiency of 2.9 for a roughness of 0.408 million nodes. They used the RNG k-ε model to
height of 22 mm and a pitch spacing of 125 mm. calculate turbulent variables. The numerical model used
by the authors was validated by comparing it against the
Conic or conical or NACA PROFILE RIB Dittus-Boelter and modified Blasius equation. The authors
named cases from A to J and observed that the setup
Researchers have tried conical or NACA-profiled ribs to enhanced the Nusselt number by 100.11–194.58% for case
augment heat transfer. Ngo and Phu [36] numerically simu- G, which was NACA 0040 profile with e∕D = 0.065 and
lated the thermal workings of a SAH having ribs of a conic P∕e = 5 when compared to a traditional SAH.
profile with conic constants (k) ranging from − 4 to 0. The Patel et al. [38] used discrete reverse NACA 0040
simulation was performed using Ansys Fluent 19.2 with Re profile ribs on the absorber plate of SAH to experimen-
ranging from 4000 to 15,000. They tested different turbu- tally study its performance. For the numerical model,
lent models and finally choose the RNG k-ε turbulent model they developed a two-dimensional model and used the
alongside enhanced wall treatment for the study. They gener- RNG k-ε model for discretizing turbulent variables. They
ated a two-dimensional model and achieved grid independ- achieved grid independence at 0.9 million mesh elements.
ence on exceeding 80,000 nodes. The authors calculated the They remarked that the trapped heat influenced the ther-
maximum thermohydraulic value equal to 1.56 at Re = 8000 mal characteristics of the setup in the grooved cavities
and the highest thermohydraulic performance equal to 1.9 at along with the heat transfer from the rib portion. They
Re = 12,000 at k = −4. further observed that discrete ribs barely changed the Nus-
Alam et al. [37] mathematically evaluated the thermal selt number compared to continuous ribs but significantly
characteristics of SAH having conical protrusion ribs, as reduced the friction factor. They finally calculated the
depicted in Fig. 12, with Re varying from 4000 to 16000. maximum value of THPP developed by the setup equal to
The 3D simulation was carried out using the RNG k-ε 2.578 at Re = 6000.
turbulence model in Ansys Fluent 16.0. The validation

Fig. 12  Figure of the system Air outlet

used by Alam et al. Reprinted
from [37] with permission from
Elsevier L
Y
X

Absorber plate Z

H
Ribs

P
Air inlet Conical ribs
e
W

d
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1843

Flow control Heat flux = 1000 W m–2

valves Pressure
Velocity outlet
Blower inlet
Insulation
box Adiabatic wall
525 1000 875
Heater Venturimeter (a)

Air inlet
Temperature
Absorber Forward Reverse
indicator
plate
Variable
autotransformer
(b)

Fig. 13  Photograph of the system used by Patel et al. Reprinted from [7] with permission from Elsevier

their experimental data and found the peak deviation equiva-

lent to 10.5%. Furthermore, they found that the SAH with
spherical turbulators achieved thermal efficiency, which was
a 23.4% average increase when equated against conventional
Spherical vortex SAH. Moreover, they obtained 2.52 times higher Nusselt
generator number when compared against a traditional SAH at Re =
Absorber plate
23,560 and a relative roughness pitch of 3.
Yadav and Bhagoria [41] numerically evaluated the ther-
mal and frictional attributes of a SAH modified by a trans-
verse wire rib of small diameter attached to the absorber
Fig. 14  Sketch of the modifications evaluated by Manjunath et al.
Reprinted from [40] with permission from Elsevier plate, as shown in Fig. 15. They generated a two-dimen-
sional domain which achieved grid independence at 161,568
cells and validated the result with Dittus-Boelter correlation.
Spherical or circular They used Ansys Fluent and applied the RNG k-ε model to
predict the results. The authors obtained the maximum value
There were studies that concentrated on using spherical or of the average Nusselt number equal to 117 at Re = 18,000
circular obstructions for improving the thermal performance for a relative roughness pitch (p/e) and height (e/D) equiva-
of the system. Yadav et al. [39] numerically modelled SAH lent to 7.14 and 0.042, respectively. Moreover, they found
having circular-sectioned transverse ribs to study its thermal that the average Nu improved by 2.31 times when equated
traits and determine the optimum rib configuration. They against smooth SAH. They finally inferred that the setup
developed a 2D domain for computation with 161,568 cells attained optimum thermal performance for p∕e = 10.71 and
and modelled turbulent quantities with RNG k-ε model. The e∕D = 0.042.
computations were carried out using Ansys Fluent v.12.1. Mahanand and Senapati [42] computationally investi-
They found that for a constant relative roughness pitch, the gated the SAH fitted with quarter circular ribs to evaluate
Nusselt number increased with an increase in Re and relative the thermal characteristics of the model. They achieved
roughness height (e/D). Furthermore, the modelled setup grid independence at 3,09,384 cells and used the RNG k-ε
developed optimum thermal enhancement for e∕D = 0.042 model with enhanced wall treatment to predict turbulent
at Re = 15,000. variables in the 2D computational domain. They varied
Manjunath et al. [40] numerically evaluated the heat the relative roughness pitch within 7.14 and 17.86, while
transfer performance of a conventional SAH with and with- maintaining Re from 3800 to 18,000. They reported that an
out spherical turbulence generators, as shown in Fig. 14. The increase in the number of ribs disturbed the growth of the
authors generated a 3D mesh which achieved grid independ- boundary layer, which promoted turbulence and enhanced
ence at 1.71 million cells and used the SST k-ω model to the rate of heat transfer. Additionally, they noticed that
simulate turbulent fluid flow as its result was very close to turbulent intensity and kinetic energy attained their peak
the Dittus-Boelter equation. They validated CFD results with adjacent to the first rib region, which was on account of
1844 C. Mund et al.

Fig. 15  Image of the modifica- y

Absorber plate q = 1000 W m–2 Circular transverse wier ribs
tion applied to SAH by Yadav
and Bhagoria. Reprinted from
[41] with permission from
Elsevier

H = 20 mm
Air in Air out

x
L1 = 225 mm (> 5√WH) L2 = 121 mm L3 = 115 mm (> 2.5√WH)

e p Absorber plate Transverse wire ribs

Air flow H

Air in Air out

W

L1

the developing flow of fluid near the entry section, making Vortex generator or winglets or turbulators
shear stress the dominant force in the boundary layer. They
finally evaluated the maximum thermal enhancement ratio Winglets or vortex generators were implemented by
(TER) value, which attained 1.88 at a relative roughness researchers to improve the thermal characteristics of the
pitch of 7.14 and Re equal to 1500. system. Bezbaruah et al. [43] studied the thermal properties
of SAH, fitted with truncated half-conical vortex genera-
tor (THC-VGs), as illustrated in Fig. 16, with Re varying

Air out

H
y L/2
L2
P
L/2 Y - axis
L
o X - axis
W/2 L = Length of test section
H
Air in L1 = Length of inlet section
W L1

W L2 = Length of exit section

(a)
W = Width of the duct

d α e = Height of vortex generator

e
d = Diameter of vortex generator
Isornetric view Top view
α = Angle of attack
(b)

Fig. 16  Three-dimensional model and geometric details of SAH developed by Bezbaruah et al. Reprinted from [43] with permission from Else-
vier
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1845

from 3500 to 16,000. The authors varied the relative pitch achieved grid independence at a grid density of 666,140.
ratio (p/e) from 2.67 to 6.67, and the angle of attack (α) They used periodic boundary conditions in the domain. They
changed from 0° to 90°. They settled with 10,125,262 grid remarked that F-DW developed a TEF equal to 2.16, which
elements and used the RNG k-ε model to calculate unknown was 2.9% higher than that generated by P-DW. They finally
variables. They used Dittus-Boelter and Blasius equation for commented that these ribs increased the frictional loss by
validation. Additionally, they reported that the Nu increased 17.1 to 78.21 times.
by 187% when equated against a conventional SAH and Zhao et al. [47] developed a three-dimensional numerical
equalled 144.5 for 𝛼 = 60◦, p∕e = 2.67 while maintaining model to study the performance of SAH fitted with a combi-
Re = 16,000. They established that the system reached the nation of ribs and delta winglet vortex generator (DWVG).
peak thermal enhancement factor (TEF) equal to 3.11 at They used the RNG k-ε model with enhanced wall treatment
p∕e = 2.67 and Re = 3500. The authors finally concluded to model turbulent variables and achieved grid independ-
that the lower p/e value leads to better performance of the ence at six million grids. They remarked that DWVG gener-
system. ated counter-rotating vortices, creating a transverse reverse
Antony et al. [44] numerically evaluated the thermal driving force that reduced the boundary layer thickness
traits of SAH having stepped turbulators attached to the and increased the thermal performance. They additionally
absorber plate, as shown in Fig. 17. They maintained Re inferred that using DWVG along with ribs increased turbu-
within 3000 and 24,000 with core diameter changing from lence, as longitudinal vortices can change direction due to
3 to 7 mm in steps of 1 mm with relative roughness pitch backflow induced by the ribs. They finally acknowledged
equal to 11.11, 16.67, 22.22, and 27.78. They generated a that the maximum increase in heat transfer was 39.4% when
3D domain with grid independence achieved at 2.49 mil- compared to cases with only DWVGs pair.
lion elements. The turbulent quantities were modelled with
the RNG k-ε model as the Nusselt number calculated by Miscellaneous
the model was very close to the Nusselt number obtained
experimentally by Kumar and Layek [45]. They computed Hu et al. [48] assessed the enhancement in thermal attrib-
that the system reached a peak thermal enhancement factor utes of a SAH by fitting a piezoelectric (PE) fan array to the
equivalent to 1.27 for a core diameter equal to 7 mm at Re = absorber plate. They experimentally and numerically inves-
3000. Moreover, they observed that an increase in steps led tigated rectangular flaps and checked the functioning of PE
to a higher thermal enhancement factor. They finally inferred fans as a vortex generator, as depicted in Fig. 18. The authors
that the system attained peak thermohydraulic performance used Fluent and the SST k-ω model with approximately 2.6
parameters equal to 1.49 at Re = 18,000. million computational mesh to generate results. They found
Provonge et al. [46] used punched and flapped delta an increase in heat transfer coefficient or Nu by 40% to 100%
winglets (P-DW and F-DW) to make a 3D numerical model on the application of PE fan. They further calculated the
of SAH and varied Re from 4000 to 24,000. The authors peak heat transfer coefficient at the resonance frequencies of
used the realizable k-ε model as the turbulent model and the PE fan for the counterflow setup. Moreover, they inferred

(a) Absorber plate 0.5 mm thick

Circular stepped
Absorber plate
turbulator

La

W
W/4

Fd H
PL
n=3

(b)
3d
2d h

d
Duct air domain
s=3 s=2 s=1

Fig. 17  Geometric detail and 3D domain used by Antony et al. Reprinted from [44] with permission from Elsevier
1846 C. Mund et al.

Simulated solar heat Simulated solar heat

Absorber plate Absorber plate

PE-fan PE-fan
Ta,out Ta,out
Ta,in Ta,in

(a) (b)
7 1
A 8
1. Halogen lamp array
2. Glass cover
2 3. Absorber plate
4. Piezioelectronic fan
5. Plywood channel
6. XPS insulator layer
7. Cooling fan
8. Mount plate
A Section A-A
4 3 5
6

Fig. 18  Sketch with details of the study used by Hu et al. Reproduced from [48] with permission from permission from Springer Nature

Fig. 19  Photograph of the

prototype fabricated by Tuncer
et al. Reprinted from [49] with
permission from Elsevier

that the length of the flap meaningfully affected the opera- Guler et al. [50] experimentally and numerically evalu-
tion of the PE fan vortex generator. ated the drying process of Pepino fruit by using double-pass
Tuncer et al. [49] numerically studied the drying effect of indirect solar dryer (DPISD) and double-pass indirect solar
a quadruple-pass SAH (QPSAH) assisted pilot scale green- dryer with mesh absorber modification (DPISDMA), as
house dryer (GD), as shown in Fig. 19. They developed the shown in Fig. 20. The authors used Ansys Fluent to develop
mesh whose optimum element sizes ranged between 600,000 the prototype and achieved optimum mesh element size at
and 700,000. They simulated the model using Ansys Fluent 1,603,750 and 4,227,007 for flat plate double-pass collector
and the k-ε turbulence model for the closure. The authors (FPDPC) and modified DPC, respectively, while the dry-
estimated that QPSAH developed a maximum instantane- ing chamber achieved grid independence at approximately
ous temperature difference equal to 28.10 °C at a mass flow 500,000 mesh numbers. They used the RNG k-ε model with
rate of 0.008 kg ­s−1. They further observed that the model enhanced wall functions for the computations. The authors
reached mean efficiency (ηmean) in the 71.63–80.66% range. conducted four different case studies, EXP1, EXP2, EXP3,
Furthermore, they obtained a maximum collector efficiency and EXP4, where EXP stands for the experiment. They
90.30% at a mass flow rate of 0.010 kg ­s−1, and the range found that the mean collector efficiency developed by EXP1,
of specific energy consumption (SEC) varied between 2.78 EXP2, EXP3, and EXP4 were 70.60%, 72.15%, 80.39%,
and 4.76 kW h ­kg−1. and 78.06%, respectively. They concluded that the sample
dried by EXP3 developed better characteristics in terms of
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1847

Drying chamber

Anemometer probe

Temperature
measurement
points

Absorber
plate
Solarimeter probe
Fan

Fig. 20  Three-dimensional sketch and photograph of the prototype fabricated by Guler et al. Reprinted from [50] with permission from Elsevier

Absorber
plate
quantities. The authors used pressure implicit with splitting
Pressure inlet of operations (PISO) for pressure velocity coupling. They
back (2)
validated their numerical model with experimental data.
Fin (6) Pressure
inlet front
They observed that the setup developed average conversion
(1)
efficiency between 23 and 83%, and average collector effi-
ciency ranged from 11 to 44%. They further noticed that
results obtained from the CFD model was over-predicted by
9.01% to 6.75% of the measured quantity. Kumar and Verma
Pressure outlet Z
Y [53] built a SAH having sinusoidal protruded ribs (SPR)
Glass X and compared the result with a 3D numerical model devel-
cover
oped in Fluent while varying Re from 9000 to 15,000 and
implementing the SST k-ω model as the turbulence model.
Fig. 21  Details of the model studied by Potgieter et al. Reprinted They achieved grid independence at 9,28,9500 elements.
from [52] with permission from Elsevier
The authors remarked that the fluid easily flowed over the
smooth curvature of the sinusoidal profile and maintained
total phenolic and flavonoids content along with antioxidant contact, which enhanced the heat transfer rate. They further
activity. The authors finally concluded that according to the evaluated the optimal magnitude of THPP equal to 2.02 for
modelling result of drying kinetics, the logarithmic model the SPR model.
gave the optimum result. Saurabh et al. [54] numerically simulated the perfor-
Jalil et al. [51] studied the effect of multiple air inlets mance of SAH having double concave ribs. They developed
(1, 2, and 3) on the thermal characteristics of a SAH. The a two-dimensional model and used Ansys Fluent V15 Soft-
authors used FORTRAN to solve for 3D elliptic PDEs. They ware. They used the RNG k-ε model to predict turbulent
observed an increase in exit air temperature with higher solar quantities and achieved a grid independence solution with
flux and lower velocity. They further observed an improve- 112,677 cells. It was observed that there was an increase in
ment in thermal performance on dividing the main inlet into developed Nu with higher Re and attained the peak value
two or three inlets. Potgieter et al. [52] experimentally and of Nu at a relative roughness height of 0.06. They finally
numerically evaluated the workings of a counter/parallel noticed that the system achieved Nu, which was 2.2551
flow SAH, as represented in Fig. 21. The authors gener- times higher than that developed by conventional SAH for
ated a 3D computational domain and used ASHRAE fair P∕e = 5, e∕D = 0.06, and r∕e = 1. Tan et al. [55] developed
weather model and solar load model to calculate solar radia- a three-dimensional domain of a SAH equipped with recy-
tion input falling on the prototype. They applied Reynolds- cled Aluminium cans and named them single-pass solar heat
averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations alongside con- collectors (S-SHC) and multiple-pass solar heat collectors
tinuity equation to calculate flow variables. They further (M-SHC). They validated the domain with 213,991 cells and
selected the SST k-ω turbulence model to calculate turbulent used the realizable k-ε model to predict turbulent properties.
1848 C. Mund et al.

They validated the model with the experimental results of (WSM = wire screen mesh). They observed a decrease in
the fabricated setup. The authors recorded a rise in tempera- outlet temperature with an increase in mass flow rate. They
ture across one passage by 8.84% for S-SHC and 12.1% for estimated a 21% increase in thermal efficiency at a mass flow
M-SHC, with an insignificant rise in pressure drop. They rate of 0.055 kg ­s−1. They further found a gain in tempera-
observed an increase in the temperature of the fluid in the ture difference between the outlet and inlet fluid temperature
curvature region. M-SHC also had a higher passage length, on the application of wire screen over conventional SAH.
which improved the rise in temperature of the fluid of the Anirudh and Dhinakaran [56] numerically studied the
system. fluid flow in a flat plate SAH with porous foam, as shown in
Fig. 23. They investigated the influence of buoyancy (Rich-
Porous medium ardson number, Ri) and volumetric radiation parameter (Rd).
They used the Openfoam source tool to solve the variable.
Porous mediums, like wire mesh, have been advantageous The authors chose 308 × 152 grid size as it gave optimum
in enhancing the thermal performance of the system. Raja- result and validated the developed model with the experi-
rajeshwari et al. [4] fabricated a SAH with porous and non- mental result of Saedodin et al. [57]. They further tested
porous medium and experimentally evaluated its heat trans- their model for both simple cavity heat transfer, buoyancy
fer characteristics, as shown in Fig. 22. They further studied and radiation models with the mathematical results of
its numerical model and validated it with their experimental Varol et al. [58], Basak et al. [59], and Ahmed et al. [60].
data. They used hexahedral mesh with 495,157 elements and The authors inferred that the Rosseland model used in the
113,280 nodes. They chose the SST k-ω model for calculat- model evaluated a lower magnitude of local Nu and f with
ing the variables and used the solar ray tracing Rosseland an increase in the Radiation isolation parameter. They fur-
radiation model to analyse input solar radiation. The authors ther noted a rise in overall heat transfer with a rise in Darcy
used two types of porous medium, WSM 1 and WSM 2

Data logger

Blower Diff.Pressure measuring instrument

Pyrometer Data logger
Anemometer

Outlet Poro
us w
ire m
esn

Inlet

Fig. 22  Details of the modifications and instruments used by Rajarajeshwari et al. Reprinted from [4] with permission from Elsevier

Fig. 23  Details of the domain Y

and its boundary conditions
used by Anirudh and Dhina- U=U Absorber + Glass
V = O in Inlet
karan. Reprinted from [56] with T=T
plate layer
H
permission from Elsevier in U=V
= O;
T=O
∆
= –q
w /Ke
ff

U=V
= O;
T=O
∆
Outlet
Insulated surface U=O
∆
L
α ∆
U=O

X
Metal foam
filled channel
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1849

number (Da), Richardson number (Ri) and channel inclina- heat removal capability. Additionally, they remarked that
tion angle (α). the setup with porosity of porous media at 85% performed
Singh et al. [61] studied the thermal performance of better than other cases. They recorded a 3.3% higher exergy
SAHs with a porous serpentine wavy channel. They fab- output of the nanofluid when compared against a setup with
ricated the setup and numerically modelled the structure. 95% porosity.
The authors developed a 2D computational domain and ran
simulations with Ansys Fluent. They achieved grid inde- Phase change material
pendence for a mesh size of 263,580 and validated the result
with experimental results. They implemented surface to Phase change materials were used to improve the working
surface radiation model to capture the radiation effect and hours of the system even after sundown. Verma et al. [64]
shape factor. They remarked that there was a comparatively developed a computational model for analysing the thermal
lower rise in temperature compared to the friction factor, performance of a parallel flow SAH with phase change mate-
with an increase in the fraction of the porous medium. They rial. They modelled the fluid flow using an iterative solution
recorded the maximum Nusselt number and friction factor procedure in MATLAB. They settled with a 100 × 81 number
at 𝜉 = 100% and channel porosity of 90%, where ξ is the of the grid for grid-independent results. They remarked that
fractional porous region. the fluid flowing through the duct had more time to extract
Jouybari and Lundstrom [1] numerically investigated heat with a low mass flow rate. They further noticed a mean-
the performance of SAH with the implementation of a thin, ingful rise in the thermal efficiency of flowing air through
porous layer of Aluminium oxide ceramic. They achieved the upper and lower duct of a PCM-embedded SAH. They
grid independence at 2,93,000 elements and used the mac- noticed a 1.51% rise in the thermal performance of SAH on
roscopic k-ε turbulence model applied by Nakayama and account of a lower fraction of mass flow rate flown through
Kuwahara [62] for modelling the fluid flow inside the porous the upper duct. They calculated the peak thermal efficiency
medium. They noted a lower and more uniform wall tem- attaining 64.1% when the total mass flow rate was equal to
perature across the duct. Their study revealed better mixing 0.05 kg ­s−1. Additionally, they remarked that the optimum
of fluid on the use of a thin, porous medium, which led to specification for the proposed design was for a mass flow
improved Nu. They achieved a THPP equal to 5.5 for their rate equal to 0.03 kg ­s−1 at a heat flux of 600 W ­m−2, beyond
setup and noticed no hotspot as usually found on the use of which there was an insignificant improvement in thermal
ribs. efficiency.
Gharapetian et al. [63] developed a three-dimensional Verma et al. [65] numerically evaluated the thermal
model of a concentrated photovoltaic thermal system attributes of a SAH having a phase change material (PCM)
along with a porous medium having phase change mate- unit. They employed a 2D transient approach with a finite
rial, as illustrated in Fig. 24. Their system was then cooled volume method to understand the working of PCM and
using nanofluid. The authors looked to analyse the cooling record the performance of the device. They developed an
effect on the PV due to porosity parameters and melting iterative solution procedure using MATLAB and validated
of the phase change material inside the porous medium. the outcome with the experimental results of Salib et al.
The authors used ­Al2O3-water nanofluid as the coolant. [66]. They achieved grid independence with 100 × 81 num-
They used three coolants and noted that ­C18H38 worked ber of grids. They observed that the elements temperature
out the best when compared to others in terms of higher rose with time from 6 AM to 12 PM, after which it started to

Fig. 24  Illustration of the proto-

type developed by Gharapetian
et al. Reprinted from [63] with
permission from Elsevier Glass

EVA layer

PV layer

Tedlar layer
Copper layer
Copper porous Nanofluid
medium
Copper pipe
PCM embedded
in pores
1850 C. Mund et al.

decrease. They further noticed the slow decline in collector the peak value of the average Nu reached 3.72 for B­ R = 0.98
temperatures due to the PCM unit. They finally concluded and PR = 2 while maintaining Re equivalent to 4000.
that the thermal efficiency of the system reached 62.62% Khanlari et al. [69] experimentally and numerically
with the heat flux equal to 1000 W ­m−2 and a mass flow rate investigated the performance of solar air heaters in dry-
of 0.05 kg ­s−1. ing applications by installing perforated plus-shaped baf-
fles to the absorber plate. They attached baffles on one side
Baffles for the first case (PPSCB) and on both sides for the second
case (PPSCDB). The authors achieved grid independence
Bensaci et al. [67] evaluated four different positions of baf- for PPSCDB at approximately 2,400,000 mesh elements
fles attached to SAH to study its thermal traits. The first and used the RNG k-ε model to obtain the solution. They
case was a setup with baffles attached to the upper 50% of further attached a drying chamber to the SAH and studied
the absorber plate, the second was 50% down, the third was the dried samples of celery. The authors observed that the
50% middle, and the fourth was 100%. They found that the average thermal efficiency of PPSC, PPSCB, and PPSCDB
results obtained with the RNG k-ε model showed the slight- varied from 62.10 to 66.32%, 65.72 to 69.62%, and 71.12
est deviation from the values calculated by correlations. The to 75.11%, respectively. They further recorded maximum
grid-independent solution was achieved with the number of instantaneous efficiency equal to 84.30% for PPSCDB with
cells equal to 432,432. They evaluated that the setup reached a higher mass flow rate.
­Numax for case 4 and was equal to 70. They further observed Khanlari et al. [70] experimentally and numerically ana-
that the thermal efficiency increased with an increase in lysed the thermal and exergetic performance of a vertical
Reynolds number and developed maximum thermal effi- solar air heater (VSAH) having an absorber plate painted
ciency for case 4. The authors finally deduced that case 2 with CuO nano-embedded black paint and perforated baf-
developed optimum thermohydraulic performance. fles. They developed a three-dimensional model and used
Menasria et al. [68] mathematically evaluated the ther- the RNG k-ε model to study the turbulent behaviour of the
mohydraulic attributes of a SAH with rectangular baffles flowing fluid. They recorded better thermal performance
with an inclined upper part on the absorber plate, as depicted with the incorporation of baffles. They remarked that verti-
in Fig. 25. They used four blockage ratios (BR = 0.7, 0.82, cal SAH perforated baffles (VSAHPB) developed a reduced
0.92, 0.98) and four baffle-pitch spacing ratios (PR = 2, 4, 6, friction factor. They further recorded that the application
8) with Re varying from 4000 to 8000. The computational of CuO coating increased the outlet temperature by 2.35 to
result was validated with Gnielinsky and Petukhov correla- 2.87%. They finally calculated that the VSAH with nano-
tions, and then the experimental data were compared with particle point reached a mean energy efficiency ranging from
the computational results. The number of cells used was 13.10 to 14.46%. Parsa et al. [71] developed a 3D numeri-
equal to 251,934. They observed that the setup used with BR cal model of a SAH installed with novel staggered cuboid
= 0.7 and PR = 3, developed the optimum thermohydraulic baffles (NSCB) on the absorber plate. They used Taguchi
performance for Re = 5000. Furthermore, they found that experimental design and variance analysis to find optimum

Absorber plate

Air Entrance section Heated test section Exit section

(a) Insolation
1.5e
Baffle

Test section
Air
Entrance section e Exit section H = 0.025 m

L1 = 0.75 m L2 = 1.4 m L3 = 0.4 m

(b)

Fig. 25  Domain of geometric modifications applied to SAH by Menasria et al. Reprinted from [68] with permission from Elsevier
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1851

geometries and arrangement of the baffles for optimum ther- They further noted a decline in Nu with the rise in JDR,
mal performance. They used the RNG k-ε model to represent which they attributed to the increasing interference among
turbulent variables, and ­y+ was maintained under 2. They jets with an increase in JDR, decreasing jet intensity towards
recorded the maximum value of THPP attaining 3.43 for the heated surface. They calculated a peak THPP equal to
Re = 5080 on using optimum baffled SAH. They remarked 3.66 for a jet height ratio of 0.216 and a jet diameter ratio of
that the use of baffles ensured optimum mixing of fluid and 0.0650 with Re varying from 3500 to 17,500.
vortex formation. Singh et al. [75] numerically determined the perfor-
Nidhul et al. [72] developed a SAH with a semi-cylin- mance of an impinging jet SAH with a wavy channel and
drical side wall and discrete multiple inclined baffles. They porous medium. They developed the prototype without any
fabricated a prototype of a SAH and created a three-dimen- porous media (Design I) and with porous media (Design
sional model for numerical analysis. They used the RNG k-ε II). They considered a single periodic section as the domain
method with enhanced wall treatment to predict the solution. and used the RNG k-ε model to predict turbulent variables.
They observed that an increase in Re resulted in a rise in They achieved grid independence at 60,956 nodes. They
Nu, which was attributed to a decline in the re-circulation calculated the maximum thermal efficiency and thermohy-
zones behind the baffles. They further noticed an increase in draulic efficiency of Design I equalled 94.5% and 84.5%,
absorber plate temperature at a lower Reynolds number due respectively. They further remarked that Design II could be
to an increase in temperature near the trailing apices of the used effectively for thermal backup and off-sunshine hours.
multiple inclined baffles as compared to the same location Matheswaran et al. [76] analytically computed the workings
at a higher Reynolds number. They remarked that discrete of an impinging get SAH with arc-shaped obstacles. They
inclined baffles developed 10% higher collector efficiency observed an improvement in thermal efficiency with the rise
and calculated the enhancement in Nu to be 2.47 times that in Re. They recorded a rise in exergetic efficiency by 56.8%
of a conventional SAH. The maximum THPP was observed as against traditional IJSAH.
for relative roughness pitch (Rp) = 0.75 and was equal to
2.69. They finally remarked that SAH with semi-circular Varied duct shape
sidewalls developed higher COP when equated against a
conventional rectangular SAH. Varying the duct shape of SAH has resulted in changing the
fluid flow through the system, thereby affecting the thermal
Impinging jet solar air heater performance of the system. Kumar et al. [77] numerically
investigated a triangular duct SAH modified with forward
Impinging jets have proven to be useful to enhance the chamfered ribs attached to the absorber plate. They devel-
heat transfer characteristics of the system. Nayak et al. [73] oped a 3D model and studied the effect of rib aspect ratio
numerically looked into the 2D domain of a SAH having (e/w) and rib chamfered height ratio (e'/e) with Re vary-
a jet plate to analyse its thermal properties. The authors ing from 4000 to 17,000, as shown in Fig. 26. The authors
varied the Re from 4000 to 20,000, with the length of the applied the RNG k-ε model and generated a mesh which
jet plate varying from 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the achieved grid independence at 923,384 elements. The
absorber plate. They used the SST k-ω model to solve for validation of the numerical model was performed with
flow variables. They computed that the setup enhanced Nu the experimental results for the inclined ribbed triangular
by 22% for the considered range of parameters and operating duct. They found that the system reached peak N ­ uenh equal
conditions. Yadav and Saini [74] developed a 3D numerical to 2.88 times the Nu developed by a conventional SAH at
model of a SAH with impinging jets. They tried to analyse Re = 17, 000, and for Re = 4000, the setup developed Nu of
the thermal performance of SAHJI while considering the jet the order of 3.52 times the Nu developed by a conventional
height ratio and jet diameter ratio (JDR). They achieved grid SAH. They further calculated maximum ­Nuenh and fpen at
independence at 8.03 million elements and remarked that e∕w = 1.5, which was 2.64 times for Re = 17,000 and 3.14
the RNG k-ε model best predicted the turbulent variables. times at Re =4000 when equated against conventional SAH.

Fig. 26  Sketch of the modifica-

tions implemented by Kumar
θ
et al. Reprinted from [77] with Flow of air
permission from Elsevier H

e’ e
W
w
1852 C. Mund et al.

when evaluated against conventional SAH, with exergetic

Y
Z efficiency increased by 23%.
Exit
Inlet section Test section (V-ribs) section

Width(W) Absorber plate modification

Studies have also been conducted on the varying thermal

performance of the system with changes in the shape of the
Rib pitch (P) absorber plate. Manjunath et al. [80] studied the thermal
workings of SAH having a sinusoidal corrugated absorber
Fig. 27  Sketch and geometric details of the domain studied by Nidhul plate, as depicted in Fig. 28, for Re within 4000 and 25,000.
et al. Reprinted from [78] with permission from Elsevier The authors developed a 3D model and solved using Ansys
Fluent. They used the SST k-ω turbulence model to cal-
culate flow parameters with optimal mesh density equal to
Nusselt number enhancement ratio (­ Nuenh) aforementioned 1.71 million cells. They validated their CFD model with data
has been defined as the ratio of Nu developed by the ribbed from their experiment. The authors found that the sine wave
SAH and smooth SAH. performed well at a lower flow rate, with its effectiveness
Nidhul et al. [78] numerically analysed the thermohy- decreasing at a higher flow rate. They determined that the
draulic and exergetic properties for a triangular SAH hav- maximum rise of thermal efficiency for setup, with sinu-
ing V-rib while maintaining Re within 5000 and 20,000, soidal corrugated absorber plate, was equal to 12.5% for an
as illustrated in Fig. 27. The authors developed a 3D math- aspect ratio and non-dimensional wavelength equivalent to
ematical model and solved for the variables using Ansys 1.5 and 1.0, respectively.
v19.0. They concluded from previous studies that the RNG Singh et al. [81] studied the thermohydraulic performance
k-ε turbulence model with enhanced wall treatment calcu- of a SAH having an arched absorber plate. They developed
lated accurate results for ribbed SAH. They obtained grid- a numerical model with equilateral triangular turbulators
independent solution at 2.4 million elements and validated or dimply turbulators while maintaining Re from 3800 to
their model with experimental results [79] and theoretical 14,000, as shown in Fig. 29. The authors used the RNG k-ε
correlations. They found that the maximum Nusselt number model with enhanced wall treatment to calculate flow vari-
was 2.41 times that of the smooth absorber plate for rela- ables. They found that the thermohydraulic performance of
tive rib height (Rh) = 0.05, relative rib pitch (Rp) = 10 and arched SAH increased with an increase in Reynolds number
rib inclination (α) = 45° at Re = 7500. Furthermore, they for all cases and then decreased with any further increase in
obtained the peak value of the effectiveness parameter equal Re. They further noted a rise in Nu by 80% for plane-arched
to 2.01 for Rh = 0.05, Rp = 10 , 𝛼 = 45◦ , and Re = 7500 . absorber plates when checked against a conventional SAH.
Finally, they noted that the system achieved peak exergetic Singh et al. [82] experimentally and numerically deter-
efficiency and minimum entropy generations for 𝛼 = 45◦, mined thermohydraulic traits of SAH with serpentine wavy

Mage of fig.1 Corrugated absorber plate

Sinusoidal profiled absorber

plate
0
30

00
12

Duct air region

30
0
35

150

Fig. 28  Geometric details and 3D domain of the study performed by Manjunath et al. Reprinted from [80] with permission from Elsevier
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1853

Fig. 29  Details of the geometric Smooth absorber plate Arched absorber plate
modifications studied by Singh
et al. Reprinted from [81] with Plane
permission from Elsevier Pitch, p
d = 4 mm p = 25 mm
Dimple
Roughness height, e
e = 1.6 mm
Equil atreral
triangle

20 mm

Inlet 9 30 mm

Outlet 30 mm
9 185 mm
30 mm

25 mm
25 mm

5 4 3 2 10
560 mm 750 mm 280 mm
6 7 8

11
Cold
Moderate
Hot

(1) Glass cover, (2) Corrugated wavy plate, (3)Back plate, (4) Glass wool, (5) Soft wood, (6) Entrance section, (7) Test section, (8) Exit
section (9) Pressure taps, (10) Corrugated wavy wiremesh, (11) Photograph of single layer of corrugated wavy wiremesh

Fig. 30  Geometric details of the modifications to SAH studied by Singh et al. Reprinted from [82] with permission from Elsevier

wire mesh with single and double air pass, as depicted in global radiation to the setup. They adopted the RNG k-ε
Fig. 30. The author varied the porosity of wire mesh from model for turbulence closure. They noticed that the setup
85 to 95% and mass flow rate from 0.01 to 0.05 kg ­s−1. They developed thermohydraulic efficiency greater than 80% for
developed a two-dimensional domain and generated mesh, Re ranging from 12,000–18,000.
which achieved grid independence at 87,722 nodes. They Kumar et al. [84] did a 2D numerical domain of a curved
used the k-ε turbulence model with the RNG group and SAH. They roughened the absorber plate of the system and
validated the CFD result with their experimental data. They pumped fluid through it. They named it counter-curved
observed that the thermal efficiency of the system increased DPSAH and parallel-curved DPSAH based on the nature of
with an increase in mass flow rate. Moreover, they observed fluid flow with regard to SAH. They used nonlinear Reyn-
that for the same bed porosity, double and single-pass set- olds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations to solve for
ups developed a thermal efficiency of 80% and 68%, respec- fluid flow and used the turbulence model to predict turbulent
tively, for a mass flow rate of 0.04 kg ­s−1 which was 18% variables. They achieved mesh independence at 401,078 ele-
more than a conventional SAH. They concluded that the ments and validated the results with experimental data. The
optimum bed porosity based on THPP was equal to 90% authors noted that due to the curved nature of the absorber
and 87%. plate, the fluid experienced centrifugal force, which pushed
Kumar et al. [83] fabricated a SAH with a perforated the fluid towards the absorber plate, generating secondary
absorber plate and experimentally studied its thermal per- vortices and increasing the Reynolds number. They recorded
formance. They further developed a 3D numerical model of a 19–23% increase in Nu for roughened counter-curved
setup and validated it with the data from the experimental SAH in comparison with parallel aimed DPSAH due to
setup. They achieved grid independence at 4.2 million ele- longer residence time and rise in the turbulence of the fluid.
ments and used a discrete ordinates radiation model to apply Kumar et al. [85] numerically evaluated the thermal traits
1854 C. Mund et al.

of a counter-curved double-pass SAH having arched baffles. absorber plate achieved the highest THPP and equalled 5.5.
They generated a two-dimensional unsteady model and used The authors noted that phase change materials have high
the realizable k-ε model to study the fluid flow properties. thermal recycling life and heat capacity, which enabled them
They validated the numerical model with the experimental the ability to provide continuous heat output even at noc-
data of the system fabricated by Mahboub et al. [86]. They turnal hours. The authors have noted higher heat transfer
recorded a considerable improvement in the performance of performance on the use of jets to impinge on the absorber
the system, with Nu being 20–28% higher than the system plate before exiting SAH. Among the modelled studies, work
without baffles and recorded the optimum configuration for by Yadav and Saini [74] on the use of nozzles achieved the
a relative pitch ratio and relative baffle angle equal to 6 and maximum THPP, equalling 3.66. As for studies on varied
0.5, respectively. duct shape and absorber plate modification, maximum THPP
was achieved by Nidhul et al. [78] and Singh et al. [61] and
Performance and quantitative discussion equalled 2.01 and 4.92, respectively. Among all the studied
of the considered studies cases, Jouybari and Lundstrom [1], with a thin, porous layer
of aluminium oxide ceramic on the absorber plate, achieved
The authors have noticed a rise in heat transfer rate with the highest THPP.
the implementation of any kind of ribs, which was accom-
panied by a rise in friction factor. The authors noted that
interrupted/broken ribs reduced friction generated but Conclusions
also lowered the effective area used for heat transfer. The
authors have used rectangular ribs to improve turbulence The present work reports the review of investigations
and mixing of the fluid. Among the studied cases, the study reported earlier to enhance the thermal performance of SAH
by Qader et al. [21] on the use of inclined fins generated using the CFD technique.
the maximum THPP and equalled 1.916. For V-shaped ribs,
authors remarked that angling ribs significantly improved Based on the detailed review, it has been noted that the
the spanwise rotating secondary flows, thereby improving parameters used to evaluate the thermal performance of
the heat transfer coefficient [29]. Among the reviewed cases the system are thermal efficiency, effective efficiency,
on V-shaped ribs, thin wire with discrete multi-V-pattern rib thermohydraulic performance parameter, fraction factor,
implemented by Kumar and Kim [29] achieved the maxi- etc. The investigators often use enhancement in Nusselt
mum THPP and equalled 3.82. For triangular-shaped ribs, number over a conventional SAH to gauge the thermal
modifications done by Yadav and Bhagoria [33] with equi- performance improvement of modified SAH.
lateral triangular sectioned ribs attained the peaks THPP It can be concluded from the table that the model most
equalling 2.11. For alphabets/object-shaped modification often used for turbulence modelling of fluid flow through
added to SAH, kite-shaped obstruction used by Singh et al. the SAH is the RNG k-ε model.
[35] attained the peaks THPP equalling 2.11. While consid- Domains are developed in 2D and 3D, with the number
ering conical, conic or NACA profile ribs, the study by Patel of grids generated for later is very high.
et al. [38] with reverse NACA 0040 profile ribs achieved It can be concluded from the earlier investigations that
the maximum THPP and equalled 2.578. Among cases with the most often used parameter for analysis of the perfor-
spherical or circular-shaped ribs, the spherical turbulence mance of the SAH is the thermohydraulic performance
generator used by Mahanand and Senapati [42] attained the parameter.
highest THPP, equalling 1.88. Additionally, on considering The highest THPP was recorded in the case of the pro-
vortex generators or winglets or turbulators, the truncated totype developed by Jouybari and Lundstrom [1] with
half-conical vortex generator studied by Bezbarual et al. [43] a thin, porous layer of aluminium oxide ceramic on the
achieved the maximum THPP equalling 2.19. absorber plate and equalled 5.5, followed by Singh et al.
Studies have also been conducted to augment the perfor- [61] and equalled 4.92.
mance of SAH using a porous medium. It was noted that There can be seen a marked improvement in the thermal
the use of porous medium provided an advantage of higher performance of the SAH due to the modifications applied
heat transfer surface area with respect to the volume. Among by the investigators, and the use of the CFD techniques
the studies referred to, a serpentine wavy channel imple- has enabled researchers to investigate many configura-
mented by Singh et al. [61] achieved a peak THPP of 4.52. tions of SAHs without any hassle.
Among the studies that have used phase change material,
the study conducted by Verma et al. achieved a peak thermal Further scope of studies:
efficiency of 64.1% and work by Jouybari and Lundstrom [1]
with a thin, porous layer of aluminium oxide ceramic on the
Analysis of solar air heaters based on computational fluid dynamics 1855

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