Influence of Artificial Ribbing on the Thermal Performance of Solar Air Heaters: A Parametric Investigation

This study investigates the thermo-hydraulic performance of a solar air heater (SAH) enhanced with triangular ribs on the absorber plate.The analysis examines three distinct rib configuration-oriented perpendicular to the airflow, with simulations conducted using ANSYS Fluent to solve conservation of mass, conservation of momentum, and energy conservation equations in a 2D domain.The aluminum absorber plate is exposed to a uniform heat flux with relative roughness pitch (RRP) ranging from 7.33 to 20.66.Reynolds numbers (Re) vary between 4000 and 18,000.The study evaluates the impact of Reynolds number and relative roughness pitch on thermal and hydraulic performance, using an ANOVA model to isolate the effects of individual parameters.Increasing Reynolds number and optimizing roughness pitch significantly enhance the thermohydraulic efficiency of the SAH.Specific configurations of triangular ribs improve heat transfer while maintaining manageable pressure drops.The research highlights the potential of ribbed absorber plates to improve the efficiency of SAHs under varying flow and geometric conditions.The research highlights the potential of ribbed absorber plates to improve the efficiency of SAHs under varying flow and geometric conditions.