Heat transfer characteristics of a back-corrugated absorber surface for solar air collectors

Journal Article · Tue Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1983 · J. Sol. Energy Eng.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3266351· OSTI ID:5916820

Shockey, K A; DeWitt, D P; Pearson, J T

Current literature on solar air collectors emphasizes satisfactory heat transfer between the absorber and the flowing air as a major factor in overall performance. Heat transfer in the airflow passages, usually in or near the transitional flow range, is also influenced by entrance effects. The present study experimentally examines a back-corrugated absorber-convector composed of a rectangularly corrugated plate attached to the back side of a flat absorber plate with a high-temperature, high-strength adhesive. The upper surface is subjected to a heat flux from a blanket-type electric heater which simulates solar irradiation. The corrugated-plate configuration creates two parallel airflow channel types. The two channels have different geometries and, therefore, may have different heat transfer characteristics. An apparatus was designed to determine the local convective heat transfer coefficients along each of the channels. The results show that the back-corrugated absorber-convector has much better thermal performance than the simple flat-plate absorber-convector, primarily because of the increased convective heat transfer area.

• Research Organization: Heat Transfer Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907
• OSTI ID: 5916820
• Journal Information: J. Sol. Energy Eng.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Sol. Energy Eng.; (United States) Vol. 105:1; ISSN JSEED
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
141000* -- Solar Collectors & Concentrators
AIR FLOW
AIR HEATERS
ANALOG SYSTEMS
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONVECTION
DUCTS
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRIC HEATING
ENERGY TRANSFER
EQUIPMENT
FLAT PLATE COLLECTORS
FLUID FLOW
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GAS FLOW
HEAT FLUX
HEAT RESISTANT MATERIALS
HEAT TRANSFER
HEATERS
HEATING
MATERIALS
MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
MODIFICATIONS
NATURAL CONVECTION
PERFORMANCE TESTING
SIMULATORS
SOLAR ABSORBERS
SOLAR AIR HEATERS
SOLAR COLLECTORS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR HEATING
SOLAR SIMULATORS
TESTING
THERMAL EFFICIENCY