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

Journal Article · Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 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), Vol. 105:1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

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