Heat flow analysis on double pass solar air collector using CFD

Anis, Muhammad Fakhrullah (2022) Heat flow analysis on double pass solar air collector using CFD. Project Report. Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia. (Submitted)

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Abstract

The solar drying of food industries products is considered the most excellent green and sustainable food industries product conservation method. The advancement of effective drying system design and food industries products drying characteristics will increase product conservation. The purpose of this study is to analyse a solar collector whose function is to transform solar radiation into heat and transfer that heat to the air. In this project, it is designed for the solar dryer to heat air that is used to remove moisture from the product placed inside the enclosure. The current research work focuses on the investigation analysis of solar collectors after some improvement of the design has been made. Double pass solar air collector with longitudinal fin in the second air passage is one of the important and attractive design improvements that has been proposed to improve the thermal performance. The entire solar collector is made of stainless steel, while the top cover is made of glass and the insulation is made of foam. ANSYS Fluent is used in simulations to numerically solve heat transfer, radiation, and fluid flow equations. Critical parameters such as outlet air temperature, outlet air velocity, and mass flow rate are evaluated along with absorber plate temperatures. Airflow over a smooth surface examined in geometry is assumed to be frictionless, and the ambient temperature is assumed to be constant. Material properties like density, thermal conductivity, and specific heat are assigned for materials stainless steel and glass. The simulation was done with air mass flow rates of 0.04 kg/s and 0.05 kg/s. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is used to theoretically test this double-pass solar collector. The CFD results obtained demonstrate a strong and positive correlation. The literature is used to verify all of the findings. The simulation reveals that this collector design has a good performance and is more efficient than single-pass collector models. An in-depth examination of the findings showed various design flaws, such as recirculation streams and the source of the problem, which will aid us in assessing and optimizing designs in future works.

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