Design, fabrication, and performance assessment of a novel solar air heater based on recycled materials

Abstract

In this paper, a solar air heater (SAH) is designed using recyclable materials, and its performance is analyzed. The device is composed of an absorbing plate made up of 36 cans of soda and an equal number of tins with bodies covered with black color and has resistivity against high temperatures. The laboratory research revealed that the collector's efficiency is enhanced considerably by increased airflow speed and the heat transfer coefficient between the absorbing plane and air. In addition, the effects of the radiation intensity and mass flow rate on parameters such as the absorbed heat, temperature difference, and thermal efficiency are investigated. The derived results for mass flow rates of 0.0104 (kgs-1) and 0.0078 (kgs-1) indicate that all mentioned parameters increase the radiation intensity. Furthermore, the thermal efficiency and the absorbed heat are increased by increasing the mass flow rate, while a reduced mass flow rate increases the temperature difference parameter. Moreover, studying the charts demonstrates that the tins absorb a larger portion of the sun's radiation and, consequently, enhance thermal transfer compared with the soda cans. Irreversibility increased with increasing radiation intensity. At 300 radiation intensity, the highest thermal and exergetic efficiencies occurred.