Experimental and Numerical Investigation of a Novel Low-Cost Solar Air Heater with Large-Scale V-Shaped Fins to Enhance Heat Transfer

Omayma Elakrout, Ons Ghriss, Abdallah Bouabidi and Maarten Vanierschot ()
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Omayma Elakrout: Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
Ons Ghriss: Research Laboratory Processes, Energetics Environment and Electrical Systems, National Engineering School of Gabes, Gabes 6029, Tunisia
Abdallah Bouabidi: Mechanical Modelling, Energy and Materials Laboratory, National Engineering School of Gabes, Gabes University, Gabes 6029, Tunisia
Maarten Vanierschot: Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-22

Abstract: This study investigates the performance of a novel, low-cost solar air heater equipped with large V-shaped fins using experiments and numerical simulations. The solar air heater consists of an absorber plate, a glass cover and airflow ducts. Its performance is evaluated under varying fin configurations: finless and (a)symmetric V-shaped fins with four, six, and eight fins. Computational fluid dynamics simulations using the RNG k-epsilon and discrete ordinate models were validated by experimental findings, showing good agreement with minimal discrepancies between both. The experimental setup recorded a maximum air temperature of 55 °C, corresponding to a temperature rise of 33 °C from an inlet temperature of 22 °C, under an inlet air velocity of 2.7 m/s. Results demonstrate that increasing the number of fins significantly enhances heat transfer efficiency, with heat transfer rising from 134.35 W (finless) to 233.29 W (8 fins). The large-scale fins improved thermal performance significantly while still maintaining a low-pressure drop. Moreover, the fins are very low-cost to implement, in contrast to most heat transfer enhancements in solar air heaters, making this design a very budget-friendly solution. This study provides valuable insights into optimizing solar air heater systems, contributing to the advancement of solar heating solutions for a wide range of energy-efficient applications.

Keywords: solar air heater; heat transfer enhancement; large-scale V-shaped fins; numerical simulation; thermal efficiency; thermo-hydraulic performance; computational fluid dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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