Numerical and Experimental Evaluation of Solar Air Heaters Connected in Series
Abstract
A numerical and experimental evaluation of three solar air heaters (SAH) arrangement was carried out. The numerical model uses both a longitudinal and axial discretization to get a nodes array, then an energy balance is evaluated in each one; as a result the numerical model calculates the coefficients of linear and quadratic instantaneous thermal efficiency curves, the incident angle modifier, and the temperature profile in both the air flow and solid materials. The experimental tests were carried out according to the methods described on the international standard ISO9806: 2013. The thermal efficiency experimental data was used to validate the numerical model, resulting in a ±4.20% average error. Additionally, a comparison between the thermal efficiency curves obtained for one, two and three SAH connected in series operating at 0.085m 3 /s was carried out.