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2025 Vol.45, Issue 3 Preview Page

Research Article

CFD Analysis on the Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Characteristics with Different Installation Location and Shapes of Obstacle in a Solar Air Heater

태양열 공기식 집열기 내 저항체 설치 위치 및 형상에 따른 열전달 및 압력강하 특성에 대한 CFD 해석

Geonyong An1
,
Kwangam Moon2
,
Byeonghwa An2
,
Hwiung Choi3*
안 건용1
,
문 광암2
,
안 병화2
,
최 휘웅3*
1MS Candidate, Graduate School of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering, Chonnam National University
2Researcher, Department of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering, Chonnam National University
3Assistant Professor, Department of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineering, Chonnam National University
1전남대학교 냉동공조공학과 대학원, 석사과정
2전남대학교 냉동공조공학과, 연구원
3전남대학교 냉동공조공학과, 조교수
*Corresponding Author
30 June 2025. pp. 47-59
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Abstract

A solar air heater is a system that converts solar energy into useful thermal energy. However, numerous studies have been conducted to improve its thermal efficiency because of air’s low thermal conductivity. In this study, the thermal performance of a solar air heater was investigated with a computational fluid dynamics analysis; nine configurations varied the installation positions and shapes of obstacles. As a result, the heat transfer performance improved by 1.044 to 1.707 times compared to that of the solar air heater without obstacles. However, the friction factor increased by 1.52 to 9.26 times due to the presence of obstacles. The performance factor was evaluated to account for both the heat transfer enhancement and pressure drop. The highest performance factor was achieved when the quarter-circle-shaped obstacles—with the arc facing the air outlet side—were installed only on the top surface. Additionally, the greatest heat transfer enhancement was observed when obstacles were installed on both the top and bottom surfaces, which also provided a higher performance factor compared with a solar air heater with obstacles only on the bottom surface. Therefore, installing obstacles only on the top surface is preferable for optimizing the performance factor, whereas installing obstacles on both the top and bottom surfaces is more effective for maximizing heat transfer enhancement.

Keywords
Solar energy
Solar air heater
Heat transfer
Obstacle
Computational fluid dynamics
키워드
태양에너지
태양열 공기식 집열기
열전달
저항체
전산유체해석
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Solar Energy Society
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국태양에너지학회
  • Journal Title :Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국태양에너지학회 논문집
  • Volume : 45
  • No :3
  • Pages :47-59
  • Received Date : 2025-03-18
  • Revised Date : 2025-04-24
  • Accepted Date : 2025-04-24
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7836/kses.2025.45.3.047
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