Faculty Publications
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/18736
Publications by NITK Faculty
Browse
9 results
Search Results
Item Enhanced thermo-hydraulic performance in a V-ribbed triangular duct solar air heater: CFD and exergy analysis(Elsevier Ltd, 2020) Nidhul, K.; Kumar, S.; Yadav, A.; Anish, S.Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and exergy analysis are conducted to investigate the impact of secondary flow produced by V-ribs on the overall performance of a triangular solar air heater (SAH) duct. For a fixed relative rib pitch (Rp = 10) and relative rib height (Rh = 0.05), the effect of rib inclination (?) is studied using CFD technique for varying Reynolds number (5000 ? Re ? 20000). Based on the CFD simulation results, empirical correlations capable of predicting Nu and f with an absolute variance of 8.7%, and 4.7%, respectively, are developed. Employing these correlations, exergetic performance analysis is carried out. Maximum effectiveness parameter (?) of 2.01 is obtained for ? = 45° at Re = 7500. The exergy analysis reveals that the entropy generated is lower for the ribbed triangular duct compared to the smooth duct with maximum enhancement in exergetic efficiency (?ex) as 23% for ? = 45°. The study is extended for the rectangular duct to compare the performance with the ribbed triangular duct SAH (? = 45°). Results show that ribbed triangular duct SAH (? = 45°) is superior over various configurations of the ribbed rectangular duct SAH at higher mass flow rates. © 2020 Elsevier LtdItem Efficient design of an artificially roughened solar air heater with semi-cylindrical side walls: CFD and exergy analysis(Elsevier Ltd, 2020) Nidhul, K.; Yadav, A.; Anish, S.; Arunachala, U.C.Solar air heater (SAH) with semi-cylindrical sidewalls and W-baffles is analyzed for energy and exergy efficiency in the turbulent flow regime. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis is carried out for a fixed baffle inclination (?) and varying the relative baffle height (Rh = e/D) and relative baffle pitch (Rp = P/D) in the range 0.046–0.115 and 0.46–1.15, respectively. For Reynolds number (5000 < Re < 17,500), the numerical methodology is substantiated using experimental and theoretical correlations obtained from the literature. Smaller vortices near the sharp corners are removed by rounding the sharp edges, allowing the flow of fluid from inside and horizontal walls of the duct towards the semi-cylindrical sidewalls. This increases the overall turbulent kinetic energy. A peak augmentation of 3.24 and 4.03 times is obtained for Nusselt number (Nu) and friction factor (f), respectively, in contrast to conventional SAH. With a maximum enhancement of 127% in the effectiveness parameter relative to smooth SAH, this novel SAH design is evidently energy efficient. Based on CFD results, new correlations are developed in terms of Rh and Rp, which predicts the values with an absolute deviation of 4% and 7.4%, respectively. With lower exergy destruction, maximum enhancement in thermal and exergetic efficiency is obtained as 40.7% and 95.4%, respectively, for the proposed SAH relative to conventional SAH. Upon comparison with ribbed rectangular duct SAH configurations, the present design with semi-cylindrical side walls outperforms at all flow Re. © 2020 International Solar Energy SocietyItem Influence of Rectangular Ribs on Exergetic Performance in a Triangular Duct Solar Air Heater(American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), 2020) Nidhul, K.; Kumar, S.; Yadav, A.; Anish, S.Several artificial roughness (ribs) configurations have been used in flat plate solar air heaters (SAH) in recent years to improve their overall performance. In the present work, energy and exergy analyses of rectangular ribs in a triangular duct SAH for varying relative rib heights (e/D = 0.02-0.04), relative rib pitches (P/e = 5-15), and rib aspect ratios (e/w = 0.5-4) are evaluated and compared with smooth SAH. The analysis reveals that the entropy generated due to heat transfer is lower for the ribbed triangular duct compared to the smooth duct. It is also observed that the width of the rib plays a crucial role in minimizing heat losses to the environment. A maximum reduction of 43% and 62% in exergy losses to the environment and exergy losses due to heat transfer to the fluid is achieved, respectively, with a rib aspect ratio (e/w) of 4 compared to the smooth plate. It is found that in contrast to the smooth plate, ribs beneath the absorber plate effectively improves thermal and exergetic efficiency. Maximum enhancement of 36% and 17% is obtained in exergetic efficiency (?ex) and thermal efficiency (th), respectively, for e/w = 4, P/e = 10 and e/D = 0.04. Results also show the superiority of the ribbed triangular duct over the ribbed rectangular duct for an application requiring compact SAH with a higher flowrate. © 2020 by ASME.Item Computational and experimental studies on the development of an energy-efficient drier using ribbed triangular duct solar air heater(Elsevier Ltd, 2020) Nidhul, K.; Kumar, S.; Yadav, A.; Anish, S.Triangular duct cross-section is introduced for solar air heater (SAH) of an indirect type of solar dryer (ITSD). Using computational study, the thermo-hydraulic performance of triangular duct SAH with inclined ribs for varying rib inclination (30° < ? < 75°) in the turbulent flow regime (5000 < Re < 17500) is studied. With the rib configuration providing maximum thermos-hydraulic performance, a ribbed rectangular duct SAH is designed, and the performance of the same is compared to the former for similar heat input. Results show that the ribbed (? = 45°) triangular duct has 17% higher effectiveness compared to the latter and 79% when compared to smooth SAH. Ribs in triangular duct solar air heater facilitate the increase in temperature even in the core of the duct, delivering the air at 6 K additional temperature relative to a rectangular ribbed duct for same heat input and flow Re. The superiority of the ribbed triangular SAH is further confirmed by studying the drying characteristics of Okra and two variants of banana, namely Nendran and Robusta for the maximum temperature obtained at the outlet of the respective SAH. Various thin layer drying models available in the literature were analyzed, and Modified page model represented the drying behaviour with R2 = 0.99. For ITSD, ribbed triangular duct SAH exhibits a maximum of 60.3% reduction in moisture ratio with a maximum increase of 97.9% increase in average values of diffusivity coefficient confirming that it is an energy-efficient design for an ITSD. © 2020 International Solar Energy SocietyItem Numerical Study for Enhancement of Heat Transfer Using Discrete Metal Foam with Varying Thickness and Porosity in Solar Air Heater by LTNE Method(MDPI, 2022) Diganjit, R.; Gnanasekaran, G.; Mobedi, M.A two-dimensional rectangular domain is considered with a discrete arrangement at equal distances from copper metal foam in a solar air heater (SAH). The local thermal non-equilibrium model is used for the analysis of heat transfer in a single-pass rectangular channel of SAH for different mass flow rates ranging from 0.03 to 0.05 kg/s at 850 W/m2 heat flux. Three different pores per inch (PPI) and porosities of copper metal foam with three different discrete thicknesses at equal distances are studied numerically. This paper evaluates the performance of SAH with 10 PPI 0.8769 porosity, 20 PPI 0.8567 porosity, and 30 PPI 0.92 porosity at 22 mm, 44 mm, and 88 mm thicknesses. The Nusselt number for 22 mm, 44 mm, and 88 mm thicknesses is 157.64%, 183.31%, and 218.60%, respectively, higher than the empty channel. The performance factor for 22 mm thick metal foam is 5.02% and 16.61% higher than for 44 mm and 88 mm thick metal foam, respectively. Hence, it is found that metal foam can be an excellent option for heat transfer enhancement in SAH, if it is designed properly. © 2022 by the authors.Item Analytical investigation on thermo hydraulic performance augmentation of triangular duct solar air heater integrated with wavy fins(Taylor and Francis Ltd., 2023) Renald, T.R.; P, S.; Matheswaran, M.; Gnanasekaran, G.Present work deals with performance improvement of triangular duct solar air heater by integration of wavy fin on absorber plate. An analytical model has been developed for the investigation of design parameters such as fin pitch ratio with ranges 0.05–0.2 and fin amplitude ratio with ranges 0.025–0.125. MATLAB code is generated to solve the energy balance equations by iterative procedure. The influence of design parameters on effective thermal and thermal efficiency is presented and its influences are discussed. Increasing the fin pitch ratio decreases the thermal and thermo hydraulic efficiency drastically. The positive effect of fin amplitude ratio is observed; increasing of fin amplitude ratio improves the thermal efficiency and effective efficiency up to the critical Reynolds number. The peak thermal efficiency of 85% is observed and thermo hydraulic efficiency of 80.16% is found at fin pitch ratio of 0.05 and fin amplitude ratio of 0.125. The maximum thermo hydraulic performance enhancement is 15.7% as it compared simple conventional solar triangular duct air extractors. The design plots are developed to select the performance parameters to attain required temperature rise values. © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.Item Thermal performance assessment of a cylindrical box solar cooker fitted with decahedron outer reflector(SAGE Publications Inc., 2023) Anilkumar, B.C.; Maniyeri, R.; Anish, S.One of the important issues humankind globally faces in recent years is the scarcity of non-renewable energy resources. Solar energy is considered safe and renewable, which can fulfil the demand and supply chain requirements. Solar box cookers (SBCs) are popular in domestic cooking due to their ease of use and handling. The prime objective of the present work is to develop and test the performance of a cylindrical SBC fitted with decahedron-shaped reflector (CSBC-FDR). The CSBC is designed using minimum entropy generation (MEG) method. Through experiments, we observed that absorber plate attains peak temperature of about 138°C–150°C with the aid of decahedron reflector. The first figure of merit (F1) is found to be 0.13, indicating better optical efficiency and low heat loss coefficient for the SBC. The second figure of merit (F2) is obtained as 0.39, which indicates good heat exchange efficiency (F') and less heat capacity for cooker's interior. The average energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, and standardized cooking power values are 21.93%, 3.04%, and 25.28W, respectively. These results show that the present CSBC-FDR is able to cook food in a shorter period with better efficiency. The experimental and numerical values of overall heat loss coefficient of the developed SBC are in close agreement. The experimentally assessed performance parameters reveal superior performance of the present cylindrical SBC in comparison with many conventional rectangular and trapezoidal box solar cookers. © The Author(s) 2021.Item Thermohydraulic Efficiency of a Solar Air Heater in the Presence of Graded Aluminium Wire Mesh—A Combined Experimental–Numerical Study(Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI), 2023) Diganjit, R.; Gnanasekaran, N.; Mobedi, M.In this work, aluminium wire mesh (WM) samples with 3, 9, and 18 pores per inch (PPI) and porosities of 0.894, 0.812, and 0.917, respectively, were combined together to form graded structures including 3-9-18, 9-18-3, and 18-3-9 PPIs. A 5 mm thickness for each WM was considered for a length of 2 m and inserted into a single-pass solar air heater (SAH) in which the height of the SAH was 120 mm. For the numerical analysis, a 3D numerical model was considered in ANSYS fluent software, and the Rosseland radiation model renormalization group (RNG) k-ε enhanced wall function was incorporated to account for solar radiation. The local thermal equilibrium (LTE) model was considered to obtain the heat-transfer characteristics of the WM. The numerical results of the thermohydraulic performance parameter (THPP) of the 9-18-3 PPI WM were 13.04% and 11.92% higher than the 3-9-18 and 18-3-9 PPI samples, respectively. Later, 25% of the 9-18-3 graded wire mesh (GWM) was considered at four different locations, i.e., 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 m away from the inlet, and analysed to obtain the best location for efficient heat transfer. The computational results show that 1.5 m away from the inlet is the best location among the different locations considered. The experimental results of the GWM at 1.5 m away from the inlet demonstrated a 20.91% and 23.32% increase in thermal efficiency compared to the empty channel for the 0.027 kg/s and 0.058 kg/s mass flow rates, respectively. From numerical-cum-experimental analysis, it was found that inserting 25% length of GWM of the entire length of the test section at a distance of 1.5 m from the inlet in single pass SAH improves the overall performance of the empty channel of single-pass SAH. © 2023 by the authors.Item Design of thermal energy storage system for solar cooker: a review(Springer, 2025) Anilkumar, B.C.; Maniyeri, R.Solar cooking has been a research focus worldwide over the last few decades due to its numerous advantages, such as no running costs, non-polluting nature and ample availability. Solar cookers incorporate thermal energy storage (TES) units to enable cooking during off-sunshine hours. Within solar thermal applications, latent heat storage materials (LHSMs), particularly phase change materials (PCMs) are increasingly vital due to their superior energy storage density and isothermal working properties. The present review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of various TES unit designs integrated with cooking vessels for solar cookers. We discuss different types of solar cookers, various TES unit configurations, and the thermo-physical properties of heat storage materials. A key aspect of this work involves comparing the sizes of various TES units, derived from our previously developed computational scheme, with existing research. Prior studies often lacked specifics on the duration of off-sunshine cooking. However, determining the optimal PCM mass is crucial for designing efficient LHS units that maximize heat storage and release for sustained cooking. To address this gap, we employed a computational procedure to determine the duration for which various LHS units, integrated with box-type solar cookers, can maintain a constant cooking temperature. We also identified and compared the dimensions of containers needed to hold the optimum PCM mass. Our computational findings for the outer vessel diameter of LHS units align closely with previous studies. This computational approach offers a robust methodology for developing TES units that optimize PCM latent heat utilization, significantly enhancing solar cooker performance during sundown hours. Ultimately, we propose a pathway for improving future TES unit designs and present a strategy for marketing solar cookers. This review will be an invaluable resource for researchers, stimulating further advancements in solar cookers integrated with TES systems. © Indian Academy of Sciences 2025.