Experimental thermodynamic analysis of a forced convection solar air heater using absorber plate with pin-fins

This research paper deals with the experimental thermodynamic analysis of a forced convection solar air heater using pin-fin absorber plate and compared with the standard flat absorber plate. The experiments were carried out during the months of February 2018 and March 2018 at Coimbatore city in India. The performance parameters such as, outlet air temperature, energy efficiency, thermohydraulic efficiency, and exergy efficiency are used for performance comparisons. The results showed that the pin-fin absorber plate has about 17 °C higher outlet air temperature when compared to the flat absorber plate. The energy efficiency of a forced convection solar air heater using pin-fin absorber plate was found to be 3% to 12% higher when compared to flat absorber plate with 2% to 11% higher exergy efficiency. The results confirmed that forced convection solar air heaters using pin-fin absorber plate is having significant performance improvement in thermodynamic performance with minimum pressure drop across the air heater duct.