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Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Different Rib Roughness in a

Solar Air Heater

Ankur Srivastava, Gaurav Kumar Chhaparwal, Ravi Kumar Sharma

PII: S2451-9049(20)30094-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsep.2020.100576
Reference: TSEP 100576

To appear in: Thermal Science and Engineering Progress

Received Date: 19 August 2019

Revised Date: 18 May 2020
Accepted Date: 21 May 2020

Please cite this article as: A. Srivastava, G. Kumar Chhaparwal, R. Kumar Sharma, Numerical and Experimental
Investigation of Different Rib Roughness in a Solar Air Heater, Thermal Science and Engineering Progress
(2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsep.2020.100576

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© 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

 Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Different Rib
Roughness in a Solar Air Heater

Ankur Srivastava, Gaurav Kumar Chhaparwal, Ravi Kumar Sharma*

Manipal University Jaipur, India

Abstract
A numerical study is aimed at comparing dissimilar types of repeated-rib roughness:
arc-shape with gap and V-shape with gap on the absorber plate of the solar air heater
having similar shape and size working under identical boundary conditions. Relative
gap width (g/e) of 1, relative roughness height of 0.04, the relative roughness pitch of
0
10, p/P =0.65, d/W= 0.69, No. of gaps=1, attack angle α =60 of the rib, heat flux
2
1000W/m , etc. are kept constant and variation in range of Reynolds number is 3000-
15000. Numerical simulations are conducted with the help of ANSYS CFD tool, and
results have been validated with the experimental studies. The V-shape ribs have
maximum frictional loss penalty of 4.05 and Nusselt number enhancement of 3.4 at
Re 3000. The arc-shape ribs have maximum frictional loss penalty of 3.94 and
Nusselt number enhancement of 2.4 for Re 15000. The maximum THPP for the V-
shape ribs and arc shape ribs are 2.21 and 1.5 respectively at Re 3000.

Keywords: Artificial roughness, V-shape rib, Solar Air Heater, arc-shape rib, THPP

1. Introduction

Renewable energy is the key to all kinds of energy crisis being faced by the world
today. Developed nations meet most of their power requirements by using these
sources of energy. The applications of these sources have attracted attention from all
quarters of the world. Solar energy is one of the viable alternatives to the depleting
energy resources. Solar air heater is one device which functions like a heat exchanger
Nomenclature

*Corresponding Author:
Dr. Ravi Kumar Sharma
email: ravipvb@gmail.com
Ph. No: +91 141 3999100
 2
Roman symbol Q̇ Heat flux, W/m

Acs Duct cross-section area, W×H Re Reynolds number

Ap Absorber plate area, W×L SAH Solar air heater

AR Aspect ratio, W/H T Temperature, K

Dh Hydraulic diameter, (4Acs/P) THPP Thermal hydraulic performance

parameter
d/W Relative gap position TRP Temp. rise parameter, ∆T/I

e/D Relative roughness height V Velocity, m/s

f Friction factor W Width of duct, m

g/e Relative gap width W/w Relative width number

2
h Heat transfer coefficient, W/m K X Local property

H Height of the duct, mm Greek symbol

k Thermal conductivity of air, W/mK α Flow attack angle

L Length of the duct, mm Subscript

Ng Number of gaps enh Enhanced property

Nu Nusselt number i Inlet property

P Pressure, Pa o Outlet property

PP Pumping power, W pen Penalty

P/e Relative roughness pitch r Rough plate property

p/P Relative staggered pitch s Smooth plate property

and has simple design. Its absorber plate absorbs incident solar radiation and heats the
air flowing over it. The rise in temperature and vapour content of air at the exit
depend on the required application. In India, several small scale industries of food
packaging, fruit, spices, and crop drying have shown an inclination towards the use of
SAH in place of the conventional electrical air heater. Particularly in south India
where moisture content is always high, cloth drying remains a big issue. As an
initiative, hospitals and hotels have shown interest in application of solar air heater for
cloth drying. However, the limited application of SAH is due to its very low thermal
efficiency (ηth < 50%). Even if we neglect heat losses by conduction, convection,
radiation and air leaks, only half of the incident solar energy can contribute to the
temperature rise of incoming air. There are many methods and techniques to improve
its thermal efficiency like: multi-passing, multi-glazing, fins, baffles, blockages,
obstructions but the most widely appreciated and recognized means is the implication
of artificial repeated-rib roughness [1]. Smooth absorber plate has lower value of
coefficient of heat transfer. Augmentation of rate at which heat is transferred can be
achieved by various means and induction of roughness elements on the absorber plate
is one of the methods. It has been an established fact that these roughness elements
aids in enhancing the performance of the solar air heater. Early studies [1-5] reported
enhanced rate of heat transfer owing to roughness with frictional loss penalty. Sheriff
et al. [6] and Williams [7] investigated repeated-rib roughness of thin wires and
transverse chamfered ribs respectively. Webb et al. [8,9] gave thermal hydraulic
performance parameter for the evaluation of a solar air heater. Han et al. [10,15,16]
exploited transverse and V-shape ribs in the heat exchangers of turbo-machineries and
nuclear reactors. The solar air heater is also a type of heat exchanger with a slight
difference in its boundary conditions. In SAH-duct, only one principal wall is heated
and roughened; low duct-depth or aspect ratio (AR 8-12); transitional flow regime (Re
3000-20000), etc. These similarities lead to the direct implementation of explored ribs
in other heat exchangers into SAH-domain, and the slight difference in boundary
conditions opened scope for further research. In the year 1983, repeated-rib (thin
transverse wires) was first time introduced in SAH by Prasad and Mullick [11]. In the
study, he varied P/e -10-20, G 17.5-33.55 kg/h, at constant e 12.7 mm, Re 40000 and
reported Nusselt number enhancement (Nuenh) 3.0 and friction loss penalty (fpen) 9.74.
Liu et al. 1984 [12] experimented transverse pin-fin of height 6 mm, varying P/e 4-8
and Re 3000-50000, and observed insignificant increment in heat transfer. Later
Prasad and Saini 1988 & 1991 [13, 14], Gupta et al. 1993 & 1997 [17, 18], Karwa et
al. 1999 [19] experimentally investigated transverse wire rib, inclined ribs, and
transverse-chamfered ribs respectively and reported appreciable improvement in the
heat transfer at minimal frictional losses. Arulanandam et al. 1999 [20] for the first
time numerically investigated solar air heater duct with artificial rib roughness, after
that a large number of CFD tool based studies [21-24] have been carried out in the last
two decades. A vast number of investigations on cross-section, orientation, shape, and
size of ribs are available. But to the best knowledge of the present authors, not a
single study has been carried out that compares V-shaped and arc shaped ribs in the
same boundary conditions. Addressing this issue, present study analyses the
performance of SAH using both kinds of ribs. Determination of Nusselt Number and
Friction factor have been done by applying suitable mathematical correlations for the
range of Reynolds Number 3000-15000. Similar geometrical features like relative
roughness pitch, relative roughness height, relative gap width and angle of attack have
been considered while comparing the ribs. The magnitude of Thermal-hydraulic
performance parameter (THPP) of V-shaped and arc shaped ribs at different values of
Reynolds number ranging from 3000-15000 has been evaluated and findings have
been presented and discussed. Also, a comparison has been drawn between numerical
and experimental results and discussed in the sections below. The findings of this
investigation will help engineers of solar air heater in deciding an appropriate kind of
ribs geometries for enhancing the heat transfer.
2. Mathematical modelling

The V-shape and arc-shape ribs with gap are generated, meshed, and solved in
ANSYS CFD tool. These steps are elucidated in detail in the following subsections:

2.1 Computational domain & Governing equation

The computational domain consists of a fluid zone (air) and a solid zone
(aluminum). The fluid zone takes the shape of entire SAH duct, which is in
accordance with the standard guidelines of ASHRAE standard 93, 2003[45]. The
complete length of the SAH-duct is 2440 mm, of which 640 mm entrance length,
1500 mm test section, and 300 mm exit length. The entrance length is provided to
have fully developed flow at the test section as standard correlations and formulae all
available for only developed flow. The width and height of SAH-duct are kept 300
mm and 20 mm respectively to have a suitable velocity of flow and maximum heat
transfer from absorber plate. Exit section helps in the mixing of heated air and creates
outflow condition at the exit. The solid zone is made up of an aluminum plate of 3
mm thickness and V-shape, and arc-shape ribs of 2 mm thickness with gap are
mounted over the aluminum plate, as shown in Fig. 1. Table 1 shows all the necessary
details of the geometrical configuration of the SAH duct with rib-roughness.

Table 1. Geometrical parameters of SAH-duct and rib roughness

S. No. Parameter Value
1 Length L 1520
2 Width W 300
3 Height H 20
4 Relative roughness pitch P/e 10
5 Relative roughness height e/D 0.043
7 Relative roughness pitch g/e 1
8 Relative gap distance d/W 0.67
0
9 Angle of attack α 60
 (a)

(b)
Fig.1. Schematic diagram of V-shape (a) and arc-shape (b) ribs [1]
The geometrical modeling is done in ANSYS Design Modular tool. Since, both the
ribs vary in shape and size in span-wise direction; the two-dimensional geometry
cannot provide accurate result. Hence, a three-dimensional geometry is generated for
all the calculation.
The Governing equations are the partial differential equations based on mass,
momentum and energy conservation. These equations govern the thermal-hydraulic
phenomena taking place in a CFD problem. The structure of these equations varies
case to case, and here the problem is Newtonian, incompressible, steady, turbulent,
and three dimensional internal duct flow where heat transfer is occurring via forced
convection (no gravity effect) only. ANSYS FLUENT Guide [45] is followed for all
the CFD related concepts:
Continuity equation:
𝜕(𝜌𝑢) 𝜕(𝜌𝑣) 𝜕(𝜌𝑤)
+ + =0 (1)
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧
Momentum equation:
𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑝 𝜕2𝑢 𝜕2𝑢 𝜕2𝑢
𝜌𝑢 + 𝜌𝑣 + 𝜌𝑤 = − + 𝜇[ 2 + + ] (2)
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 2 𝜕𝑧 2
𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝑝 𝜕2𝑣 𝜕2𝑣 𝜕2𝑣
𝜌𝑢 + 𝜌𝑣 + 𝜌𝑤 = − + 𝜇[ 2 + + ] (3)
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 2 𝜕𝑧 2
𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑝 𝜕2𝑤 𝜕2𝑤 𝜕2𝑤
𝜌𝑢 + 𝜌𝑣 + 𝜌𝑤 = − + 𝜇[ 2 + + ] (4)
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 2 𝜕𝑧 2
The terms given in the equation (2), (3), (4) show acceleration, convection,
pressure variation and viscous terms in x, y and z directions respectively in 3D
cartesian.

Energy equations (Transport equations for k-ω model)

𝜕 𝜕 𝜇𝑡 𝜕𝑘
(𝜌𝑘𝑢𝑗 ) = [(𝜇 + ) ] + 𝐺𝑘 − 𝑌𝑘 + 𝑆𝑘 (5)
𝜕𝑥𝑗 𝜕𝑥𝑗 𝜎𝑘 𝜕𝑥𝑗
𝜕 𝜕 𝜇𝑡 𝜕𝜔
(𝜌𝜔𝑢𝑗 ) = [(𝜇 + ) ] + 𝐺𝜔 − 𝑌𝜔 + 𝐷𝜔 + 𝑆𝑘 (6)
𝜕𝑥𝑗 𝜕𝑥𝑗 𝜎𝜔 𝜕𝑥𝑗
In addition to the independent variables, the density ρ, turbulent viscosity μt, and
the velocity vector 𝑢𝑗 , are treated known quantities from the Navier-Stokes
method. Gk and 𝐺𝜔 is the production of turbulence kinetic energy and generation
of specific dissipation rate respectively. 𝑌𝑘 and 𝑌𝜔 represent the dissipation of k
and ω due to turbulence. Sk and Sω are user-defined source terms. 𝐷𝜔 represents
the cross-diffusion term.

2.2 Meshing & Boundary conditions

The whole computational domain is discretized into a large number of elements with
the help of ANSYS Meshing tool. The above discussed governing equations are
solved on every single node by the solver component of the CFD tool. The accuracy
and resemblance of the solutions with the actual problem depend on the mesh
structure of the computational domain. The accuracy of the solution is directly
proportional to the number of nodes. However, an optimum mesh has larger number
 Fig 2 Meshing of a smooth solar air heater duct

of nodes in crucial areas like stagnant viscous sub-layer region, where the viscous
force and velocity gradient is dominant. The y+ value in viscous sublayer is less than
5 for all three cases: smooth duct Fig. 2, V-shape Fig. 3, and arc-shaped ribs Fig. 4.
The orthogonal quality in the smooth duct is 0.96-1.0, as it does not have rib-
roughness. The orthogonal quality in V-shape is 0.7-0.9, and in arc-shaped, it is 0.65-
0.9 due to the presence of rib over absorber plate. The 8-10% elements in the
boundary layer over the absorber and insulated plate have a high aspect ratio (>5) to
capture velocity and temperature gradients in boundary layer, while rest of the
elements have a low aspect ratio (1-5) in the smooth duct. In V-shape and arc-shape,
in addition to the high aspect ratio elements in the boundary layer, the elements

Fig. 3 Meshing of V-shape ribs with gaps

 Fig. 4 Meshing of arc-shape ribs with gaps

nearby ribs also have a high aspect ratio due to boundary layer formation.The rise in
the net figure of nodes costs in terms of requirement of powerful computing hardware
and calculation time. The optimal mesh is often non-uniform, very fine in the region
of the considerable variation of properties and coarser in the area where an
insignificant or negligible change in properties is observed. The non-uniform mesh is
generated via adaptive mesh generation, where aspect ratio, skew-ness, and
orthogonal quality of meshing are kept in the desired limit.
After completion of the meshing step, boundary conditions are applied as given the
physical problem. A solar air heater is one of the types of heat exchanger, where the
principal wall (absorber plate) is supplied constant heat flux while insulation is added
to its other three sides. The air is a working fluid flow in the transitional flow regime
for general applications. Table 2 & 3 show the numerical values of boundary
conditions and material properties of the computational domain.
Table 2. Boundary conditions applied on the computational domain.
Boundary Type Parameter
Velocity Pressure Temp. Heat flux
m/s Pa K W/m2
Inlet Velocity inlet 1.72-8.1 - 300 -
Outlet Press outlet Outflow Zero - -
Side-walls wall No slip - - Adiabatic
Bottom-plate wall No slip - - Adiabatic
Top-plate wall No slip - 1000

Table 3 Material properties that build computational domain

Material Density Specific heat Thermal conductivity Viscosity
3
kg/m J/kg-K W/m-K kg/m-s
-5
Air 1.22 1006 0.024 1.789×10
Aluminum 2700 870 202 -

2.3 Mesh independence test & Model selection with validation

However, an optimal mesh should imbibe effect of all necessary phenomena at a

minimum computing power requirement. The mesh-independent step is used to obtain
optimum mesh, where the size of mesh in terms numbers of nodes or elements are
increased until no significant change in any concerned fundamental property

Fig. 5 Variation in friction factor for V-shape ribs with number of elements
(pressure, temperature, etc.) is obtained in the solution. Mesh independency test is
carried out with five different sizes of mesh, and analysis is performed on both rib-
configurations: V-shape and arc-shape for Re 15000. The size of the non-uniform
mesh is increased successively in seven different sets. The flow is a transitional and
early turbulent regime with Re value 3000-15000, which makes incompressible and
subsonic flow. Although the basic heat transfer and fluid flow properties vary with
time but to study the effect of only rib-roughness, a steady-state condition is assumed.
SST k-ω turbulence model is selected arbitrarily for the mesh-independent test.
Second-order upwind scheme is used for the discretization, and pressure and velocity
coupling is done by SIMPLEC. For the accuracy and stability in the solution of the
-9
governing equations, maximum residual values for the energy equation is 10 , and for
-6
continuity and other remaining equations it is kept as 10 .
The variation in the value of friction factor and Nusselt number with the size of the
mesh is shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 respectively. It can be observed that after 1543567
and 1488967 numbers of elements, the variation in the value of friction factor and
Nusselt number is insignificant for the V-shape. The number of elements are
sufficient to capture the velocity and temperature gradients. Hence, for V-shape ribs
set-6 is used for all numerical simulations. A similar test is carried out for the arc-
shape ribs.

Fig. 6 Variation in Nusselt number for V-shape ribs with no. of elements
2.4 Data reduction & Model selection with validation

The CFD tool gives result in the form of basic thermal-hydraulic properties of heat
transfer and fluid flow like; temperature, velocity, pressure, etc. The final results are
obtained in terms of dimensionless numbers, which generalize the problem by
converting individual parameter-effect into a combined effect of a group of
parameters with the help of known formulae.
Nusselt number calculation:
ℎ𝐷ℎ
𝑁𝑢 = (7)
𝑘
𝑄̇
ℎ= (8)
𝐴𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓 (𝑇𝑝 − 𝑇𝑓 )
𝑇𝑖 + 𝑇𝑜
𝑇𝑓 = (9)
2
4𝐴𝑐𝑠
𝐷ℎ = (10)
𝑃
Friction factor calculation:
𝛥𝑃𝐷ℎ
𝑓= (11)
2𝐿𝑉 2
THPP calculation:
𝑁𝑢𝑟
𝑁𝑢𝑠
𝑇𝐻𝑃𝑃 = 1⁄ (12)
𝑓 3
( 𝑟)
𝑓𝑠
Here, Nur and Nus are the Nusselt number for rib-roughened and smooth absorber
plates respectively. Similarly, fr and fs are the friction factor for the rib-roughened and
smooth absorber plates respectively. The ratio of Nur and Nus as Nusselt number
enhancement (Nuenh) and the ratio of fr and fs as frictional loss penalty (fpen) is also
considered for the performance evaluation of the SAH. The above mentioned
equations (7)-(12) consume various basic parameters to give results in the form of
more sophisticated and reliable variables such as: Nusselt number, friction factor and
THPP. The same variables are calculated via existing correlations: Dittus-Boelter for
heat transfer and Blasius for friction factor.
Dittus Boelter correlation:
Fig. 7 The friction factor variation for smooth plate with different turbulence model
𝑁𝑢 = 0.023𝑅𝑒 0.8 𝑃𝑟 0.4 (13)
Blasius correlation:
𝑓 = 0.079𝑅𝑒 −0.25 (14)
The selection of turbulence model for solving governing equations is very crucial
steps. A mesh-independent test might save some computing time and power but a

Fig. 8
The Nusselt no. variation for smooth plate with different turbulence model

suitable model decides the accuracy in the results by understating the physics of the
problem. So the last and very important stage in getting ready the numerical-setup is
model-selection with validation. SST k-ω, Std k-ω, RNG k-ε, Std k-ε are very popular
turbulent model. Each model has its area of application which ultimately depends on
the nature of the problem. So the best way for model-selection is hit & trial, where for
the similar geometrical configurations and boundary conditions every model is tried.
The value of Nu and f are obtained for each model with the help of equation (7) and
(11), and then these are compared with the values of the same obtained by equation
(13) and (14). The results are plotted graphically to check what turbulence-model
represent results closer to the results by existing correlations. The Fig. 7 and Fig. 8
show that the results by SST k-ω model are within 10% agreement hence the
numerical results are also validated and the same model is used for all the future
calculations of both V-shape and arc-shape ribs.

2.5 Experimental set up

The numerical results are experimentally validated with a similar duct shape-size
and working under similar boundary conditions The apparatuses of experimental set
up consist of blower, electric heater, GI customized designed entry duct, venturimeter,
wooden rectangular duct, micro-manometer, variable transformer for electric heater
and blower separately, voltmeter, U-tube manometer, thermocouples Fig. 9.

Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of the experimental setup

The duct has inner cross section dimensions as 2440 mm × 300 mm × 20 mm

Fig. 10. The dimension of the entry, exit and length test section are provided as 640
mm (5√𝑊 × 𝐻), 300 mm (2.5√𝑊 × 𝐻), and 1500 mm respectively which has been
considered in accordance with ASHRAE standards 93, 2003[45]. On a 5 mm thick
asbestos sheet, by combination of series and parallel loops of heating wire an electric
heater having a size of 1500 mm × 330 mm is installed.
A mica sheet of 2 mm thickness was placed over electric heater wire to get uniform
radiation between the electric heater and absorber plate. 3 phase variable transformer
2
of 10 A rating is used to vary the heat flux from 0-1000 W/m . The insulating
material used to minimise the losses of heat from the upper side of the heater
assembly is glass wool (placed inside the 12 mm thick panel of wood). Leakproof is
done using plaster of Paris, which fills in the gap of wood, provides insulation and
prevent it from catching fire Fig. 11. Twenty-five washer K type thermocouples
0
(accuracy of ± 2.2 C) are mounted on the test section in order to measure the plate
temperature Fig. 12, and to measure temperature inside the duct for air,

Fig. 10 Cross-sectional view of the SAH-duct

6 thermocouples have been used. The mass flow rate of air is measured by calibrated
venturimeter connected with a U-tube manometer. The flow is controlled using a
voltage transformer connected with the blower. The thermocouple output is indicated
0
by Six digital eight-channel temperature indicators (4-20 mA, least count 0.1 C, and
0 0
accuracy 1 C/0.1 C).
 Fig. 11 Experimental setup in laboratory

The thermocouples are attached to the aluminium sheet so that heat directly from
the heater plate cannot affect the thermocouple temperature, and it can sense only
sheet temperature. The pressure drop across the test section is measured with the help
of micro-manometer resolution of 0.1 Pa and accuracy ±1 Pa. The duct is the main
part of the experimental setup. Readings are taken after steady-state (no change in
reading for 14-15 minutes) is achieved. Reynolds number is changed via variable
transformer for the blower.

Fig. 12 The location of thermocouples on absorber plate

3. Results and discussions

The previous section was dedicated to developing a numerical setup that can give
approximate results with maximum possible accuracy similar to an experimental
setup. The simulations for both types of ribs within the transitional flow regime (Re
3000-15000) are conducted with the developed numerical model.

3.1 V-shape ribs with gaps

The V-shape ribs in gas turbine cooling blades were first time used by Han et al. 1991
and 1992[15,16]. Momin et al. 2002[21] first introduced this rib-roughness type in the
solar air heater. Karwa et al. 2003[22] then subsequently compared these results with
the inclined and transverse ribs. Last fifteen years have seen an exponential rise in the
study on different modifications of V-shape ribs: V-up, V-down, with gaps and with
staggered ribs. Two counter-rotating secondary flows are produced by V-shape ribs
and vortices along the rib Fig. 13, that meet either at the apex or the sidewalls
depending on the V-down or V-up types of ribs respectively. However, a study [22]
suggests that V-down perform better than V-up ribs; hence, only V-down ribs are
investigated. In V-down ribs, the secondary flows and vortices take heat from
absorber plate then moves towards the apex, later mix with and transfer heat to the
main flow. But, the secondary flow has to travel a long distance, which increases its
temperature Fig. 14, decreases its heat carrying capacity and ultimately increases the
temperature of the apex zone. The gap in between the length of the limb provides
early mixing of secondary flow with the airflow. Secondary flow is accelerated
through the gap, which increases its strength. A vast literature review suggests that the
0
researchers unanimously agreed on the angle of attack (α) 60 , relative roughness pitch
10, relative rib roughness 0.043, and relative gap width (g/e) 1 for the V-shape ribs.
Hence, the same rib-dimensions are kept constant in this study as authors see no point
of re-investigation of the well-accepted values of rib-geometry.

3.2 Arc-shape ribs with gaps

The effect of the arc shape ribs with gaps is quite similar to the V-shape ribs with
gaps Fig. 15 and Fig. 16, except, the arc-shape ribs have gradually changing slope of
the limb. The transverse, inclined and V-shape repeated-ribs have a long legacy of the
investigation by many prominent researchers and have been applied successfully in
the turbo-machinery, cooling channel passage, etc. Arc-shape ribs was introduced first
time by Sharad et al. 2009[25] through a numerical investigation. The successive
advancement in transverse to inclined ribs is due to ease of secondary flow. The
inclined and V-shape ribs induce number of secondary flow with easy passage
towards the centreline-flow. The V-shape with gaps causes early mixing and
increment in the strength of secondary flow. What are the advantages the arc-shape
ribs has over the V-shape rib? An effort is made to answer this question in the next
subsection.

3.3 A comparative study with experimental validation

The above question motivated present authors to carry out a comparative investigation
between ribs of arc shape and V-shape with a gap. All rib-dimensions are well
investigated in past studies and have well-accepted optimum values; hence, these are
kept constant as given in Table 1. The simulations are run for Re 3000-15000 for both
the ribs installed on the absorber plate of a SAH having identical shape, size, working
under identical boundary conditions as explained in the previous section so that a fair
and unbiased comparison can be drawn based on their relative performance.

Fig. 13 The streamline contour for V-shape ribs at Re 3000

Fig. 14 The temperature contour for V-shape ribs at Re 3000

Fig. 15 The temperature contour for arc-shape ribs at Re 3000

 Fig. 16 The streamline contour for arc-shape ribs at Re 3000

Fig. 17 Friction factor variation for V-shape and arc-shape rib with Re by numerical
and experimental investigation
Fig. 18 Nusselt no. variation for V-shape and arc-shape rib with Re by numerical and
experimental investigation

Fig. 19 THPP variation for V-shape and arc-shape rib with Re by numerical and
experimental investigation

The deviations in numerical and experimental results in terms of friction factor,

Nusselt number and THPP of arc-shape and V-shape ribs have been shown in Fig. 17,
Fig. 18, and Fig. 19 respectively. The friction factor decreases while Nusselt number
increases with Reynolds number. And the change is more pronounced at lower
Reynolds number. The deviation in results cannot be stated in single percentage value.
The deviation in both type of studies vary with Reynolds number as shown in these
figures. However, the range of deviation was 4-12%, minimum for lower Reynolds
number and maximum for higher Reynolds number (Re>9000). This deviation is due
to many reasons: In numerical studies beside absorber plate all other sides are smooth
surface, while in experimental setup these surfaces are made by wood with sunmica-
sheet covering which cannot give perfectively smooth surface. In numerical studies it
is assumed that there is zero heat loss outside the setup, while in experimental setup,
glass wool and plywood cannot provide perfect thermal insulation

Experimental investigation is carried out to compare the numerical results. Higher

values of THPP are obtained for arc-shape and V-shape ribs as compared to a smooth
plate. But it is observed that V-shape rib performs better than arc-shape rib for entire
range of Reynolds Number. The V-shape ribs have maximum frictional loss penalty
4.05 and Nusselt number enhancement 3.4 at Re 3000. The arc-shape ribs have
maximum frictional loss penalty 3.94 and Nusselt number enhancement 2.4 for Re
3000. The maximum THPP for the V-shape ribs and arc shape ribs are 2.21 and 1.5
respectively at Re 3000.

4. Conclusions

Based on data rendered by experimental and numerical analysis, a conclusion can be

drawn which suggests that when compared to arc shaped ribs, V-shape ribs exhibit
better performance under all boundary conditions. The V-shape ribs have the
advantage in terms of their geometrical shape over the arc-shape rib which guides the
secondary flow and vortices in such a way that it creates maximum turbulence which
augments the transfer of heat from the absorber plate as a consequence of better
mixing. Gain in Nusselt Number up to 3.5 times for V-shaped ribs and 2.5 times for
arc-shaped ribs once compared to a smooth plate has been observed experimentally at
Reynolds no. of 15000 and the results were found to be in agreement with the results
predicted numerically.

Acknowledgement:
The authors wish to record their indebtedness to Manipal University Jaipur for
opportunities, facilities, and endowment fund EF/2016/05-03 granted for carrying out
the research.

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