This investigation integrates experimental and numerical approaches to study a novel solar air heater aimed at achieving an efficient design for a solar collector suitable for drying applications under the meteorological conditions of Iraq. The importance of this investigation stems from the lack of optimal exploitation of solar energy reaching the solar collector, primarily attributable to elevated thermal losses despite numerous designs employed in such solar systems. Consequently, enhancing the thermal performance of solar collectors, particularly those employed in crop drying applications, stands as a crucial focal point for researchers within this domain. Two identical double-pass solar air heaters were designed and constructed for this research. Two types of copper foam sheets with different pore densities, specifically 10 PPI and 40 PPI, were used as absorber plates. The novel solar air heater was compared with a conventional solar air heater equipped with a flat absorber plate based on thermal performance. The effects of the mass flow rate, the air gap of the solar collector, and solar irradiation were examined on various parameters, including the outlet air temperature, solar collector efficiency, and pressure drop across the solar collectors. The results demonstrated that the double-pass solar air heater equipped with a 10 PPI porous absorber plate exhibited superior thermal performance compared to both the double-pass solar air heater with a 40 PPI absorber plate and the conventional absorber plates. Consequently, it can be considered suitable for drying applications. Furthermore, a comparison of the experimental findings with the results obtained from previous studies showed a good agreement.
In this work an experimental simulation is made to predict the performance of steady-state natural heat convection along heated finned vertical base plate to ambient air with different inclination angles and configurations of fin array. Two types of fin arrays namely vertical fins array and V-fins array on heated vertical base plate are used with different heights and spaces. The influence of inclination angle of the plate , configuration of fins array and fin geometrical parameters such as fin height and fin spacing on the temperature distribution, base convection heat transfer coefficient and average Nusselt number have been plotted and discussed. The experimental data are correlated to a formula between average Nusselt number versus R
... Show MoreA tunable band pass filter based on fiber Bragg grating sensor using an in-fiber Mach-Zender interferometer with dual micro-cavities is presented. The micro-cavity was formed by splicing together a conventional single-mode fiber and a solid core photonic crystal fiber (SCPCF) with simple arc discharge technique. Different parameters such as arc power, length of the SCPCF and the overlap gap between samples were considered to control the fabrication process. The ellipsoidal air-cavity between the two fibers forms Fabry-Perot cavity. The diffraction loss was very low due to short cavity length. Ellipsoidal shape micro-cavities were experimentally achieved parallel to the propagation axis having dimensions of (24.92 – 62.32) μm of width
... Show MoreGFRP was employed in constructions as an alternative to steel, which has many advantages like lightweight, large tensile strength and resist corrosion. Existing researches are insufficient in studying the influence of hybrid reinforced concrete composite columns encased by GFRP I-section (RCCCEG) and I-section steel (RCCCES). In this study twenty one (RC) specimens of a cross-section of 130 mm × 160 mm, with different length (long 1600 mm and short 750 mm) were encased by using I-section (steel and GFRP) and tested under various loading (concentric, eccentric and flexural loads). The test was focused on the influence of many parameters; load-carrying capacity, mode of failure, deformation and drawing an interaction diagram (N-
... Show MoreFilm condensation of steam on a vertical tube is investigated numerically and experimentally, in the present work. A mathematical model was set based on the basic conservation laws of mass and energy, Nusselts analysis of film condensation, and empirical equations available in the literature. Then, a simulation program in FORTRAN language was developed which simulates the film condensation of steam on a vertical tube. A complete steam tables subprogram was also developed and incorporated with the main program. The experimental work was carried out using a steam condensation test bench. The inlet and outlet cooling water temperatures, steam temperature and pressure, tube surface temperature at center, and co
... Show MoreReducing the drag force has become one of the most important concerns in the automotive industry. This study concentrated on reducing drag through use of some external modifications of passive flow control, such as vortex generators, rear under body diffuser slices and a rear wing spoiler. The study was performed at inlet velocity (V=10,20,30,40 m/s) which correspond to an incompressible car model length Reynolds numbers (Re=2.62×105, 5.23×105, 7.85×105 and 10.46×105), respectively and we studied their effect on the drag force. We also present a theoretical study finite volume method (FVM) of solvi
Water is the basis of the existence of all kinds of life, so obtaining it with good quality represents a challenge to human existence and development especially in the desert and remote cities because these areas contain small populations and water purification requires great materials and huge amounts of fossil fuels resulting pollution of the environment. Cheap and environmentally friendly desalination methods have been done by using solar distillations. Passive solar stills have low yields, so in this research, the problem is overcome by connecting four heat pipes which are installed on the parabolic concentrator reflector with passive solar still to increase the temperature of hot water to more than 90°C, as a resul
... Show MoreThis paper reports experimental and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling studies to investigate the effect of the swirl intensity on the heat transfer characteristics of conventional and swirl impingement air jets at a constant nozzle-to-plate distance ( L = 2 D). The experiments were performed using classical twisted tape inserts in a nozzle jet with three twist ratios ( y = 2.93, 3.91, and 4.89) and Reynolds numbers that varied from 4000 to 16000. The results indicate that the radial uniformity of Nusselt number (Nu) of swirl impingement air jets (SIJ) depended on the values of the swirl intensity and the air Reynolds number. The results also revealed that the SIJ that was fitted with an insert of y = 4.89, which correspo
... Show MoreEnhancement of the performance for hybrid solar air conditioning system was presented in this paper. The refrigerant temperature leaving the condenser was controlled using three-way valve, this valve was installed after the compressor to regulate refrigerant flow rate towards the solar system. A control system using data logger, sensors and computer was proposed to set the opening valve ratio. The function of control program using LabVIEW software is to obtain a minimum refrigerant temperature from the condenser outlet to enhance the overall COP of the unit by increasing the degree of subcooled refrigerant. A variable load electrical heater with coiled pipe was used instead of the solar collector and the storage tank to simulate the sola
... Show MoreExperimental study has been conducted for laminar natural convection heat transfer of air flow through a rectangular enclosure fitted with vertical partition. The partition was oriented parallel to the two vertical isothermal walls with different temperatures, while all the other surfaces of the enclosure were insulated. In this study a test rig has been designed and constructed to allow studying the effect of Rayleigh number, aperture height ratio, partition thickness, the position of aperture according to the side walls and according to the height, the position of the partition according to the hot wall, and partition inclination. The experiments were carried out with air as the working fluid for Rayleigh number range (5*107 – 1.3*10
... Show MoreAs the prices of the fuel and power had fluctuated many times in the last decade and new policies appeared and signed by most of the world countries to eliminate global warming and environmental impact on the earth surface and humanity exciting, an urgent need appeared to develop the renewable energy harnessing technologies on the short-term and long-term and one of these promising technologies are the vertical axis wind turbines, and mostly the combined types. The purpose of the present work is to combine a cavity type Savonius with straight bladed Darrieus to eliminate the poor self-starting ability for Darrieus type and low performance for Savonius type and for this purpose, a three-bladed Darrieus type with symmetric
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