EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT OF FLAT-PLATE SOLAR AIR HEATERS

The effect of parallel barriers on the collector efficiency of Bat-pla te solar air heaters has been investigated theoretically and experimen tally. The barriers were placed with uniform spacing and in parallel, thereby dividing the air channel (collector) into parallel subchannels (subcollectors) of the same size. These subcollectors were connected in series so that air flowed through them in sequentially reversed dir ections. Experimental studies were performed for different locations o f the barriers. The theoretical predictions agree reasonably well with experimental results. The optimal barrier location for maximum collec tor efficiency is the center line of the collector. The collector effi ciency increases theoretically as the number of barriers increases. Co pyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited.