In this work, a flat-plate solar air heater (FSAH) and a tubular solar air heater (TSAH) were designed and tested numerically. The work investigates the effect of increasing the contact area between the flowing air and the absorber surface of each heater and predicts the expected results before the fabrication of the experimental rig. Three-dimensional two models were designed and simulated by the ANSYS-FLUENT 16 Program. The solar irradiation and ambient air temperature were measured experimentally on December 1st 2022, at the weather conditions of Baghdad City- Iraq, at three air mass flow rates, 0.012 kg/s, 0.032 kg/s, and 0.052 kg/s. The numerical results showed the advantage in the thermal performance of the TSAH in comparison to the FSAH, represented by better air temperature difference, better heat transfer from the absorber to air, and better thermal efficiency. The TSAH has a higher thermal efficiency than the FSAH by 7 %, 19 % °C, and 22 % at 0.012 kg/s, 0.032 kg/s, and 0.052 kg/s, respectively. The improvement of the thermal characteristics of the TSAH can be referred to as the increment in the heat transfer contact area between the absorber and the flowing air.
In solar-thermal adsorption/desorption processes, it is not always possible to preserve equal operating times for the adsorption/desorption modes due to the fluctuating supply nature of the source which largely affects the system’s operating conditions. This paper seeks to examine the impact of adopting unequal adsorption/desorption times on the entire cooling performance of solar adsorption systems. A cooling system with silica gel–water as adsorbent-adsorbate pair has been built and tested under the climatic condition of Iraq. A mathematical model has been established to predict the system performance, and the results are successfully validated via the experimental findings. The results show that, the system can be operational
... Show MoreA numerical model for Polypropylene 575 polymer melts flow along the solid conveying screw of a single screw extruder under constant heat flux using ANSYS-FLUENT 17.2 software has been conducted. The model uses the thermophysical properties such as Viscosity, thermal conductivity, Specific heat and density of polypropylene 575 that measured as a function of temperature, and residence time data for process simulation. The numerical simulation using CFD models for single screw extruder and the polymer extrusion was analysed for parameters such as (thermal conductivity, specific heat, density and viscosity) reveals a high degree of similarity to experimental data measured. The most important outcome of this study is that geometrical, parame
... Show MoreThis study numerically intends to evaluate the effects of arc-shaped fins on the melting capability of a triplex-tube confinement system filled with phase-change materials (PCMs). In contrast to situations with no fins, where PCM exhibits relatively poor heat response, in this study, the thermal performance is modified using novel arc-shaped fins with various circular angles and orientations compared with traditional rectangular fins. Several inline and staggered layouts are also assessed to maximize the fin’s efficacy. The effect of the nearby natural convection is further investigated by adding a fin to the bottom of the heat-storage domain. Additionally, the Reynolds number and temperature of the heat-transfer fluid (HTF) are e
... Show MorePolarization modulation plays an important role in polarization encoding in quantum key distribution. By using polarization modulation, quantum key distribution systems become more compact and more vulnerable as one laser source is used instead of using multiple laser sources that may cause side-channel attacks. Metasurfaces with their exceptional optical properties have led to the development of versatile ultrathin optical devices. They are made up of planar arrays of resonant or nearly resonant subwavelength pieces and provide complete control over reflected and transmitted electromagnetic waves opening several possibilities for the development of innovative optical components. In this work, the Si nanowire metasurface grating polarize
... Show Morelarization modulation plays an important role in polarization encoding in quantum key distribution. By using polarization modulation, quantum key distribution systems become more compact and more vulnerable as one laser source is used instead of using multiple laser sources that may cause side-channel attacks. Metasurfaces with their exceptional optical properties have led to the development of versatile ultrathin optical devices. They are made up of planar arrays of resonant or nearly resonant subwavelength pieces and provide complete control over reflected and transmitted electromagnetic waves opening several possibilities for the development of innovative optical components. In this work, the Si nanowire metasurface
... Show MoreThe ejector refrigeration system is a desirable choice to reduce energy consumption. A Computational Fluid Dynamics CFD simulation using the ANSYS package was performed to investigate the flow inside the ejector and determine the performance of a small-scale steam ejector. The experimental results showed that at the nozzle throat diameter of 2.6 mm and the evaporator temperature of 10oC, increasing boiler temperature from 110oC to 140oC decreases the entrainment ratio by 66.25%. At the boiler temperature of 120oC, increasing the evaporator temperature from 7.5 to 15 oC increases the entrainment ratio by 65.57%. While at the boiler temperature of 120oC and
... Show MoreThe performance of single and two stage solar concentrator were studied ' " The ratio of the primary to the secondary mirrors diameter is taking to be 0.5, depending on the theoretical calculation for the accumulated energy by the concentrator with ratio between 0.0 to 0.9. The design of the systems were designed and examined by using a ray-tracing program. The efficiency of the single and the two stage concentrators are calculated and compared with and without cooling systems.
In this work, the effect of vortex shedding on the solar collector performance of the parabolic trough solar collector (PTSC) was estimated experimentally. The effect of structure oscillations due to wind vortex shedding on solar collector performance degradation was estimated. The performance of PTSC is evaluated by using the useful heat gain and the thermal instantaneous efficiency. Experimental work to simulate the vortex shedding excitation was done. The useful heat gain and the thermal efficiency of the parabolic trough collector were calculated from experimental measurements with and without vortex loading. The prototype of the collector was fabricated for this purpose. The effect of vortex shedding at different operation condition
... Show MoreAn electrocoagulation process has been used to eliminate the chemical oxygen demand (COD) from wastewaters discharged from the Al-Muthanna petroleum refinery plant. In this process, a circular aluminum bar was used as a sacrificial anode, and hallow cylinder made from stainless steel was used as a cathode in a tubular batch electrochemical Reactor. Impacts of the operating factors like current density (5-25mAcm-2), NaCl addition at concentrations (0-2g/l), and pH at values (3-11) on the COD removal efficiency were studied.
Results revealed that the increase in current density increases the COD removal efficiency, whereas an increase
Continuous escalation of the cost of generating energy is preceded by the fact of scary depletion of the energy reserve of the fossil fuels and pollution of the environment as developed and developing countries burn these fuels. To meet the challenge of the impending energy crisis, renewable energy has been growing rapidly in the last decade. Among the renewable energy sources, solar energy is the most extensively available energy, has the least effect on the environment, and is very efficient in terms of energy conversion. Thus, solar energy has become one of the preferred sources of renewable energy. Flat-plate solar collectors are one of the extensively-used and well-known types of solar collectors. However, the effectiveness of the coll
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