Augmented thermal effectiveness in solar air receiver with flapped curved winglets: Experimental and numerical analysis

Thermal effectiveness was examined on a solar air receiver equipped with a new lengthwise vortex generator, namely a flapped curved winglet (FCW) mounted on the absorber, utilizing experimental and numerical approaches. Two arrays were employed to assemble two FCWs on the absorber at an angle of attack (α = 59.5°). The FCWs' V-tips were orientated upstream (VU-FCW) and downstream (VD-FCW). Air served as the working fluid, entering a constantly heat-fluxed channel at Reynolds numbers (Re) varying from 5280 to 22,510. Three relative winglet pitches (P_R = P/H = 1.0–2.0), five winglet-mounted flap angles (β = 0° - 90°), and one winglet blockage ratio (b/H=B_R = 0.6) were among the major factors. According to the findings, lowering P_R and β greatly enhances the f (friction factor) and Nu (Nusselt number) of the two FCW arrays. The FCW with P_R = 1.0 and β = 0° has the largest Nu and f values, approximately 8.3 and 77.39 times bigger than the smooth flat channel, as per the test data. The maximal thermal effectiveness factors (TEF) of the VD-FCW and VU-FCW were approximately 2.83 and 2.61, respectively, at comparable β = 45° and P_R = 1.5. The f and Nu correlations in employing FCW were also provided. A 3D computational analysis employing the realizable k-ε turbulence model was conducted to examine heat transmission and flow patterns, with the corresponding measured data validating the expected results. The numerical and measured data sets yielded consistent results, and the FCW's heat transmission mechanism was also described.