Experimental analysis on thermal performance of a solar air collector with longitudinal fins in a region of Biskra, Algeria

This paper presents the experimentally investigated thermal performance of a single pass solar air heater with fins attached. Longitudinal fins were used inferior to the absorber plate to increase the heat exchange and render the flow fluid in the channel uniform. The effects of mass flow rate of air on the outlet temperature, the heat transfer in the thickness of the solar collector and thermal efficiency were studied. Experiments were performed for an air mass flow rate of 0.012 kg/s. Maximum efficiency was obtained by using five longitudinal fins and without using fins. The maximum efficiency levels obtained for the 0.012 kg/s with and without fins were 40.02% and 34.92% respectively. A comparison of the results of the solar collector with and without fins shows a substantial enhancement in thermal efficiency.