Abstract
Passive solar air heaters, such as solar chimneys and Trombe Walls, rely on solar-induced buoyancy-driven (natural) convection to produce the flow of air. Although buoyancy-driven convection is well understood for a single vertical plate, buoyancy-driven convection in an asymmetrically-heated channel is more problematic, and in particular, the effects of the channel height on the flow rate and heat transfer. This paper reports on experiments on test rigs resembling lightweight passive solar air-heating collectors. The test rigs were of heights 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 m, with adjustable channel depths (20–150 mm) and heat inputs (up to 1000 W/m2).
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1676-1684 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Solar Energy |
Volume | 84 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Sep 2010 |
Keywords
- energy systems
- renewable energy
- solar energy