Exergy-Based Performance Assessment of a Solar Air Heater Equipped with Zig-Zag Structured Baffles

Authors

  • Jaya Bohra Department of Thermcal Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University, Dehradun 248007, Uttarakhand, India
  • Vijay Singh Bisht Department of Thermcal Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University, Dehradun 248007, Uttarakhand, India
  • Prabhakar Bhandari Department of Mechanical Engineering, K.R. Mangalam University, Gurugram 122103, Haryana, India; Centre of Excellence-Cyber Security, School of Engineering and Technology, K.R. Mangalam University, Gurugram 122103, Haryana, India
  • Kshitij Pandey Department of Mechanical Engineering, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun 248007, Uttarakhand, India
  • Sandeep Singh O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, 131001, Haryana, India
  • Ankur Singh Bist CSE, Graphic Era Hill University, Bhimtal Campus263132, Uttarakhand, India
  • Lalit Ranakoti Departmentof Mechanical Engineering, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun248002, Uttarakhand,India
  • Shivasheesh Kaushik Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shivalik College of Engineering Dehradun248197, Uttarakhand,India
  • Kapil Kumar Sharmag Departmentof Mechanical Engineering, Graphic Era Deemed to be University, Dehradun248002, Uttarakhand,India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24425/ather.2026.158674

Keywords

Zig-zag structured baffles, Solar air heater, Absorber plate, Thermal attributes, Exergy investigation

Abstract

By giving the absorber plate artificial roughness, the efficacy of a solar air heater may be increased. A mathematical study has been performed on solar air heaters roughened with Z-shaped baffles. With the help of MATLAB code, an exergy analysis, estimation of exergetic losses and efficiency have been made. The effect of relative pitch ratio for 45° zig-zag structured baffles with a fixed relative blockage height of 0.3 on various exergy parameters has also been studied. The current study has been done for Reynolds numbers ranging from 3000 to 14 000 and for 1100 W/m² of solar radiation. It is deduced that with the increase in Reynolds number, the effective efficiency enhances up to a certain point, beyond which it begins to decline. Moreover, the pitch ratio of 1.5 has shown the best performance up to the Reynolds number of 5000, while at higher Reynolds numbers, the pitch ratio of 3 has produced better results.

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Published

2026-07-24

How to Cite

Bohra, Jaya, et al. “Exergy-Based Performance Assessment of a Solar Air Heater Equipped With Zig-Zag Structured Baffles”. Archives of Thermodynamics, vol. 47, no. 2, July 2026, pp. 151-7, doi:10.24425/ather.2026.158674.

Issue

Vol. 47 No. 2 (2026)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Archives of Thermodynamics

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