CFD-Based Simulation and Analysis of Hydrothermal Aspects in Solar Channel Heat Exchangers with Various Designed Vortex Generators
- Mohamed Salmi1,2, Younes Menni3, Ali J. Chamkha4,5,*, Houari Ameur6, Rachid Maouedj7, Ahmed Youcef7
1 Department of Physics, University of M’sila, M’sila, 28000, Algeria
2 Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of Materials, University of M’sila, M’sila, 28000, Algeria
3 Unit of Research on Materials and Renewable Energies, Department of Physics, Abou Bekr Belkaid University, Tlemcen, 13000, Algeria
4 Faculty of Engineering, Kuwait College of Science and Technology, Doha District, Kuwait
5 Center of Excellence in Desalination Technology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
6 Department of Technology, University Center of Naama, Naama, 45000, Algeria
7 Unit´e de Recherche en Energies Renouvelables en Milieu Saharien, URERMS, Centre de D´eveloppement des Energies Renouvelables, CDER, Adrar, 01000, Algeria
* Corresponding Author: Ali J. Chamkha. Email:
2 Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of Materials, University of M’sila, M’sila, 28000, Algeria
3 Unit of Research on Materials and Renewable Energies, Department of Physics, Abou Bekr Belkaid University, Tlemcen, 13000, Algeria
4 Faculty of Engineering, Kuwait College of Science and Technology, Doha District, Kuwait
5 Center of Excellence in Desalination Technology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
6 Department of Technology, University Center of Naama, Naama, 45000, Algeria
7 Unit´e de Recherche en Energies Renouvelables en Milieu Saharien, URERMS, Centre de D´eveloppement des Energies Renouvelables, CDER, Adrar, 01000, Algeria
* Corresponding Author: Ali J. Chamkha. Email:
Received 14 July 2020; Accepted 09 September 2020; Issue published 22 December 2020
Abstract
The hydrothermal behavior of air inside a solar channel heat exchanger equipped with various shaped ribs is
analyzed numerically. The bottom wall of the exchanger is kept adiabatic, while a constant value of the temperature
is set at the upper wall. The duct is equipped with a flat rectangular fin on the upper wall and an upstream
V-shaped baffle on the lower wall. Furthermore, five hot wall-attached rib shapes are considered: trapezoidal,
square, triangular pointing upstream (type I), triangular pointing downstream (type II), and equilateral-triangular
(type III) cross sections. Effects of the flow rates are also inspected for various Reynolds numbers in the turbulent
regime (1.2 × 104–3.2 × 104). The highest performance (η) value is given for the II-triangular rib case in all Re
values, while the square-shaped ribs show a significant decrease in the η along the achieved Re range. The η value
at Remax is 2.567 for the II-triangular roughness case. Compared with the other simulated cases, this performance
is decreased by about 3.768% in the case of I-triangular ribs, 15.249% in the case of III-triangular ribs, 20.802% in
the case of trapezoidal ribs, while 27.541% in the case of square ribs, at the same Remax. Also, a comparison is made
with air-heat exchangers that have non-rough walls and contain cross-shaped VGs presented previously, in order
to highlight the effectiveness of the rough surface presence in the baffled and finned channels. The obtained results
indicated that the triangular-shaped rib (type II) has the most significant hydrothermal behavior than the other
cases. This indicates the necessity of roughness heat transfer surfaces for finned and baffled channels to improve
significantly the performance of the air-heat exchangers they contain.
Keywords
CFD; heat exchanger; vortex generators; ribs; hydrothermal aspects
Cite This Article
Salmi, M., Menni, Y., Chamkha, A. J., Ameur, H., Maouedj, R. et al. (2021). CFD-Based Simulation and Analysis of Hydrothermal Aspects in Solar Channel Heat Exchangers with Various Designed Vortex Generators. CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, 126(1), 147–173.
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