Heat transfer and friction in rectangular solar air heater duct having spherical and inclined rib protrusions as roughness on absorber plate

In this work, an experimental investigation on heat and fluid flow characteristics of artificially roughened solar air heater duct has been carried out. The roughness and operating parameters covered a range of Reynolds number (Re) from 2000 to 20000, relative roughness pitch (P/e) from 15 to 30, relative rib length (r/g) from 0.4 to 1.0, and relative rib pitch (Pr/P) from 0.2 to 0.8. Other parameters, i.e., relative roughness height (e/D), angle of attack (α), and relative roughness gap are kept constant. Results show that the considerable enhancement in Nusselt number and Thermo-hydraulic performance has been obtained with an increase in friction factor using roughened surface.