Abstract: Solar air heaters have emerged as an efficient and sustainable solution for harnessing solar energy to meet heating requirements in various applications. This study presents a numerical simulation approach to analyze the performance and optimize the design parameters of a solar air heater. The simulation is based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques, enabling accurate modeling of the complex heat transfer phenomena occurring within the system. The numerical model incorporates the fundamental principles of fluid flow, heat transfer, and solar radiation absorption to predict the thermal performance of the solar air heater. The geometry of the air heater, including the absorber plate, duct design, and insulation materials, is discredited into a computational grid to solve the governing equations. The simulation accounts for factors such as solar radiation intensity, ambient temperature, airflow velocity, and inlet air properties to calculate the temperature distribution and heat transfer rates. By conducting a parametric study using the numerical model, various design parameters are investigated, including the dimensions of the duct, the inclination angle of the absorber plate, and the properties of the heat-absorbing materials. The simulation results provide insights into the impact of these parameters on the system's thermal efficiency, heat transfer performance, and overall energy output. Furthermore, optimization techniques such as genetic algorithms or response surface methodology are employed to identify the optimal configuration of the solar air heater. This optimization process aims to maximize the thermal efficiency and heat transfer rates while considering practical constraints such as cost and space limitations. The proposed numerical simulation serves as a powerful tool for engineers, researchers, and designers involved in the development and improvement of solar air heating systems. It enables a comprehensive evaluation of the system's performance under various operating conditions and facilitates the exploration of innovative design strategies to enhance energy efficiency and sustainability.
Keywords: Solar air heater, numerical simulation, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), heat transfer, optimization, thermal efficiency.