Parametric Study of Active Solar Heating Using a Pebble Bed as a Thermal Collector and Storage Unit

In this study, pebble bed as an absorber and storage material was placed in a south facing, flat plate air-type solar collector at fixed tilt angle of (45°). The effect of this material and differ- ent parameters on collector efficiency has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. Two operation modes were employed to study the performance of the solar air heater. An inte- grated mode of continuous operation of the system during the period of (11:00 am – 3:00 pm) and non-integrated mode in which the system stored the solar energy through the day then used the stored energy during the period of (3:00 pm – 8:00 pm). The results of parametric study in case of continuous operating showed that the maximum average temperature difference of air between inlet and outlet sections observed on (0.018 kg/s) air mass flow rate were exceeded (17°C) and the maximum outlet temperature that got was exceeded (34°C) for the three months (December, January and February) of experiments. Average efficiency was ranged from 53% to 65%. In the case of storage and then operating, the maximum outlet air temperature was ranged from (27°C) up to (31°C) then decreased with spend of energy to reach (13°C) to (18°C) and the maximum storage energy was (165.14 W) for the porosity of (0.29) , height of (20 cm) and (0.01 kg/s) mass flow rate. The results also, showed that the solar air collector supplied a solar heating fraction (SHF) with an average of (0.65) for a meeting room (3 * 4 * 7 m) located in Baghdad as a case study

Performance Evaluation of Roughened Solar Air Heaters for Stretched Parameters

Artificial roughness applied to a Solar Air Heater (SAH) absorber plate is a popular technique for increasing its total thermal efficiency (ηt−th). In this paper, the influence of geometrical parameters of V-down ribs attached below the corrugated absorbing plate of a SAH on the ηt−th was examined. The impacts of key roughness parameters, including relative pitch p/e (6–12), relative height e/D (0.019–0.043), angles of attack α (30–75°), and Re (1000–20,000), were examined under real weather conditions. The SAH ηt−th roughened by V-down ribs was predicted using an in-house developed conjugate heat-transfer numerical model. The maximum SAH ηt−th was shown to be 78.8% as predicted under the steady-state conditions of Re = 20,000, solar irradiance G = 1000 W/m2, p/e = 8, e/D = 0.043, and α = 60. The result was 15.7% greater efficiency compared to the default smooth surface. Under real weather conditions, the ηt−th of the roughened SAH with single- and double-glass covers were 17.7 and 20.1%, respectively, which were higher than those of the smooth SAH

Analysis of wind turbine using QBlade software

Owing to the fast development in the energy field, the demands are increasing to improve energy efficiency and lifetime of wind turbine. The wind blades are considered as the most important and expensive part in the wind system. Therefore, it's important to understand deeply the behaviour of turbine blades. In this research paper, full details were presented to analyze and optimize the behaviour and performance of the blade of the small horizontal axis wind turbine (less than 1 KW). QBlade software was used to simulate the wind turbine blade during the working conditions. The mathematical formulations which used in QBlade software were based on the Blade Element Momentum method (BEM). It was studied deeply the effect of design parameters (Twist Angle and Chord length) on the behaviour and performance of the wind turbine. It was used SG6043 airfoil for 10 different sections of 1.17 m blade length. The obtained results were of high accuracy, and it was proved that the QBlade software is reliable to analyze the blades of wind turbine. The paper exhibits the necessary steps to build and optimize the blade of wind turbine, in addition to the features and advantages of the software

Design and Optimization of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Using QBlade

Wind energy is considered one of the most important sources of renewable energy in the world, because it contributes to reducing the negative effects on the environment. The most important types of wind turbines are horizontal and vertical axis wind turbines. This work presents the full details of design for vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) and how to find the optimal values of necessary factors. Additionally, the results shed light on the efficiency and performance of the VAWT under different working conditions. It was taken into consideration the variety of surrounding environmental conditions (such as density and viscosity of fluid, number of elements of the blade, etc.) to simulate the working of vertical wind turbines under different working conditions. Furthermore, the effect of the design factors was investigated such as the number and size of the blades on the behavior and performance of VAWT. It was assumed that the vertical wind blade works in different sites of Iraq. QBlade software (Version 8) was used to achieve the calculations and optimization processes to obtain the optimal design of vertical axis wind turbines that is suitable for the promising sites. The results proved that accurate results can be obtained by using QBlade software