Experimental investigation of baffle inclination on the efficiency of a square-baffled solar air heater

Due to insufficient heat transfer between the absorber or collector plate and the air, solar air heaters (SAHs) have low collector efficiency. Various forms of artificial roughness increase the air heater’s thermal efficiency. The goal of the current project is to use a square-shaped baffled to conduct an experimental analysis of the SAH. In this work, the baffle angle is modified to determine the ideal angle for the square-shaped baffles to provide the most effective thermal performance. The range of baffle angles is 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°, in that number. Every baffle angle in the experiments uses a mass flow rate of 0.02 kg/s to compare the performance. The results indicate that a baffle angle of 60° performs better than an angle of 30°, although the difference in performance between the two is not as considerable. The 60° baffle angle offers significantly better performance than the other angles, which include 0, 15, 45, and 90°. Compared to the other baffle angle studied, it provides a greater maximum average outlet temperature of 60.4°C, a maximum average thermal efficiency of 55.9%, and a maximum average thermo-hydraulic efficiency of 40.2%. This system’s behavior in terms of the economy and environment is also examined, demonstrating enhanced performance in both aspects.