Mechanical Engineering Department Holds Discussion for Master’s Thesis on “The Effect of Different Phase Change Materials on the Thermal Performance of a Solar Air Heater: An Experimental and Theoretical Study”

Mechanical Engineering Department Holds Discussion for Master’s Thesis on “The Effect of Different Phase Change Materials on the Thermal Performance of a Solar Air Heater: An Experimental and Theoretical Study”

A Master’s thesis titled “The Effect of Different Phase Change Materials on the Thermal Performance of a Solar Air Heater: An Experimental and Theoretical Study” was held for discussion at the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of Technology. The thesis, presented by Rana Mohammed Shaker, focused on evaluating the feasibility of a solar air heater (SAH) integrated with a latent heat storage (LHS) unit featuring varying melting points under identical ambient conditions. The study aimed to assess its application for domestic heating and rice crop drying in Iraq’s winter climate.

Numerical experiments were conducted on a solar air heater without phase change material (PCM) at four air flow rates (0.01, 0.02, 0.03, and 0.04 kg/s) and distinct air channel heights (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 meters) at mass flow rates of 0.01 and 0.04 kg/s, under a solar radiation of 502 W/m². The results demonstrated that increasing the mass flow rate enhances convective heat transfer to the air while simultaneously reducing the outlet air temperature. The optimal air channel height for the solar air heater depends on the mass flow rate and air velocity, whether high or low.

The discussion committee consisted of:

• Dr. Zainab Hasson Hassan(Chairperson)
• Prof. Dr. Wisam Abed Kattea(Member)
• Jenan Shaker Sherzaspanp(Member)

The thesis was supervised by Assist. Prof. Dr. Ali Lafta Kaied and Prof. Dr. Hassanain Mohammed Hussain.