Experimental studies on solar reusable can air heating system integrated with latent heat storage

The present study investigates the performance of a solar aluminium can air heater (SCAH) both with and without latent heat storage (LHS). The experimental setup involved fabricating a solar air heater using recyclable aluminium cans and integrating latent thermal heat storage (LTHS) with paraffin wax as the phase-changing material. Experiments were conducted with three distinct mass flow rates: 0.015 kg s⁻¹, 0.022 kg s⁻¹, and 0.036 kg s⁻¹. The research was carried out in Tadepalle, Andhra Pradesh (16.4799° N, 80.6175° E), on clear days in March and April of 2023. Comparative analysis reveals that the SCAH incorporating LTHS demonstrates higher efficiency and exits air temperatures compared to the SCAH without a thermal storage system. As the mass flow rate increases, the efficiency gap between SCAH with and without PCM reduces. Among the three trials, the SCAH with PCM exhibited the maximum efficiency at a mass flow rate of 0.036 kg s⁻¹.