Performance Analysis of Conventional and Variable Header Thermosyphon Solar Water Heating System Thulasi S.*, Dr. Jaisankar S.** *Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College of Engineering, Tamilnadu, India **Department of Mechanical Engineering, Starlion College of Engineering and Technology, Tamilnadu, India Online published on 14 October, 2016. Abstract The effects of Nusselt number, friction factor and thermal performance are discussed by introducing the variable header in a solar water heater. The Experimentation has been carried out with conventional and variable header solar water heating systems. The Experimentation has been conducted under natural circulation with Reynolds number range of 183–563. The result revealed that the average Nusselt number is 3.86% higher in variable header compared to conventional one. Similarly the average thermal efficiency is 7.38% higher than the conventional header. The experimental Nusselt number, friction factor are compared with fundamental equations, the deviation falls within ± 8.25% and ± 8.39% respectively. The experimental results validated with CFD analysis and deviation falls within ± 16.57%. Top Keywords Variable Header, Conventional Header, average Nusselt Number, average friction factor, CFD analysis. Top |