The additive manufacturing technology is best suited for the use of nanocomposite materials. They have the remarkable capacity to adapt to changing conditions by altering their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Additive manufacturing (AM) creates three-dimensional objects by layering materials together. Nanocomposite materials have a greater surface to volume ratio in the reinforced phase, making them suitable for AM. Polymer nanocomposites, nylon-12, nylon-6, graphene nanoplates, polyamide 12 are some materials for AM enhancing the product quality. TiC/Ti nanocomposite, Ceramic-based nanocomposite, Polymer/carbon nano tube nanocomposites, PA6/Hectorite clay nanocomposites are being discussed in briefly. SLA, 3DP, SLS, EP, FDM, etc. are the techniques of for manufacturing of products in additive manufacturing. Fundamentals of seven AM processes, its mechanical properties are discussed in this chapter. This chapter also goes through a few of the flaws. The use of nanomaterials in the area of AM has a lot of promise, and there is a growing interest among academics and industry to look for new advancements. New creative nanomaterials and AM techniques are still being researched, and the collaborative energy between these two fascinating areas will shape the future of AM and nanocomposites.

The solar air heater’s thermal efficiency is relatively poor owing to the flat collector surface. This article’s primary objective is to increase the collectors’ thermal efficiency of rectangular ducts of solar air heater by adopting a novel V-shaped twisted rib element with staggering orientation. Experimentations are performed for various flow Reynolds numbers ranging from 3 k to 21 k, roughness pitch-to-rib height ratio ranging from 7 to 11, and staggering distance-to-rib height ratio between 2 and 6. Dispersion of Nusselt number over the collector surface is achieved through the liquid crystal thermography technique. Among the varied rib and flow constraints, it is observed that a maximum thermal performance enhancement index of 2.69 is observed, with the optimum value of the roughness parameter at a rib pitch-to-height ratio of 9 and a staggering distance-to-height ratio of 4. Mathematical correlation has also been developed using a regression model to estimate the Nusselt number in terms of non-dimensional roughness parameters. The percentage deviation between the Nusselt number attained from established relationships and the investigational results is found to be giving very satisfactory outcomes. The thermal efficiency of the smooth surface is recognized at 41.64% which increases for the roughened surface of twisted V-ribs to 73.63%. Hence employing twisted V-ribs as an artificial roughness element no doubt increases the Nusselt number, thermohydraulic performance enhancement index, and thermal efficiency, but it also exerts less frictional power of solar air heater.

An effort is made to study the performance of a solar air heater having the absorber surface roughened by providing staggered, twisted, and V-shaped ribs roughness. The liquid crystal thermography technique is applied to get the Nu distribution over the surface. Experimentation is done for Reynolds number ranges from 3000 to 21,000, relative roughness to pitch ratio (P/e) from 7–11 and relative staggered distance (d/e) of 2–6, for the fixed angle of attack (α), relative twist length (y/e), and relative roughness length (S/e). It is found that the maximum Nusselt number and friction factor augmentation are 3.43 and 2.57 times than that of the smooth duct. The maximum thermo-hydraulic performance (THP) value obtained is 2.69 for the P/e of 9 and d/e of 4. It can be inferred that staggered twisted V-shaped rib roughness helps to get the enhanced Nu with minimum friction penalty.