Exergy analysis of single‐flow solar air collectors with different configurations of absorber plates

In the current study, an experimental analysis of exergy performance for different absorber plates is done. Three types of absorber plates are supplied with different fin arrangements with a variable air mass flow rate. The exergy analysis to evaluate the exergy performance of the solar air heaters uses experimental data for conventional and finned solar air collectors with different arrangements of fins. The main aim of the current study is to compare the exergy performance of the conventional solar air collector with those equipped with fins. The introducing of the fins in different arrangements enhances the absorber surface area, which leads to increased heat transfer. Also, fins induce air turbulence in the flow field, which improves the exergy performance of solar air collector. It is found that the exergy reduces and exergy efficiency enhances with increasing the airflow rate. The traditional flat absorber plate has undesirable exergy loss and exergy efficiency for all ranges of airflow rates. Thus, the flat plate collector presents the most substantial irreversibility, for which the exergy efficiency is the least. However, the results show that the exergy efficiency of inclined staggered turbulators is higher than that of in‐line and staggered turbulators. The optimal value of exergy efficiency is recorded at nearly 77% for the solar air collectors equipped with inclined staggered turbulators compared with other types of configurations.     

Performance of plastic solar air heating collectors with a porous absorber

The thermal performance of solar air heaters consisting of a porous textile absorber between two PVC foils has been investigated. The efficiency of the heaters depends strongly on the characteristics of the textile forming the absorber and on the back insulation. For an incident solar radiation of 687 W/m² at the collector's surface, a temperature rise of 16-6°C in the air flowing through the solar collector at a rate of 800 m³/h, was achieved, thus yielding an efficiency of nearly 71 percent. Further it was found that the linear approximation for the Hottel-Bliss equation leads to erroneous estimations for the collector's parameters when the absorber is porous; for the same type of collector with a denser textile as absorber, however, such an approximation yields, as usual, correct numerical values for the characteristic parameters of the collector.     

Thermal performance of air-heating solar collectors with thick, poorly conducting absorber plates

Expressions are derived for the efficiency and loss factors of a coverless, air-heating solar collector in which it is possible to assign finite values for the thickness and thermal conductivity of the absorber plate. In the geometry treated, air flow is beneath a flat absorber, and heat transfer is both steady state and one dimensional. The expressions are validated by outdoor measurements from a fullscale tile roof used as a collector and by indoor measurements from tile and metal roof sections tested in a heating simulator. For the tile roofs, the expressions presented give better agreement with experiment than do expressions based on the usual “thin plate” models since the absorber is thick and poorly conducting. Efficiency characteristics of the full-scale tile roof are also presented. Trapezoidally profiled metal panels are commonly used as a cladding for industrial buildings; it is shown that their performance as collectors may be described by a “fin and tube” model. Information is presented in a format that is useful for design and may be used in computer models of the thermal performance of solar-assisted buildings comprising these, or similar, collection devices.     

Thermohydraulic performance of solar air heaters with roughened absorber plates

Artificial roughness has been found to enhance the heat transfer from the absorber plate to the air in a solar air heater duct. However, this improvement is invariably accompanied by increased pumping power. In this work, the effect of roughness and operating parameters on the thermal as well as the hydraulic performance of roughened solar air heaters is discussed and the thermohydraulic performance of roughened solar air heaters is compared with that of conventional smooth solar air heaters. The optimum design and operating conditions have been determined. On the basis of thermohydraulic considerations it has been found that the systems operating in a specified range of Reynolds number show better thermohydraulic performance depending upon the insolation. A relationship between the system and operating parameters that combine to yield optimum performance has been developed.     

Size optimization of conventional solar collectors

An expression for the optimum length of a flat-plate solar collector that maximizes the life-cycle savings of the collector is derived. An expression has been obtained also for the optimal distribution of a finite amount of thermal insulation that minimizes the energy loss from the back side of a flat-plate solar collector.     

Thermo-hydraulic performance of solar air heaters having integral chamfered rib roughness on absorber plates

This paper presents results of an experimental investigation of the performance of solar air heaters with chamfered repeated rib-roughness on the airflow side of the absorber plates. The roughened elements have a relative roughness pitch of 4.58 and 7.09 while the rib chamfer angle is fixed at 15°. For the airflow duct depths of 21.8, 21.5 and 16 mm, the relative roughness heights for the three roughened plates used are 0.0197, 0.0256 and 0.0441, respectively. The airflow rate per unit area of absorber plate has been varied between 0.024 to 0.102 kgs⁻¹ m⁻² (flow Reynolds number ranges from 3750 to 16 350). The study shows substantial enhancement in thermal efficiency (10 to 40%) over solar air heaters with smooth absorber plates due to the enhancement in the Nusselt number (50% to 120%). The thermal efficiency enhancement is also accompanied by a considerable enhancement in the pumping power requirement due to the increase in the friction factor (80% to 290%). At low flow rates, corresponding to applications requiring air at a high temperature, the solar air heater with roughness elements having a high relative roughness height, yields a better performance. However, at high flow rates the increase in the pumping power is greater than the relative gain in the energy collection for a greater relative roughness height and, hence, the net gain is higher for smaller roughness heights. At still higher flow rates, the smooth duct air heater has better effective efficiency. A mathematical model for thermal performance prediction of solar air heaters with absorber plate having integral chamfered rib-roughness has been presented. The experimental and predicted values of thermal efficiency lie within ±7% with a standard deviation of ±5.8%.     

太阳能空气集热器吸热板结构优化及其数值模拟

文章提出了一种新型抛物线型吸热板结构的太阳能空气集热器,建立其数学模型和物理模型,运用ANSYS数值模拟软件,对不同入口流速和倾角下集热器内空气换热特性进行数值模拟。结果表明:随着流速的增加,3种吸热板集热器瞬时效率逐渐增加;随着倾角的增加,集热器瞬时效率先增加后减小,在倾角30°时最大;对比传统平板和三角波纹吸热板结构,抛物线型空气集热器具有较高的瞬时效率和较小的压损。     

Comparative study of air heating solar collectors

Three types of conventional solar air heater are designed such that their heat absorbing areas and the pressure drops across them are equal for equal air mass flow rates per unit collector area. The results of thermal performance tests conducted simultaneously on these collectors, under the same environmental conditions, are presented.     

Experimental investigation of thermal performance of solar air heater having different obstacles on absorber plates

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of the performance for a new flat plate solar air heater (SAH) with several obstacles (Type I, Type II, and Type III) and without obstacles (Type IV). The efficiencies, the heat gain factors and heat loss coefficients are determined for the collectors and comparisons were made among them. The experimental data along with the correlations obtained by linear regression are presented. The optimal value of efficiency was determined for the solar air heater with Type II absorbent plate in flow channel duct for all operating conditions and the collector supplied with obstacles appears significantly better than that without obstacles.     

Exergetic optimization of flat plate solar collectors

In this paper, an exergetic optimization of flat plate solar collectors is developed to determine the optimal performance and design parameters of these solar to thermal energy conversion systems. A detailed energy and exergy analysis is carried out for evaluating the thermal and optical performance, exergy flows and losses as well as exergetic efficiency for a typical flat plate solar collector under given operating conditions. In this analysis, the following geometric and operating parameters are considered as variables: the absorber plate area, dimensions of solar collector, pipes' diameter, mass flow rate, fluid inlet, outlet temperature, the overall loss coefficient, etc. A simulation program is developed for the thermal and exergetic calculations. The results of this computational program are in good agreement with the experimental measurements noted in the previous literature. Finally, the exergetic optimization has been carried out under given design and operating conditions and the optimum values of the mass flow rate, the absorber plate area and the maximum exergy efficiency have been found. Thus, more accurate results and beneficial applications of the exergy method in the design of solar collectors have been obtained.     

Relative cost-effectiveness of CPC reflector designs suitable for evacuated absorber tube solar collectors

Specular reflectors of the fixed CPC type are compared in terms of yearly energy collection and relative cost-effectiveness. The reflector designs used are designed for use with a circular-cylindrical evacuated tubular absorber, and a gap is allowed between reflector and absorber to accommodate the tubular glass envelope and evacuated space. Stainless steel, aluminum, and thin, back-silvered glass mirrors were modelled.The results show that the choice of acceptance angle of a reflector for use with a moderately priced evacuated tube at water heating temperatures is not critical; almost any reflector acceptance angle will do so long as the aperture is carefully chosen, and both North-South or East-West orientations have approximately similar performance. Under such conditions, other factors such as mirror self-cleaning and manufacturing ease may be decisive in the choice of design.At temperatures above 100°C or for high tube costs, an East-West reflector design of concentration >1.4 is strongly indicated.At the time of writing, polished stainless steel is as cost-effective a choice as any other for a mirror material, and is probably more durable and amenable to mass production.     

Relative cost-effectiveness of periodically adjusted solar collectors using evacuated absorber tubes

Periodically adjusted parabolic mirror/evacuated tube absorber combinations are evaluated using computer simulation methods. The results show that a 4–6X reflector adjusted 10–15 times per year, operating at 150°C, competes favourably in cost-effective terms with a fixed reflector CPC collector operating at 50°C. Periodically adjusted collectors are advocated for medium temperature industrial applications below 200°C.     

Performance analysis of new-design solar air collectors for drying applications

This paper presents a performance analysis of four types of air heating flat plate solar collectors: a finned collector with an angle of 75°, a finned collector with an angle of 70°, a collector with tubes, and a base collector. In this study, the first and second laws of efficiencies were determined for the collectors and comparisons were made among them. The results showed that the efficiency depends on the solar radiation and the construction of the solar air collectors. The temperature rise varied almost linearly with the incident radiation. The first law of efficiency changed between 26% and 80% for collector-I, between 26% and 42% for collector-II, between 70% and 60% for collector-III, and between 26% and 64% for collector-IV. The values of second law efficiency varied from 0.27 to 0.64 for all collectors? The highest collector efficiency and air temperature rise were achieved by the finned collector with angle of 75°, whereas the lowest values were obtained for the base collector. The effectiveness order of the collectors was determined as the finned collector with angle of 75°, the finned collector with angle of 70°, the collector with tubes, and the base collector.     

Drying of sweet basil with solar air collectors

In this study, sweet basil was dried and its drying parameters were investigated experimentally and theoretically by using newly developed solar air collectors. Proper temperatures were chosen to dry sweet basil and experiments were carried out at different flow rates. At the end of drying experiments, it was determined that total mass of sweet basil decreased from 0.250 kg to 0.029 kg. In drying sweet basil, dimensionless moisture ratios were decreased rapidly to 300 min for 0.012 kg/s, 360 min for 0.026 kg/s, and 450 min for 0.033 kg/s. It was observed that the efficiency of collector was increased at the same rate with air flow changed between 29 and 63%. Among the models in the literature, Page Model was found to suit best for drying sweet basil. Furthermore, a novel mathematical model rendering more valid results for sweet basil and leafy products was developed.     

Agricultural solar air collectors: Design and performances

Several types of solar air collectors made from plastic film can be used for drying operations on the farm (fodder, fruit, grain, etc.). Four types of collector are discussed as well as a ventilated horticultural greenhouse. The purpose of this article is to give detailed thermal models for these collectors and to compare their respective performance. The solution of these models gives the values of the parameters used in Duffie-Beckman flat-plate collector theory.     

Performance analysis and optimization of absorber plates of different geometry for a flat-plate solar collector: a comparative study

This paper presents a comparative study on the performance and optimization of several profile shapes namely, rectangular, trapezoidal and rectangular profile with a step change in local thickness (RPSLT). This analysis concentrates on the performance and optimization of RPSLT. A modification has been suggested for the analysis of RPSLT absorber plate that was observed by Hollands and Stedman [Solar Energy 49 (1992) 493]. The result indicates that there is optimum fin efficiency of trapezoidal profile for constant plate volume. The RPSLT profile of absorber plate is superior to other profiles because of higher performance and less difficulties in fabrication.     

Energy and exergy analysis of a new flat-plate solar air heater having different obstacles on absorber plates

This study experimentally investigates performance analysis of a new flat-plate solar air heater (SAH) with several obstacles (Type I, Type II, Type III) and without obstacles (Type IV). Experiments were performed for two air mass flow rates of 0.0074 and 0.0052 kg/s. The first and second laws of efficiencies were determined for SAHs and comparisons were made among them. The values of first law efficiency varied between 20% and 82%. The values of second law efficiency changed from 8.32% to 44.00%. The highest efficiency were determined for the SAH with Type II absorbent plate in flow channel duct for all operating conditions, whereas the lowest values were obtained for the SAH without obstacles (Type IV). The results showed that the efficiency of the solar air collectors depends significantly on the solar radiation, surface geometry of the collectors and extension of the air flow line. The largest irreversibility was occurring at the SAH without obstacles (Type IV) collector in which collector efficiency is smallest. At the end of this study, the energy and exergy relationships are delivered for different SAHs.     

Exergy optimization of flow rates in flat-plate solar collectors

The optimal flat-plate collector mass flow rate is determined by maximizing the exergy (available energy) delivery of the collector as the objective function. Collector and storage dynamics are neglected. Although the case where the pumping power loss is ignored results in bang-bang control, the case where this loss is included in the exergy equation results, after some assumptions, in an optimal mass flow rate that is a function of collector parameters, inlet and ambient temperatures and solar heat gain. Daily performance of a typical flat-plate solar collector with optimum mass flow rate is compared with the performance of the same collector using the mass flow rate obtained by maximizing the difference between the collected thermal energy and the required pumping power.