Comparison of energy and exergy efficiencies of an underground solar thermal storage system

In this experimental study, solar energy was stored daily using the volcanic material with the sensible heat technique. The external heat collection unit consisted of 27 m² of south‐facing solar air collectors mounted at a 55° tilt angle. The dimensions of the packed‐bed heat storage unit were 6 × 2 × 0.6 m deep. The packed‐bed heat storage unit was built under the soil. The heat storage unit was filled with 6480 kg of volcanic material. Energy and exergy analyses were applied in order to evaluate the system efficiency. During the charging periods, the average daily rates of thermal energy and exergy stored in the heat storage unit were 1242 and 36.33 W, respectively. Since the rate of exergy depends on the temperature of the heat transfer fluid and surrounding, the rate of exergy increased as the difference between the inlet and outlet temperatures of the heat transfer fluid increased during the charging periods. It was found that the average daily net energy and exergy efficiencies in the charging periods were 39.7 and 2.03%, respectively. The average daily net energy efficiency of the heat storage system remained nearly constant during the charging periods. The maximum energy and exergy efficiencies of the heat storage system were 52.9 and 4.9%, respectively. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energy and exergy analysis of a new solar air heater with latent storage energy

In this paper, we propose a new solar air heater with a packed-bed latent storage energy system using PCM spherical capsules. At daytime, the solar heating system stored the thermal solar energy as sensible and latent heat, however, at night it restored. Some parameters, such as the global solar radiation and the mass flow rate are varied to investigate their effect on the absorbed, used, and recovered heat from the system. An optimization study using the first and second laws of thermodynamics is also carried out to obtain the energy and exergy efficiencies. The experimental study was conducted, designed, and realized in the Research and Technology Center of Energy (CRTEn) in Tunisia. The experimentally obtained results are used to analyze the performance of the system, based on temperature distribution in different parts of the collectors, absorbed, instantaneous stored and used thermal energy. The daily energy efficiency varied between 32% and 45%. While the daily exergy efficiency varied between 13% and 25%. The effect of the mass flow rate of air on the outlet temperature of the solar air heater is examined.     

Energy and Exergy Analysis of a Single‐Pass Sequenced Array Baffled Solar Air Heater with Packed Bed Latent Storage Unit for Nocturnal Use

The current study presents an experimental investigation on evaluation of thermal performance of a single‐pass double‐glazed solar air heater with the use of packed bed paraffin wax as a phase change material (PCM). Moreover, the absorber plate is equipped with baffles attached over its top. Galvanized sheets with a thickness of 0.4 mm and total surface areas of 30 cm² are chosen as baffles that are placed in a sequential manner over the absorber plate. The solar energy was stored in the packed bed PCM during the diurnal period (charging process) and was released at night for nocturnal use (discharging process). The tests were performed at three different mass flow rates of 0.009 0.014 and 0.017 resulting in the creation of different Reynolds numbers along the channel. The measured parameters were inlet, outlet, and the PCM temperatures under the meteorological condition of Mashhad, Iran. Energy and exergy efficiencies of the system have been calculated according to the first and second laws of thermodynamics. The experimental results illustrate that the daily energy efficiency varied between 20.7% and 26.8%, whereas the daily exergy efficiency varied between 10.7% and 19.5%.     

Optimal thermohydraulic performance of a wire mesh packed solar air heater

This paper is concerned with thermohydraulic investigations on a packed bed solar air heater having its duct packed with blackened wire screen matrices of different geometrical parameters (wire diameter and pitch). The thermohydraulic performance of an air heater in terms of effective efficiency is determined on the basis of actual thermal energy gain subtracted by the primary energy required to generate power needed for pumping air through the packed bed. Based on energy transfer mechanism in the bed, a mathematical model is developed to compute effective efficiency. A design criterion is also suggested to select a matrix for packing the air flow duct of a solar air heater which results in the best thermal efficiency with minimum pumping power penalty. Resulting values of effective efficiency clearly indicate that the packed bed solar air heater investigated is thermohydraulically efficient as compared to flat plate collectors.     

An analytical model to predict the thermal performance of a novel parallel flow packed bed solar air heater

A design of a parallel flow solar air heater with packed material in its upper channel and capable of providing a higher heat flux compared to the conventional non-porous bed double flow systems is presented. An analytical model describing the various temperatures and heat transfer characteristics of such a parallel flow packed bed solar air heater (PFPBSAH) has been developed and employed to study the effects of the mass flow rate and varying porosities of the packed material on its thermal performance. The model employs an iterative solution procedure to solve the governing energy balance equations describing the complex heat and mass exchanges involved. To validate the proposed analytical model, comparisons between theoretical and experimental results showed that good agreement is achieved with reasonable accuracy. Also, PFPBSAH is found to perform more efficiently than the conventional non-porous double flow solar air heaters with 10–20% increase in its thermal efficiency. Furthermore, the effect of the fraction of mass flow rate in the upper or lower flow channel of PFPBSAH device on its performance, has also investigated theoretically. The fraction of the mass flow rate in the respective channels of the PFPBSAH is shown to be dominant parameter in determining the effective thermal efficiency of the heater.     

Investigation of heat transfer and friction characteristics of packed bed solar air heater using wire mesh as packing material

An experimental investigation has been carried out on a packed bed solar air heater using wire mesh as packing material. Data pertaining to heat transfer and friction characteristics were collected for air flow rates ranging from 0.0159 to 0.0347 kg/s-m² for eight sets of matrices with varying geometrical parameters. The thermal efficiency of a packed bed solar air heater was compared with that of a conventional solar air heater to determine the enhancement which was found to be strong function of system and operating parameters of the bed. It was found that an enhancement of the order of 76.9-89.5% can be obtained. Experimental data were utilised to develop correlations for Colburn J_h factor and friction factor as function of geometrical parameters of the bed and the flow Reynolds number. These correlations were found to predict the experimental results with reasonable accuracy. It has also been found that the present correlations show much better agreement as compared to the values predicted by earlier correlations for such systems.     

Energy and Exergy Analysis on Drying of Banana Using Indirect Type Natural Convection Solar Dryer

Abstract

Energy and exergy analysis, in the thermodynamics, is an important tool used to predict the performance of drying system. In this work, energy and exergy analyses are made during the drying process of banana using an indirect type passive solar dryer. Solar flat plate air collector is used to heat the air. Banana gets sufficiently dried at temperatures between 28 and 82?°C. Solar radiation is measured and it is ranged from 335 to 1210?W/m². Using the first law of thermodynamics, energy analysis was carried out to estimate the amounts of energy gained from solar air heater. Also, applying the second law of thermodynamics, exergy analysis was carried out to determine exergy losses during the drying process. The exergy losses varied from 3.36 to 25.21?kJ/kg. In particular, the exergy efficiency values vary from 7.4 to 45.32%.     

A review of the performance of double pass solar air heater

Improvement of the thermal performance of a solar air heater can be obtained by enhancing the rate of heat transfer. The thermal efficiency of double pass solar air heater is higher in comparison to single pass with the concept involved of doubling the heat transfer area without increase in the system cost. Numbers of studies have been carried out on the performance analysis of double pass solar air heater provided with heat transfer augmentation techniques viz. using extended surfaces, packed bed, corrugated absorber were reported in the literature and found more increase in the thermal efficiency in comparison to conventional double duct solar air heater. These studies includes the design of double pass solar air heater, heat transfer enhancement, flow phenomenon and pressure drop in duct. This paper presents an extensive study of the research carried out on double pass solar air heater. Based on the literature review, it is concluded that most of the studies carried out on double pass solar air heater integrated with porous media and extended surfaces. Few studies were carried out with corrugated absorber. Further no study has been reported so far on double pass solar air heater with absorber plate artificially roughened from both the sides. Mathematical models based on energy analysis of some configurations of solar air heater have been discussed.     

Enhancement of convection heat-transfer in a rectangular duct

Characteristics of wall-to-air heat transfer for a fully developed forced convection have been studied in a large rectangular packed duct with 160 cm heated length, 40 cm width, and for low bed equivalent diameter to particle diameter ratio. The separation distance between the top and bottom walls is 10 cm. A uniform heat flux is supplied at the top wall, while the bottom wall is insulated. Raschig rings in two and spherical packing in three sizes have been used in the air flow passage to investigate the enhancement of heat transfer due to packing. Temperature profiles for the steady and unsteady states have been measured. In modeling, the Ergun equation and energy equations are solved to calculate the temperature profile for the steady-state only. It has been found that the introduction of the packing into the air flow passage increases the wall-to-fluid heat transfer approximately three times compared with that of empty bed. This finding can enhance the rational use of energy from solar air heaters, chemical reactors, electronic cooling and many other engineering applications.     

An experimental study on the heat recovery from the exhaust air of stenters with a packed bed column

Stenters are the dryers that are commonly used in textile finishing mills. The exhaust air of the stenters is of great potential of energy saving via heat recovery mainly using the latent heat of condensation of the water vapour involved. This study reveals the usage possibility of a packed bed column for the heat recovery from the exhaust air of the stenter. An experimental investigation was carried out with a laboratory‐scale counter flow packed bed column. Additionally, an exergetic evaluation of the system was performed. Water inlet temperature and relative humidity ratio of the exhaust air are the main factors that affect the water outlet temperatures and efficiency of the system. It was observed that a decrease in the water inlet temperature increases the recovered exergy; however, water outlet temperature is not significantly affected by the inlet temperature of the water. The exergy efficiency of the system increases with the increase in the relative humidity ratio of the exhaust air. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Employing exergy-optimized pin fins in the design of an absorber in a solar air heather

Heat transfer augmentation features for the improvement of heat transfer from the absorber-plate of a solar air heater to the working fluid are mostly fins however these features also increase pressure drop in the flow channel. The exergy optimization philosophy is adopted in the fin sizing for this air heating application; this optimization philosophy ensures that the maximum quantity of heat is transferred by the fins while generating the least entropy in the system thus conserving exergy. Results indicate that the higher the fin efficiency, the higher the heat conversion and delivery potential. Given an optimum fin length (efficiency) and superior coating absorptive vigour, useful energy losses in the heater can be minimized. Some important observations relevant in design are made.     

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.     

柱状颗粒填充床的储能性能分析

填充床储能是一种很有发展前景的热能储存技术,它具有可降低存储成本和提高太阳能热系统开发效率等优点。研究人员多采用球形的储能单元,而圆柱体在储能填充床换热中有其独特的优势,因此基于圆柱形和拉西环形两种柱状颗粒,建立了一种潜热储能填充床的三维模型,采用数值模拟的方法分别研究两种柱状颗粒组成的填充床的储能性能,分析了储能填充床的直径比对其性能的影响。研究表明,填充床直径比越大,其储能性能越好。同时研究了圆柱形储能单元高度和拉西环形储能单元孔径对储能性能的影响。结果表明,在研究范围内,由高度为3 mm的圆柱形储能单元和孔半径1.50 mm的储能单元分别组成的填充床储能速率最高。     

Thermoeconomics of seasonal latent heat storage system

A simple thermoeconomic analysis is performed for a seasonal latent heat storage system for heating a greenhouse. The system consists of three units that are a set of 18 packed‐bed solar air heaters, a latent heat storage tank with 6000 kg of technical grade paraffin wax as phase‐changing material, and a greenhouse of 180 m². The cost rate balance for the output of a unit is used to estimate the specific cost of exergy for a yearly operation. Based on the cost rate of exergy, fixed capital investment, operating cost, and economic data, approximate cash‐flow diagrams have been prepared. The systems feasibility depends on the cost rate of exergy, operating cost, internal interest rate, and rate of taxation strongly. A cash‐flow diagram based on exergy considerations may enhance the impact of thermoeconomic analysis in feasibility studies of thermal systems. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of a ground source heat pump system with PCM‐embedded radiant wall heating for buildings

This paper deals with the utilization of a renewable energy‐based integrated system with the latent heat storage option for building thermal management systems. Both energy and exergy‐based assessments of the current combined system are conducted. For this purpose, phase change material (PCM)‐embedded radiant wall heating system using solar heating and ground source heat pump (GSHP) is studied thermodynamically. Heat is essentially stored within the PCMs as used in the panels to increase the effectiveness. The stored heat is released when the solar energy is not available. In the thermal energy storage analyses, four different PCMs are considered. The present results show that the overall first ‐ law (energy) and second ‐ law (exergy) efficiencies of the PCM‐free radiant heating system are much lower than the case with the PCM‐embedded radiant heating system. Therefore, it is confirmed that the energy efficiency increases from 62% to 87% while the exergy efficiency rises from 14% to 56% with the option where SP26E PCM is employed accordingly.     

Performance analysis of an industrial waste heat‐based trigeneration system

The thermodynamic performance of an industrial waste heat recovery‐based trigeneration system is studied through energy and exergy efficiency parameters. The effects of exhaust gas inlet temperature, process heat pressure, and ambient temperature on both energy and exergy efficiencies, and electrical to thermal energy ratio of the system are investigated. The energy efficiency increases while electrical to thermal energy ratio and exergy efficiency decrease with increasing exhaust gas inlet temperature. On the other hand, with the increase in process heat pressure, energy efficiency decreases but exergy efficiency and electrical to thermal energy ratio increase. The effect of ambient temperature is also observed due to the fact that with an increase in ambient temperature, energy and exergy efficiencies, and electrical to thermal energy ratio decrease slightly. These results clearly show that performance evaluation of trigeneration system based on energy analysis is not adequate and hence more meaningful evaluation must include exergy analysis. The present analysis contributes to further information on the role of exhaust gas inlet temperature, process heat pressure, ambient temperature influence on the performance of waste heat recovery‐based trigeneration from a thermodynamic point of view. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Experimental evaluation of energy and exergy efficiency of a seasonal latent heat storage system for greenhouse heating

In the following work, a seasonal thermal energy storage using paraffin wax as a PCM with the latent heat storage technique was attempted to heat the greenhouse of 180 m² floor area. The system consists mainly of five units: (1) flat plate solar air collectors (as heat collection unit), (2) latent heat storage (LHS) unit, (3) experimental greenhouse, (4) heat transfer unit and (5) data acquisition unit. The external heat collection unit consisted of 27 m² of south facing solar air heaters mounted at a 55° tilt angle. The diameter and the total volume of the steel tank used as the latent heat storage unit were 1.7 m and 11.6 m³, respectively. The LHS unit was filled with 6000 kg of paraffin, equivalent to 33.33 kg of PCM per square meter of the greenhouse ground surface area. Energy and exergy analyses were applied in order to evaluate the system efficiency. The rate of heat transferred in the LHS unit ranged from 1.22 to 2.63 kW, whereas the rate of heat stored in the LHS unit was in the range of 0.65–2.1 kW. The average daily rate of thermal exergy transferred and stored in the LHS unit were 111.2 W and 79.9 W, respectively. During the experimental period, it was found that the average net energy and exergy efficiencies were 40.4% and 4.2%, respectively. The effect of the temperature difference of the heat transfer fluid at the inlet and outlet of the LHS unit on the computed values of the energy and exergy efficiency is evaluated during the charging period.     

Performance analysis on a novel micro‐channel heat pipe evacuated tube solar collector‐incorporated thermoelectric generation

In China, because of the emergence of a large number of high‐rise buildings, the solar hot water heater system often uses the balcony wall‐mounted method for installation. The thermoelectric energy converter is proposed as one of the possible technologies to incorporate solar water heater to produce electricity for building application. In this paper, the conceptual development and theoretical analysis of a novel micro‐channel heat pipe evacuated tube solar collector‐incorporated thermoelectric generation are all proposed. The new system takes into account many advantages, including the high heat transfer, low convective heat loss, and low contact thermal resistance. The exergy analysis method based on the second law of thermodynamics is also introduced to evaluate the performance of this system. The results show that a novel micro‐channel heat pipe evacuated tube solar collector‐incorporated thermoelectric generation has a high thermal performance with addition of electricity production. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exergetic performance evaluation and parametric studies of solar air heater

The present study aims to establish the optimal performance parameters for the maximum exergy delivery during the collection of solar energy in a flat-plate solar air heater. The procedure to determine optimum aspect ratio (length to width ratio of the absorber plate) and optimum duct depth (the distance between the absorber and the bottom plates) for maximum exergy delivery has been developed. It is known that heat energy gain and blower work increase monotonically with mass flow rate, while the temperature of air decreases; therefore, it is desirable to incorporate the quality of heat energy collected and the blower work. First it is proved analytically that the optimum exergy output, neglecting blower work, and the corresponding mass flow rate depend on the inlet temperature of air. The energy and exergy output rates of the solar air heater were evaluated for various values of collector aspect ratio (AR) of the collector, mass flow rate per unit area of the collector plate (G) and solar air heater duct depth (H). Results have been presented to discuss the effects of G, AR and H on the energy and exergy output rates of the solar air heater. The energy output rate increases with G and AR, and decreases with H and the inlet temperature of air. The exergy-based evaluation criterion shows that performance is not a monotonically increasing function of G and AR, and a decreasing function of H and inlet temperature of air. Based on the exergy output rate, it is found that there must be an optimum inlet temperature of air and a corresponding optimum G for any value of AR and H. For values of G lesser than optimal corresponding to inlet temperature of air equals to ambient, higher exergy output rate is achieved for the low value of duct depth and high AR in the range of parameters investigated. If G is high, for an application requiring less temperature increase, then either low AR or high H would give higher exergy output rate.