Abstract
This research aims to study, analyze, design, and construct a solar air heater combined with an appropriate phase-change material (PCM) unit. This solar air heater is analogous to a collector integrating a thermal storage unit and a solar thermal collector. In this study, such single-pass solar air heater in amalgamation with PCM was constructed, and several tests were conducted on this device. During the experiments for the solar collector with PCM (spherical capsules), the temperature varied between 30°C and 35°C, and the air mass flow rate ranged between 0.03 and 0.09 kg/s. Results confirmed the predicted experimental findings. With the use of paraffin wax-aluminum composite, the thermal storage efficiency of the constructed solar air heater reached a maximum value of 71% at 0.05 kg/s mass flow rate, its charging time decreased by almost 70%, and its cooling rate increased. The thermal storage efficiency of the compound composite was 76.8% at 0.07 kg/s mass flow rate. The results also indicated that the time of charging decreased by almost 60% with the use of paraffin wax-aluminum composite.
Highlights
In recent years, the cost of fossil fuels has considerably increased because people are shifting to alternative fuels.Among the alternatives, solar energy is becoming a quite popular and reliable source of heat energy because of its unlimited supply
Thermal energy storage systems are at the center of focus because of their isothermal behavior during the discharging and charging processes and their high thermal energy storage capacity per unit volume [2]
The results indicated that the efficiency of the phase-change material (PCM) composite was better than that of pure paraffin [5]
Summary
Solar energy is becoming a quite popular and reliable source of heat energy because of its unlimited supply. Substantial work is undertaken to harness solar energy for heating needs in an economical way. The irregular availability of sunlight is a serious issue in the development of solar technology. To address this problem, a heat energy storage system using both latent and sensible heat needs to be developed [1]. Thermal energy storage systems are at the center of focus because of their isothermal behavior during the discharging and charging processes and their high thermal energy storage capacity per unit volume [2]
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