Radiation-convective heat transfer and performance analysis of a parallel-plates duct direct absorption solar heat collection system

Abstract

Solar photo-thermal conversion and solar heat collection are hot topics today. However, which solar collection mode is the best? The question has puzzled scholars for many years. In this study, a direct absorption solar heat collection (DASC) duct system was investigated. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were selected as the heat absorption medium. Different absorption modes were clarified. It is found that the ratio of the radiation penetration depth of nanofluids to duct depth (duct penetration ratio, α) plays a key role in the duct heat transfer and system performance. Totally three solar heat collection modes can be classified depending on the value of α: volume absorption (partial volume 0<α<1 or whole volume α = 1), surface absorption (upper α → 0 or bottom α → ∞) and hybrid absorption for α > 1. Of them, the whole volume absorption has the best performance when α = 1, while the hybrid performs the best when the penetration ratio is not unity. Surprisingly, a higher fluid absorption coefficient does not necessarily lead to a higher photo-thermal performance. The extreme high fluid absorption coefficients (upper surface mode) are inferior to extreme low absorption coefficients (bottom surface mode). Of the different modes, the total Nusselt numbers in the whole volume absorption mode are 2–3 times higher than those in the bottom surface absorption mode. For solar heat collection, convective heat collection is better than standstill collection, and a certain flow velocity should be ensured to have a satisfactory efficiency. The findings were experimentally verified.