Performance Of Flat-plate Collector Research Articles

Application of PEG-Fe3O4 nanofluid in flat-plate solar collector: An experimental investigation

In the present study, novel in-situ oxidation precipitation of ferrous hydroxide method is used to synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles and Polyethylene glycol 200 is used for covalent functionalization. Various characterizations tests (FESEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR, HRTEM) were performed, and the Polyethylene glycol treated Iron oxides functionalization was confirmed. Thermal conductivity, density, specific heat, and viscosity were experimentally assessed and validated using the correlations that were available. The corresponding improvements in thermophysical characteristics were 13.35%, 0.06%, 0.37%, and 20.9% at 0.1 wt% and 35°C. UV–vis spectroscopy and Zeta protentional was used to check the stability of nanofluids and found that nanofluid was stable for 30 days. A flat plate solar collector was experimentally installed, and the thermal performance of collector was calculated using ferrofluid under ASHRAE standard 93–2003 at different heat flux intensities (597,775,988 W/m2), mass flow rates ((0.0133, 0.0200, 0.0266 kg/s), inlet fluid temperature (30–50°C) and weight concentrations (0.025,0.05,0.075,0.1%). The highest thermal efficiency enhancement of 13.83% was noticed. Moreover, the ANSYS-CFD model was used for the numerical analysis of the thermal performance of flat plate collector at the same environmental conditions, and a maximum difference of 8.33% at 0.1 wt% was noticed in comparison with experimental data.

Sustainable Energy Progress via Integration of Thermal Energy Storage and Other Performance Enhancement Strategies in FPCs: A Synergistic Review

Flat plate collectors (FPCs) are the leading solar thermal technology for low-medium range temperature applications. However, their expansion in developing countries is still lacking because of their poor thermal performance. Improving the thermal performance of flat plate collectors (FPCs) is a crucial concern addressed in this review This study comprehensively discussed the performance improvement methods of FPCs, such as design modification, reflectors, working fluid, and energy storage materials, by covering current issues and future recommendations. Design factors such as coating and glass cover thickness, thickness of absorber plate and material, air gap between the glass cover and absorber plate, and riser spacing, along with insulation materials, are examined for their impact on FPC performance. Absorber design changes with selective coatings for improving the heat transmission rate between the working fluid and absorber are critical for enhancing collectors’ thermal output. The nanofluids utilization improved FPC’s thermal performance in terms of energetic and exergetic outcomes in the 20–30% range. Moreover, adding a heat storage unit extends the operating hours and thermal output fluctuations of FPCs. Research suggests that employing turbulators and nanofluids as heat transfer fluids are particularly effective for enhancing heat transfer in FPCs. This comprehensive review serves as a critical tool for evaluating and comparing various heat transfer augmentation techniques, aiding in the selection of the most suitable option.

Particle-Size Effect of Nanoparticles on the Thermal Performance of Solar Flat Plate Technology

One of the cleanest and most efficient solar collector systems is the flat plate collector, which has applications in hot water production, drying, among others. Flat plate collectors have improved in terms of both their structural configurations and working fluids. Several studies have verified the comparatively higher efficiency of nanofluid-based flat plate collectors, relative to that of water and other thermal oils. Additionally, the influence of several nanofluid synthesis factors, such as volume fraction, pH, type of base fluid, hybridization, surfactants, and sonification, on the performance of these collectors has been highlighted in the literature. However, the effect of nanoparticle size on collector performance has received minimal research interest, despite its significant effect on both the cost of synthesis and the thermophysical properties of nanofluids. The uncertainties regarding the effect of nanoparticle size on thermal collectors have limited their practical applications. This study numerically investigates the effect of the nanoparticle size of silver (Ag) nanofluid with nanoparticle sizes between 20 nm and 100 nm on the performance of flat plate collectors. The effect of nanoparticle size on the mean fluid temperature resulted in a maximum temperature of 45.8 °C for the Ag-100 nm. An increase of 0.25 °C for the Ag-20 nm was recorded, relative to the Ag-100 nm. In addition, the Ag-100 nm was calculated to have resulted in the highest reduction in collector size (18.30%), relative to that of water.

Review on: Study and Analysis the Effect of Single Glazing and Double Glazing on the Performance of Flat Plate Collector in Solar Water Heating System

"The aim of the article is describes the performance of Flat Plate Collector in solar thermal water heater system. It highlights the importance of single glazed system and double-glazed system and evaluates how single glazing system and double-glazing system effects on the performance of FPC in solar thermal water heater.

Energy, Exergy, and Economic Investigation of the Effect of Nanoparticle Mixture Ratios on the Thermal Performance of Flat Plate Collectors Using Al2O3–ZnO Hybrid Nanofluid

AbstractThe study evaluated the effects of nanoparticle mixture ratios on the thermal performance of a flat plate collector (FPC) fitted with a torque stirrer operating with Al2O3–ZnO/water nanoflu...

Approximate Representation and Exposition of ISI Flat Plate Collector including Revised Flat Plate Collector : A Review

Cosmic power is one of the numerous renewable energy sources that can use in a Photovoltaic (PV) system or Thermal. Solar collectors play a crucial role in solar thermal systems. They convert solar radiation into heat and transfer the heat to working fluids Such as water or air. The Flat-plate collectors are the numerous common type of solar collectors and typically used as a water heater or air heater. These collectors have low efficiency and low outlet temperature. Recently, many scientists have attempted to improve the efficiency and performance of flat-plate collectors via different methods. This review paper describes the results of the experimentation carried out to study and compare the performance of the modified flat plate collector having increasing riser tube diameter and reducing riser tube length with the conventional ISI marked solar liquid flat plate collector. To study, the comparative performance characteristics of a modified flat plate collector with ISI flat plate collector operated under natural circulation mode. The suggested design found to be better than the existing ISI design of the absorber plate from an efficiency point of view. The actual useful heat gain (Qu) in the suggested design understudy found to be more by 30% than that in the case of ISI collector. However, the modified flat plate collector found to operate at a relatively lower exit temperature than the conventional ISI marked collector.

Experimental Investigation of Thermal Performance Evaluation of Solar Flat Plate Collector

A flat plate collector is a simple and widely used device for space heating, domestic and industrial hot water applications. In this study, a device is fabricated and installed in Sultanpur for conducting experiments on flat plate collector to obtain the collector efficiency, rate of fluid heating and cooling and the temperature difference of fluid at inlet and outlet of the collector. The study made an attempt to enhance efficiency as compared to the normal flat plate collector by improving the collector design and varying the tilt angle, and mass flow rates. From the experiments, it was concluded that the efficiency is directly proportional to mass flow rate and inversely proportional to the wind speed. It was also found that factor like plate absorptive, glass cover emissivity, number of the glass cover and tilt angle and atmospheric condition affect the performance of flat plate collector.

Parametric analysis on the performance of flat plate collector with transparent insulation material

Abstract The transparent insulation materials (TIM) can effectively improve the performance of flat plate solar collector in cold weather. A three dimension numerical model of flat plate collector with TIM has been developed in this paper. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) have been used to simulate the model. The Renormalization-group (RNG) k-e model and Discrete Ordinates (DO) radiation model were adopted. The influences of the environment conditions, mass flow rate, tilt angle and transmittance on the performance of the collector with TIM were analyzed. A good agreement was achieved between the CFD prediction and the previous experiment. The result shows that the collector with TIM is more efficient, when ambient temperature is low. For various wind speeds, the new collector's efficiency has a slightly change. The transmittance of TIM is a key parameter to achieve high performance for the collector. When the transmittance is below 80%, the collector with TIM has no the advantage of being good value. The optimum mass flow rate is 0.06 kg/s under corresponding conditions. The tilt angle of the collector with TIM has less effect compared with the conventional one.

Regression Models and Sensitivity Analysis for the Thermal Performance of Solar Flat-Plate Collectors

This work presents numerically derived regression models for evaluating the thermal efficiency and fluid exit temperature of a solar flat-plate collector (FPC), when water, 20% glycol–water or 40% glycol–water is used as the heat transfer fluid. A set of reliable samples of all the contributing parameters, chosen from the presented analytical model, were generated using the Latin hypercube sampling technique over a realistic range of values. The regression models were developed by fitting a response curve, using the least-squares method, to the simulation results. The proposed models were then validated by comparing the predicted results with those already published in the literature. The coefficients of determination ( $$R^{2})$$ for the efficiency models and fluid exit temperature models were found to exceed 97 and 93%, respectively. Sensitivity analysis, based on the elasticity of parameters in the statistically standardized version of these models, was also performed to identify the most influential design, operational and natural parameters. The effects of these parameters on FPC performance are quantified and discussed in detail.

Feasibility Study of a Solar Flat Plate Collector for Domestic and Commercial Applications under Iraq Climate

Experimental study had been accomplished to evaluate the performance of flat plate collector according to Iraq climate to find the practical benefit and to transform the idea into reality and to apply it for domestically and commercial field. The study had been achieved for a typical flat plate collector. The dimensions of the flat plate collector, solar intensity, ambient temperature and angles relating to this study have been practically applied and all of these information mentioned in this study. This study approved the feasibility of using the hot water as heating purposes for domestic and commercial applications instead of using the electricity for heating the water. This method will reduce the consumption of the electric power obtained from the national network. The reduction of consumption for the national network electric power is approved by comparing three models of houses that is using the electric power for heating water with the same houses models which are using a flat plate collector for heating purposes.

Suitability of base liquid in a nanofluid-laden solar flat-plate collector with emphasize on bioglycol

Ethylene glycol and propylene glycol are commonly used as thermal liquids in solar flat-plate collectors (FPCs). They are utilized as base liquid as well as for improving the stability of nanofluids in FPCs. The objective of the present paper is to introduce a renewable-derived bio glycol for use as base liquid in FPCs. The effect of base ratio (BR) of different glycol products on the performance of a conventional FPC and a nanofluidladen FPC is investigated in this paper to determine its suitability. MATLAB programming was employed for modeling the performance of the FPC operating with copper and cerium oxide nanomaterials. The results show that 20:80 bio glycol/water mixture is capable of enhancing the FPC’s energetic efficiency up to 72.1% which is higher than with either ethylene glycol and propylene glycol. The energy efficiency of a glycol-based nanofluid-filled FPC decreases with the base ratio of all three glycol products. Since bio glycol is a non-toxic and safe product, it can be utilized as a safe and environmentally-friend antifreeze and base liquid in nanofluid-filled FPCs.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON DRYING OF BLANCHED BITTER GOURD SLICES IN A TRIPLE PASS SOLAR DRYER

This paper involves with the experimental performance study of a triple pass solar flat plate collector integrated with thermal energy storage medium for drying of blanched bitter gourd slices. The experimental setup consists of a blower, triple pass flat plate collector and a drying chamber. The experimets were carried out in the meterological conditions of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. The mass flow rate of air through the system was set as 0.06 kgs-1. From the results, it could be comprehended that, (i) triple pass arrangement of air improves the performance of flat plate collector (ii) thermal energy storage medium played an important role in consistent outlet air temperature and the thermal efficiency (iii) triple pass solar dryer took 5 hours to reach the final moisture content of bitter gourd (9% on wet basis) which is 29 % and 37.5% faster than without thermal storage and open sun drying system. It could be concluded that triple pass solar air collector performs better than without thermal storage and open sun drying.

Effect of Solar Fraction on the Economic and Environmental Performance of Solar Air-Conditioning by Adsorption Chiller in a Tropical Region

Solar air-conditioning (AC) is an attractive AC system but it has intermittent output, and therefore, a conventional heater is needed as a backup. This study presents the effect of ratio of heat delivered by solar (Qsolar) to the total heat delivered to an adsorption chiller (Qsolar + Qheater) or solar fraction (SF) on the economic and environmental performance of a solar AC. This solar AC is not a solar-assisted AC, and therefore, it needs to fully cover the cooling load. The cooling demand of an office building in Kuala Lumpur, and the performance of flat-plate collectors and the adsorption chiller were calculated by equest and watsun software and by a mathematical model, respectively. Economic performance was analyzed by life-cycle cost analysis, whereas the environmental performance was analyzed by using typical emissions rate of energy systems used. It was found that a boiler was a better solution than an electric heater as a backup heater. Furthermore, the net profit (NP) at lower SF was higher because of its lower capital investment, but more emissions were released compared to the conventional AC because of the boiler operation. Thus, when economic and environmental performance were fairly considered, it is appropriate to have solar AC with an SF around 0.74.

Experimental Analysis on Thermal Efficiency of Evacuated Tube Solar Collector by Using Nanofluids

This research is to study performance of a evacuated tube solar collector when silver (Ag(30nm)) + distilled water and oxide titanium (ZrO2(50nm)) + distilled water nanofluids was taken as the working fluid. With higher thermal conductivity of the working fluid the solar collector performance could be enhanced compared with that of distilled water. The two types of nanoparticles are used to investigate at different concentration (i.e. 0, 1, 3 and 5 % vol), mass flow rate (30,60 and 90 lit/hr m2) and the based working fluid was distilled water. The effect of different nanoparticle concentrations of Ag and ZrO2 mixed with distilled water as base fluid was examined on solar collector efficiency for different mass flow rates (30, and 90 lit/hr m2). The area under the curve as an index was used for comparing the effects of mass flow rates and nanoparticle concentrations on the collector total efficiency. The experimental results indicated that the concentration at 1%vol showed insignificant results compared with distilled water. As well as The nanofluids (Ag + DW), at concentrations (1, and 5%vol) and mass flow rates (30, and 90 lit/hr m2), the thermal solar characteristics values of FR(τα), – F RUL were 0.488, 1.168 W/m2.k , 0.593 and 1.252 W/m2.k, while the nanofluid (ZrO2 + DW) 0.437,1.025 W/m2.k ,0.480 and 1.140 W/m2.k respectively. Whereas in the case of distilled water at mass flow rates 30 lit/hr m2 and 90 lit/hr m2 were 0.413,0.973 W/m2.k,0.442 and ,1.011 W/m2.k respectively. Moreover use of nanofluids (Ag(30nm) + + distilled water) and( ZrO2(50nm) + distilled water) as a working fluid could improve thermal performance of flat plate collector compared with distilled water, especially at high inlet temperature. The solar collector efficiency for nanofluid (Ag(30nm) + distilled water) was greater than nanofluid (ZrO2(50nm) + distilled water) due to small particle size for the silver compared with zirconium oxide as well as high thermal conductivity for silver. The type of nanofluid is a key factor for heat transfer enhancement, and improve performance of evacuated tube solar collector.

Performance analysis of solar water heating system in Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Southern region of India

In the present study, a natural circulation thermosyphon flat plate solar water heater has been tested at the CDFD, Hyderabad (17.37°N, 78.43°E) Andhra Pradesh, India. Experimental data were noted on a sunny day. Dynamic response of the system to variations in solar insulation was studied and analyzed. T inlet °C and T outlet °C temperatures were recorded. The performance of the system can be improved by using aluminum tape inserts into the collector fins. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the performance of flat plate collector with and without inserts (aluminum strip of 1 mm thick, 3 mm width and 203 mm length). It is expected that with the same collector with the same flow rate, higher efficiency can be obtained by inserting the tapes inside the collector copper fins (9 mm). Thus, the cost of the system can be further bringing down by enhancing the collector efficiency.

Adaptation and Sizing of Solar Water Heaters in Desert Areas: For Residential and Hotels.

Use of flat plate collectors is significantly limited in desert areas, which presents the contrast of low temperatures in winter close to 0°C, and high temperatures in summer above 40°C. Mexicali, Baja California has a good availability of solar radiation, 5.72kWh/m2/day, but it has a semidesert climate. Suppliers of these technologies do not include these zones as target markets, and therefore the performance of these systems in extreme climates is not very known, and so do regard the problems for the installation and design drawbacks. The present work shows the technical-economic evaluation about the performance of flat plate collectors for water heating, an outlook of economic and environmental benefits, considering its potential to be use in residential and hotel sectors in Mexicali, Baja California. The analysis was performed with data from a field monitored system during one year, to observe and record information of relevant variables for the performance of solar heater, such as ambient temperature, wind speed and solar radiation, which were obtained from weather stations located in Calexico, California, USA, and Comision Nacional del Agua in Mexicali, Mexico. Also, temperatures in the collector's fluid and in the storage tank were measured and recorded at 5minutes intervals using a data acquisition system. This information allowed to predict the system's performance for a greater capacity throughout a year, relating the most relevant system variables. The solar heater showed a good performance in winter, keeping an average of 40°C in the storage tank and in summer a minimum temperature of 60°C and maximum up to 85°C. From the above, an economic analysis was generated considering the current market potential in residential and hotel sectors in Mexicali, which translates into savings of 33%, at least in conventional energy consumption and estimated payback in four years for the Hotel's case. Energy savings for residential case is about 80% and the investment return is approximately 5 years, because in desert areas the greater demand of hot water occurs in winter. In conclusion, solar water heater performance is adequate for residential and hotel applications in desert areas and its hot water production is enough for remunerable use of solar collectors under specific and well defined scenarios.

Development and performance evaluation of 0.16 m² solar point thermal energy collector compared with flat plate collector

Renewable energy systems such as wind, solar and biomass are significantly more land intensive than traditional fossil fuels. Renewable energy increases diversity of energy supplies and can replace diminishing fossil fuel resources over the long run; their use in place of fossil fuels can substantially reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Application of solar energy for domestic and industrial heating purposes has become more popular. In this paper, reduced land use of flat plate collectors for same output with solar point collector is analysed. However the effectiveness of presently used flat plate collectors is low due to the moving nature of the energy source. So the performance of solar flat plate collector is effectively improved by using a novel system called solar point collector. Also an attempt has been made to compare the performance of flat plate collector with that of solar point thermal energy collector by conducting experiments. Experiments were conducted for a week during which the atmospheric conditions were almost uniform and data was collected both flat plate collector and solar point collector for various flow conditions.

Development of a Wall Collector Unit and Phase Change Material (PCM), Air Heat Exchanger for Heating Application in Greenhouses

Greenhouse heating is essential in the northern region of China during winter season in order to maximize crop production in terms of quality and quantity and thus increase their overall efficiency. But the use of heating systems faces the problem of high running cost and noxious gases emission for heating systems based on fossil fuel and there is also a risk of frost cropping for electrical heating systems due to electrical power failure during heavy weather conditions. In this paper the performance of flat plate collector and a PCM serpentine heat exchange is investigated. An eutectic mixture CH3COONa·3H2O-HCONH3 was used as a latent heat storage material, this material possess a melting temperature of 40.5°C, relatively higher compared to commonly used phase change materials for heating applications. The energy capacity of the PCM during charge and discharge phase has been determined based upon the measurement results made in the heating process during February 2012, one of the coldest winter months in Beijing, China. It was observed that the average net energy efficiencies was 45%, therefore the PCM in study, was founded to be suitable for solar thermal storage applications.

Experimental investigation on thermal performance of flat plate collectors at night

To perform this work, two sets of solar water heaters, each set consisting of two flat plate collectors and a storage tank, were tested. The collectors in one system consist of aluminium absorbers painted matte black, and those in the other system consist of copper–aluminium composite absorbers with anode oxidized coating. For each of the systems, one collector is glazed and the other is unglazed. The experimental results showed that, if thermosyphonic reverse flow in the solar systems was not allowed, the stagnant absorber temperatures of all the collectors were 6–8 °C and about 1 °C lower than the ambient temperature at clear and overcast nights, respectively, the glazing and absorber coating of a collector had insignificant effects on the stagnant temperature depression of the collector absorbers (defined as the temperature difference between ambient air and absorbers), but the weather conditions had considerable effects. These results implied that the collector might be damaged by freezing at clear nights even when the air temperature was above 0 °C, such as 2–3 °C, and the possibility of freeze damage at clear nights was much higher than that at overcast nights for a given ambient air temperature slightly above the freezing temperature. Experimental results also indicated that if reverse flow in the solar systems were allowed, the absorber temperature of the collectors was stable all night at both clear and overcast nights and even higher than the ambient air temperature at overcast night as a result of the fact that the heat lost by the collectors at night was offset by the hot water inside the storage tank of the systems through the thermosyphonic reverse flow. This indicated that the reverse flow was very effective for preventing freezing of the collectors, and the freeze damage could be, theoretically, avoided by keeping the water temperature inside the storage tank of a solar thermosyphonic system at a certain level.

Experimental Investigations on Packed Bed Solar Air Heater

Solar collector is important component of active solar heating systems. It has been observed that the performance of flat plate collector improves appreciably by packing its duct with blackened wire screen matrices and this improvement is a strong function of bed and operating parameters. In this paper an experimental test setup is designed and fabricated. Performance evaluation of packed bed Solar air heater using wire mesh screen matrices and its comparison with conventional design has been done. Data collection at different mass flow rates for a number of configurations has been done. Further suitable recommendations have been made accordingly.