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Thermal analysis of novel minichannel-based solar flat-plate collector

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  • Khamis Mansour, M.

Abstract

This paper investigates thermal performance of a new design of minichannel-based solar flat-plate collector. The solar collector consists of an array of minichannels located in the absorber plate which is covered by single glass cover. Water was used as the working fluid. A numerical model was implemented to determine the heat transfer characteristics and pressure drop of the working fluid inside the minichannels. The numerical model was verified by comparing the predicated results with those obtained from the available analytical and experimental data with maximum deviation of 10%. A program code was developed using Engineering Equation Solver EES software in order to predict the thermal performance of the novel solar collector at any operating conditions. The code is based on energy balance and heat transfer equations assuming a quasi-steady state condition. A small-scale of this novel solar collector, with an absorber plate area of 0.6 m2, is experimentally tested during month of June in Beirut. The experimental test was conducted aiming to validate the computer program in terms of the calculation of the instantaneous efficiency and overall heat loss coefficient. There was a good agreement between the analytical and experimental results with a maximum deviation of less than 10% for instantaneous efficiency and 20.4% for predication of overall heat loss coefficient. The thermal and hydraulic performance of the proposed novel collector was compared to that of the conventional flat-plate solar collector. The comparison revealed that the heat removal factor of the novel collector is higher than that of the conventional one by 16.1%. Effect of varying mass flow rate of the working fluid on the new collector's thermal and hydraulic performance has been also studied.

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  • Khamis Mansour, M., 2013. "Thermal analysis of novel minichannel-based solar flat-plate collector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 333-343.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:60:y:2013:i:c:p:333-343
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2013.08.013
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    Cited by:

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    4. Zhou, Liqun & Wang, Yiping & Huang, Qunwu, 2019. "Parametric analysis on the performance of flat plate collector with transparent insulation material," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 534-542.
    5. Evangelisti, Luca & De Lieto Vollaro, Roberto & Asdrubali, Francesco, 2019. "Latest advances on solar thermal collectors: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Ischia Kurniawati & Yonmo Sung, 2024. "A Review of Heat Dissipation and Absorption Technologies for Enhancing Performance in Photovoltaic–Thermal Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-30, April.
    7. Verma, Sujit Kumar & Sharma, Kamal & Gupta, Naveen Kumar & Soni, Pawan & Upadhyay, Neeraj, 2020. "“Performance comparison of innovative spiral shaped solar collector design with conventional flat plate solar collector”," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    8. Li, Qiyuan & Shirazi, Ali & Zheng, Cheng & Rosengarten, Gary & Scott, Jason A. & Taylor, Robert A., 2016. "Energy concentration limits in solar thermal heating applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 253-267.
    9. Sharma, Harish Kumar & Kumar, Satish & Verma, Sujit Kumar, 2022. "Comparative performance analysis of flat plate solar collector having circular &trapezoidal corrugated absorber plate designs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    10. Zheng, J. & Febrer, R. & Castro, J. & Kizildag, D. & Rigola, J., 2024. "A new high-performance flat plate solar collector. Numerical modelling and experimental validation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 355(C).
    11. Pandey, Krishna Murari & Chaurasiya, Rajesh, 2017. "A review on analysis and development of solar flat plate collector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 641-650.
    12. Vahidinia, F. & Khorasanizadeh, H., 2021. "Development of new algebraic derivations to analyze minichannel solar flat plate collectors with small and large size minichannels and performance evaluation study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    13. Ana Cristina Ferreira & Angela Silva & José Carlos Teixeira & Senhorinha Teixeira, 2020. "Multi-Objective Optimization of Solar Thermal Systems Applied to Portuguese Dwellings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-23, December.
    14. Tabish Alam & Nagesh Babu Balam & Kishor Sitaram Kulkarni & Md Irfanul Haque Siddiqui & Nishant Raj Kapoor & Chandan Swaroop Meena & Ashok Kumar & Raffaello Cozzolino, 2021. "Performance Augmentation of the Flat Plate Solar Thermal Collector: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-23, September.
    15. More, Supriya S. & Sagade, Atul A. & Ravindranath, G. & More, Sagar & More, Santosh, 2023. "Innovative mini-channel design for a compound parabolic solar thermal collector serving intermediate temperature applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).

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