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Study of thermal effects and optical properties of an innovative absorber in integrated collector storage solar water heater

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Abstract

Solar passive water heaters are potential candidates for enhanced heat transfer. Solar water heaters with an integrated water tank and with the low temperature energy resource are used as the simplest and cheapest recipient devices of the solar energy for heating and supplying hot water in the buildings. The solar thermal performances of one primitive absorber were determined by using both the experimental and the simulation model of it. All materials applied for absorber such as the cover glass, the black colored sands and the V shaped galvanized plate were submerged into the water. The water storage tank was manufactured from galvanized sheet of 0.0015 m in thickness and the effective area of the collector was 0.67 m2. The absorber was installed on a compact solar water heater. The constructed flat-plate collectors were tested outdoors. However the simulation results showed that the absorbers operated near to the gray materials and all experimental results showed that the thermal efficiencies of the collector are over than 70 %.

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Abbreviations

A c :

Area of the collector (m2)

C p :

Specific heat of the water (kJ/kg K)

g :

Acceleration due to gravity (m/s2)

h c1 :

Convective heat loss coefficient from the absorber plate to upper glass (W/m2 K)

h r1 :

Radiative heat loss coefficient from the absorber plate to the upper glass (W/m2 K)

h r2 :

Radiative heat loss coefficient from the upper glass to the ambient (W/m2 K)

h w :

Convective heat loss coefficient due to wind (W/m2 K)

I T :

Incoming radiation in 1-h (kJ/m2)

K :

Thermal conductivity of the air at mean temperature (W/m K)

K e :

Extinction coefficient (m−1)

L :

Thickness of the air layer between absorber plate and upper glass (m)

L g :

Thickness of glass (m)

m :

Mass of the water in the tank (kg)

n :

The day of the year

Nu :

Nusselt number

q 1 :

Heat flux from the absorber plate to the upper glass (W/m2)

q 2 :

Heat flux from the upper glass to the ambient (W/m2)

q T :

Total heat loss from the system (W/m2)

R 1 :

Thermal resistance between the absorber plate and the upper glass

R 2 :

Thermal resistance between the upper glass and the ambient

R T :

Total thermal resistance between the absorber plate and the ambient

R a :

Rayleigh number

T a :

Temperature of the ambient (°C)

T p :

Temperature of the absorber plate (°C)

T Glass2 :

Temperature of the upper glass (°C)

T s :

Temperature of sky (°C)

ΔT p−c :

Temperature difference between the absorber plate and the upper glass (°C)

U T :

Total heat loss coefficient (W/m2 K)

α:

Thermal diffusivity (m2/s)

β :

Tilt angle of the water heating system (°)

β′ :

Volumetric thermal expansion (K−1)

ν:

Kinematic viscosity (m2/s)

τ a :

Transmittance with absorption losses

δ:

Declination (°)

ϕ :

Latitude (°)

γ :

Surface azimuth angle (°)

ω :

Hour angle (°)

σ :

Stefan-Boltzmann constant (W/m2 K4)

ɛ P :

Emissivity of the absorber plate

ɛ G2 :

Emissivity of the second glass

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

    Yaser Taheri, Kazem Alimardani & Behrooz M. Ziapour

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  1. Yaser Taheri
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  2. Kazem Alimardani
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  3. Behrooz M. Ziapour
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Correspondence to Yaser Taheri.

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Taheri, Y., Alimardani, K. & Ziapour, B.M. Study of thermal effects and optical properties of an innovative absorber in integrated collector storage solar water heater. Heat Mass Transfer 51, 1403–1411 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-015-1510-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-015-1510-x

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