Steady state simulation on combination of glazed and unglazed flat plate solar collectors for air heating

• Published in: IOP conference series. Earth and environmental science 2020-07, Vol.542 (1), p.12043
• Main Authors: Nelwan, L O, Wulandani, D, Subrata, I D M, Effendi, R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Equilibrium conditions; Flat plates; Flow rates; Flow velocity; Heat loss; Heat transfer; Heat transfer coefficients; Heating; Inlet temperature; Irradiation; Photovoltaic cells; Radiation; Simulation; Solar collectors; Steady state
• ISSN: 1755-1307; 1755-1315
• DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/542/1/012043

Unglazed flat plate solar collectors usually have lower costs and can have an advantage in situations where heat loss is low. In this study a steady state simulation of the combination of glazed and unglazed flat plate solar collectors for air heating was performed for various conditions of heat transfer coefficient (3, 12 and 21 W/m2-°C), inlet temperature (30, 45, 60 and 75°C) and solar irradiation (350, 600 and 850 W/m2). The efficiency of combined system of the glazed and unglazed solar collector area was better compared to the system which consists entirely of glazed at a low coefficient of heat transfer (3 W/m2-°C), except for high inlet temperature (more than 60°C) and low solar irradiation (350 W/m2-°C). For the combination of 6m2 unglazed and 9m2 glazed solar collector, the higher percentage of flow rate through unglazed collector slightly increases efficiency except at high inlet temperatures (> 60°C) for high heat transfer coefficient (12 and 21 W/m2-°C) and at low solar irradiation (350 W/m2). For air heating operations which are maintained in equilibrium conditions the temperatures of the air produced were slightly higher than that of the collector inlet.