Numerical simulation for structural parameters of flat-plate solar collector

• Published in: Solar energy 2015-07, Vol.117, p.192-202
• Main Authors: Jiandong, Zhang, Hanzhong, Tao, Susu, Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Collector; Energy efficiency; Finite volume method; Flat-plate; Numerical simulation; Photovoltaic cells; Simulation; Solar; Solar energy
• ISSN: 0038-092X; 1471-1257
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2015.04.027

[Display omitted] •We achieve the thermal simulation of flat-plate solar collector.•We apply the flow-solid and solid–solid heat coupling techniques.•Heat transfer simulation of conduction, convection and radiation are combined.•Detail change rules between collector efficiency and structural parameters are got. Based on finite volume method, the steady-state thermal performances of the flat-plate solar collector are studied by taking account of absorber plate thickness, collector tube spacing, collector tube length, collector tube diameter and insulating layer thickness. A physical model of gilled flat-plate solar collector is built, then the numerical simulation of the model is carried out and the numerical simulation results are compared and analyzed with experimental results. The results show that: Either increasing the absorber plate thickness or reducing the collector tube spacing can significantly improve the instantaneous efficiency of the collector. Setting the solar radiation intensity of 700W/m2 and the environmental speed of 4m/s, when the absorber plate thickness increases from 0.1mm to 2.1mm, the collector instantaneous efficiency increases from 46.57% to 64.03%. When the collector tube spacing decreases from 170mm to 50mm, the collector instantaneous efficiency increases from 52.81% to 66.01%. Reducing the collector tube length and increasing collector tube diameter are both conducive to improve the instantaneous efficiency of the collector. When the collector tube length decreases from 2800mm to 1200mm, the collector instantaneous efficiency increases from 57.50% to 60.12%. When the collector tube diameters increases from 8mm to 20mm, the collector instantaneous efficiency increases from 56.18% to 63.97%. When the thickness of insulating layer is 30mm or more, increasing its thickness has no significant effect on improving the instantaneous efficiency of the collector. The research results are helpful to optimize the design parameters of the flat-plate solar collector.