Numerical investigation of influence of the absorber shape on thermal performance of a solar collector

The solar collector has received great interest in many industrial applications. This paper investigates numerically the influence of the absorber shape on the thermal performance of the solar air heat collector. Turbulent 3D air flow is simulated using the turbulence RNG k-epsilon model. The validation of the used model is achieved by comparing the simulated Nusselt numbers to the experimental ones obtained under the same conditions in the case of the simple shape. A good agreement between numerical results and experimental data is obtained. Three other geometric shapes including oval, rectangular, and hexagonal forms of the absorber are also tested. A maximum improvement in the Nusselt number of 36% is obtained using the hexagonal shape of the absorber and a Reynolds number of 12,000. Predicted distributions of temperature, velocity, and pressure are also improved by using the hexagonal shape of the absorber.

Automated summary

This study investigates the influence of absorber shape on the thermal performance of solar air heat collector using numerical simulation and experimental validation. The results show that the hexagonal shape of the absorber can significantly improve the thermal performance.