Eventos Anais de eventos
ENCIT 2016
16th Brazilian Congress of Thermal Sciences and Engineering
THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF A COLLECTOR GEOMETRY BASED ON THE DIRECT ABSORPTION SOLAR COLECTOR USING OPENFOAM®
Submission Author:
Guilherme Biazzi Gonçalves , SP
Co-Authors:
Alcides Padilha, Vicente Luiz Scalon
Presenter: Guilherme Biazzi Gonçalves
doi://10.26678/ABCM.ENCIT2016.CIT2016-0203
Abstract
Considering the existing alternative energy sources, solar energy deserves to be highlighted for its great exploitation potential. Solar devices allow a wide range of use and can be implemented in different operations, such as hotels and industries, even in typical home systems. Among the possible applications of solar energy, the commonest one is the Solar Water Heating System (SWHS) using flat plate solar collectors for residences. However, other types of collectors can be used in such systems as the collector geometry based on the direct absorption collector. This paper proposes a new geometry in which the working fluid flows between a black absorber plate, which also heats the fluid, and a glass surface. In order to evaluate the applicability of this collector, a two-dimensional numerical model using OpenFOAM® was prepared in order to determine the thermal efficiency curves in accordance with ISO 9806-1: 1994. So, it was analysed five distinct fluid thicknesses, ranging between 1.0 mm and 5.0 mm, with different fluid inlet temperature. In addition, it was also evaluated the thickness influence on the bulk temperature in the collector outlet. By analysing the results, it was concluded that the influence of geometry thickness in thermal efficiency and bulk temperature is small. Considering the assessed range, the 5.0 mm thickness showed the best values of thermal efficiency and bulk temperature.
Keywords
Solar Energy, Solar Collector, Thermal Efficiency, OpenFOAM
