Comparative Analysis of Thermal Performance of a Solar Water Heating System Based on the Serpentine and Risers-Head Configurations
نویسندگان
1 Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Plateau State Polytechnic, Barkin-Ladi, Nigeria
2 Department of Computer Engineering, Plateau State Polytechnic, Barkin-Ladi, Nigeria
3 Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Jos, Plateau State, P. O. Box: 930261, Jos, Nigeria
4 Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Plateau State Polytechnic, Barkin-Ladi, Nigeria
doi
10.30501/jree.2020.251190.1150چکیده
The effect of solar collector configurations on the thermal efficiency of an active solar water heater was investigated using TRNSYS in this study. Two versions of a solar heater were formulated on the basis of serpentine and riser-header flat plate configurations. Both models were simulated based on the same parameters and weather conditions. Besides, in accordance with clear sky and cloudy sky conditions, a parametric analysis was performed to determine the impact of varying parameters on the thermal efficiency of the two models. The results showed that the serpentine-based device model provided about 2.62 % more usable thermal energy than the riser-header configuration. In addition, both models demonstrated the same response and sensitivity to changes in the collector area and the volume of the tank. However, on a cloudy day, the efficiency of serpentine showed a significant improvement and sensitivity to flow variance with an efficiency gap of about 30 % to the riser header configuration.
