Development and performance analysis of flat plate base-thermal cell absorber

Abstract

This study aims to design, fabricate, and study the performance of a thermal cell absorber attached to a flat plate absorber collector. Flat Plate Solar Collector (FPSC) is widely used in agricultural products for drying applications. An investigation into the effect of design parameters on FPSC has been carried out. Flat Plate Base-Thermal Cell Absorber (FPBTCA) has been designed and fabricated based on the design parameters experiment results which are; absorber base materials (AL), absorber base thickness (0.5 mm), the air gap distance between glass and absorber base (10 mm), the air gap distance between glass 1 and glass 2 (0.4 mm), double glass, glass thickness (2.0 mm), thermal cell thickness (1.0 mm) and material (SS). The experiment was performed using a solar simulator with solar radiation of 700 W/m2. The solar simulator is used as the artificial sun, which is exposed to solar radiation for 300 seconds and without solar radiation also for 300 seconds. The heat transfer rate of the collector (Q ̇) and efficiency of the collector shows that stainless steel 1.0 mm with aluminum base absorber has a higher value which is 412 kJ, 18.21 kW, and 47.08 %, respectively. The performance of the outlet temperature in the drying chamber of stainless steel with an aluminum absorber has a higher value of energy gain which is 116.08 J at 300 seconds. Evaluation under outdoor conditions revealed that the FPBTCA has a lower temperature discharge rate as compared to the FPSC. FPBTCA also shows the highest heat absorption (Q ̇), which is 96079.37 J on 4 March 2021, then FPSC, which is 49187.07 J. The highest efficiency for FPBTCA at 360 minutes is 30.24 %, and for FPSC is 21.81 %. The efficiency of FPBTCA is consistent while the solar radiation is decreased at 120 minutes and 180 minutes. Mathematical modelling analysis proved that the error for energy balance is below 5%. FPBTCA has been introduced to enhance the thermal performance and efficiency of solar thermal collector systems. It also has higher heat storage capabilities during solar radiation drops when the weather is cloudy.