Effect of novel phase change material (PCM) encapsulated design on thermal performance of solar collector

Abstract

Solar energy is one of the renewable energy sources that has a great potential for water heating system applications. In this work, the effect of the PCM on the outlet water temperature was studied. The solar energy is collected in the phase change material (PCM) by the storage unit during the higher radiation hours. The collected thermal energy then used to heat the water during the lower radiation hour. In this work, the effect of the PCM on the outlet water temperature was studied. Furthermore, the performance of consecutive two years (2018 and 2019) of thermal solar collector was investigated. The compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) was positioned on the upper surface of the thermal collector. Moreover, a thin layer of PCM was positioned under the absorber plate as a back layer for the storage of the collected latent heat. A constant flow rate was obtained at maximum outlet water temperature for those consecutive years. Additionally, a relatively steadier decrease of solar efficiency at lower solar radiation was also evident on the PCM system compared to that of the system without PCM thin film. The efficiency of solar collector depends on the design of solar collector and our proposed design was able to extract a prospective thermal efficiency for two consecutive years of observation. These outputs are satisfactory and acceptable for long-term applications for both domestic and industrial purposes.

Keywords

• Solar collector
• Phase change material
• Energy storage
• Performance
• Compound parabolic concentrator