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Investigating the Effect of Spherical Aluminum Particles on the Photothermal Performance of a Solar Air Collector

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  • Chunbo Li

    (Faculty of Electronic Information Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huai’an 223003, China)

  • Yuwei Dong

    (Faculty of Mechanical & Material Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huai’an 223003, China)

  • Xuelong Fu

    (Department of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Jiangsu Vocational and Technical College of Finance and Economics, Huai’an 223003, China)

  • Yanzong Wang

    (Faculty of Electronic Information Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huai’an 223003, China)

  • Qunyong Zhang

    (Faculty of Electronic Information Engineering, Huaiyin Institute of Technology, Huai’an 223003, China)

Abstract

Recently, radiation-absorbing phase change material (PCM) for thermal storage that can discharge thermal energy on demand when no radiation is present has been developed and tested indoors. Organic materials with limited thermal conductivity slow down the thermal response processes when charging and discharging. For various industrial applications, much research is devoted to the introduction of solar collectors with the best possible integration of solar thermal collector and PCM in terms of both shape and material. In this study, the performance of a solar collector is examined in relation to the additive effects of aluminum particles in spherical capsules. For the transfer fluid temperature with the behavior of the heat storage, a mathematical model of the solar collector was created. The integrated system consists of two primary steps: a first phase that involves an isolated duct covered in glass, and a second step that involves an array of spherical capsules used as storage. The solar air collector is 1.32 m in width and 2.450 m in length. The PCM unit has a 7.7 cm diameter, 0.15 cm thickness, and is filled with a paraffin wax with concentrations between 0.1 and 0.5 weight of nanoparticle aluminum powder. The air mass flow rate varies from 0.03 kg/s up to 0.09 kg/s, while the temperature varied from 30 to 35 °C. The results obtained from experiments agreed with the predicted results. The reduction in charging time was approximately 70% as the cooling rate increased. The improvement of efficiency of thermal storage reached 76.8% and 71%, at mass flow rates 0.07 kg/s and 0.05 kg/s for pure paraffin wax. The overall thermal storage performance for the system was enhanced from 21.7% to 78.9%.

Suggested Citation

  • Chunbo Li & Yuwei Dong & Xuelong Fu & Yanzong Wang & Qunyong Zhang, 2022. "Investigating the Effect of Spherical Aluminum Particles on the Photothermal Performance of a Solar Air Collector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-13, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:21:p:14107-:d:956923
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Abdul Sattar & Muhammad Farooq & Muhammad Amjad & Muhammad A. Saeed & Saad Nawaz & M.A. Mujtaba & Saqib Anwar & Ahmed M. El-Sherbeeny & Manzoore Elahi M. Soudagar & Enio P. Bandarra Filho & Qasim Ali , 2020. "Performance Evaluation of a Direct Absorption Collector for Solar Thermal Energy Conversion," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Solomon, Laura & Elmozughi, Ali F. & Oztekin, Alparslan & Neti, Sudhakar, 2015. "Effect of internal void placement on the heat transfer performance – Encapsulated phase change material for energy storage," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 438-447.
    3. Rathod, Manish K. & Banerjee, Jyotirmay, 2013. "Thermal stability of phase change materials used in latent heat energy storage systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 246-258.
    4. Kürklü, Ahmet & Özmerzi, Aziz & Bilgin, Sefai, 2002. "Thermal performance of a water-phase change material solar collector," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 391-399.
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