Modification of a Solar Thermal Collector to Promote Heat Transfer inside an Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Absorber
Evacuated-tube solar collector (ETSC) is developed to achieve high heating medium temperature. Heat transfer fluid contained inside a copper heat pipe directly affects the heating medium temperature. A 10 mol% of ethylene-glycol in water is the heat transfer fluid in this system. The purpose of this...
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MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/4100 |
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| author | Rasa Supankanok Sukanpirom Sriwong Phisan Ponpo Wei Wu Walairat Chandra-ambhorn Amata Anantpinijwatna |
| author_facet | Rasa Supankanok Sukanpirom Sriwong Phisan Ponpo Wei Wu Walairat Chandra-ambhorn Amata Anantpinijwatna |
| author_sort | Rasa Supankanok |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Evacuated-tube solar collector (ETSC) is developed to achieve high heating medium temperature. Heat transfer fluid contained inside a copper heat pipe directly affects the heating medium temperature. A 10 mol% of ethylene-glycol in water is the heat transfer fluid in this system. The purpose of this study is to modify inner structure of the evacuated tube for promoting heat transfer through aluminum fin to the copper heat pipe by inserting stainless-steel scrubbers in the evacuated tube to increase heat conduction surface area. The experiment is set up to measure the temperature of heat transfer fluid at a heat pipe tip which is a heat exchange area between heat transfer fluid and heating medium. The vapor/ liquid equilibrium (VLE) theory is applied to investigate phase change behavior of the heat transfer fluid. Mathematical model validated with 6 experimental results is set up to investigate the performance of ETSC system and evaluate the feasibility of applying the modified ETSC in small-scale industries. The results indicate that the average temperature of heat transfer fluid in a modified tube increased to 160.32 °C which is higher than a standard tube by approximately 22 °C leading to the increase in its efficiency by 34.96%. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:48:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9ba57b7055664bd4a968093b660616a6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:48:21Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-9ba57b7055664bd4a968093b660616a62023-11-21T17:53:47ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172021-04-01119410010.3390/app11094100Modification of a Solar Thermal Collector to Promote Heat Transfer inside an Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal AbsorberRasa Supankanok0Sukanpirom Sriwong1Phisan Ponpo2Wei Wu3Walairat Chandra-ambhorn4Amata Anantpinijwatna5Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok 10520, ThailandDepartment of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok 10520, ThailandDepartment of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok 10520, ThailandDepartment of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, TaiwanDepartment of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok 10520, ThailandDepartment of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok 10520, ThailandEvacuated-tube solar collector (ETSC) is developed to achieve high heating medium temperature. Heat transfer fluid contained inside a copper heat pipe directly affects the heating medium temperature. A 10 mol% of ethylene-glycol in water is the heat transfer fluid in this system. The purpose of this study is to modify inner structure of the evacuated tube for promoting heat transfer through aluminum fin to the copper heat pipe by inserting stainless-steel scrubbers in the evacuated tube to increase heat conduction surface area. The experiment is set up to measure the temperature of heat transfer fluid at a heat pipe tip which is a heat exchange area between heat transfer fluid and heating medium. The vapor/ liquid equilibrium (VLE) theory is applied to investigate phase change behavior of the heat transfer fluid. Mathematical model validated with 6 experimental results is set up to investigate the performance of ETSC system and evaluate the feasibility of applying the modified ETSC in small-scale industries. The results indicate that the average temperature of heat transfer fluid in a modified tube increased to 160.32 °C which is higher than a standard tube by approximately 22 °C leading to the increase in its efficiency by 34.96%.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/4100evacuated tubeheat pipe tipheat transfer fluidstainless-steel scrubber |
| spellingShingle | Rasa Supankanok Sukanpirom Sriwong Phisan Ponpo Wei Wu Walairat Chandra-ambhorn Amata Anantpinijwatna Modification of a Solar Thermal Collector to Promote Heat Transfer inside an Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Absorber Applied Sciences evacuated tube heat pipe tip heat transfer fluid stainless-steel scrubber |
| title | Modification of a Solar Thermal Collector to Promote Heat Transfer inside an Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Absorber |
| title_full | Modification of a Solar Thermal Collector to Promote Heat Transfer inside an Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Absorber |
| title_fullStr | Modification of a Solar Thermal Collector to Promote Heat Transfer inside an Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Absorber |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modification of a Solar Thermal Collector to Promote Heat Transfer inside an Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Absorber |
| title_short | Modification of a Solar Thermal Collector to Promote Heat Transfer inside an Evacuated Tube Solar Thermal Absorber |
| title_sort | modification of a solar thermal collector to promote heat transfer inside an evacuated tube solar thermal absorber |
| topic | evacuated tube heat pipe tip heat transfer fluid stainless-steel scrubber |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/4100 |
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