Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of a Novel Hybrid Heat-Pipe Solar Collector

Abstract

This article describes a novel flat plate heat-pipe solar collector, namely, the hybrid heat-pipe solar collector. An analytical model has been developed to calculate the collector efficiency as well as simulate the heat transfer processes occurring in the collector. The effects of heat pipes/absorber, top cover, flue gas channel geometry, and flue gas temperature and flow rate, on the collector efficiency were investigated based on three modes of operation, i.e., solar only operation, solar/exhaust gas combined, and solar, exhaust gas and boiler combined. Experimental testing of the collector was also carried out for each of these modes of operation under real climatic conditions. The results were used to estimate the efficiency of the collector and determine the relation between the efficiency and general external parameter. The modeling and experimental results were compared and a correlation factor was used to modify the theoretical predictions. It was found that the efficiency of the collector was increased by about 20–30% compared to a conventional flat-plate heat pipe solar collector.     

Performance improvement of a double-pass V-corrugated solar air heater under recycling operation

The device performance of double-pass V-corrugated solar air heaters with external recycle was investigated experimentally and theoretically. The comparison between V-corrugated and flat-plate collectors was made to show the thermal efficiency improvement with various operating parameters. The results show that the collector efficiency improvement of the recycling double-pass V-corrugated operation is much higher than those of the other configurations under various recycle ratios and mass flow rates. However, there exists the penalty on the power consumption increment due to implementing V-corrugated channel into the solar air heaters, an economic consideration on both the heat-transfer efficiency enhancement and power consumption increment for the double-pass V-corrugated device was also delineated. The experimental setup was carried out to validate the theoretical predictions, and the fairly good agreement between both results was achieved with the error analysis of 0.48-1.83%.     

Research on distribution performance of desert sand for heat storage in downcomer

In this research, desert sand is used as the sensible heat storage medium, which exchanges heat with air in the downcomer to realize heat storage and heat release. The desert sand distribution uniformity has a significant impact on the heat exchange performance and efficiency between desert sand and air for the process of convection in the downcomer. Given the superiority of sensible heat storage in convective heat transfer between desert sand and air, distributors with cylinder or conical bore solid particles and homogeneity performance testing device are designed and manufactured on the basis of convection system equipped with solid particle–air downcomer. Then, the convection experiment between solid sand and air is researched. The greater the desert sand flow rate and higher the volume density, the larger the variance of regional mass flow rate and the worse the homogeneity performance. For the cylinder bore distributor, the smaller the sand particle size is, the greater affected the sand groups can be. The sand homogeneity performance is preferable with the two particle size ranges: 0.18-0.25 mm and 0.15-0.18 mm. The total sand flow rate decreases, but the uniformity improves with the increase of the air flow velocity, and the best distribution performance is achieved at an air velocity of 0.6 m/s. However, the distribution performance declines with the air flow velocity persistently increasing because the sand groups are pushed to one pipe side close to the wall. The sand groups deflect seriously with the air flow velocity increasing.     

The influences of recycle effect on double-pass V-corrugated solar air heaters

The study of the heat transfer enhancement for the recycling double-pass V-corrugated solar air heaters, which implement the external recycle of flowing air, was investigated experimentally and theoretically. The comparison among different designs of V-corrugated, baffled and fins attached, and flat-plate collectors was made to show the device performance improvement with various operating parameters under the same working dimensions. The recycling double-pass V-corrugated device developed here was proposed in aiming to strengthen the convective heat-transfer coefficient and enlarge the heat transfer area. The error analysis of experimental results deviate by 0.85–2.46% from the theoretical predictions with the fairly good agreement, and both results show that the device performance of the recycling double-pass V-corrugated operation is better than those of the other configurations under various recycle ratios and mass flow rates. The suitable selections were obtained for operating recycling double-pass V-corrugated devices while considering with an economic viewpoint by both the collector efficiency enhancement and the power consumption increment.     

Experimental study of new solar air heater design

The suitable design is the most important key to a cost-effective solar air heater. Although there are many techniques that have been proposed to improve the solar air heaters’ performance by means of different turbulence promoters, they cannot ensure a compromise between the cost and the effectiveness. The aim of this study is to find simple and tolerable solution to get rid of the inconvenience resulting from the widely adopted heat-transfer-enhancement techniques by providing an optimized solar air heater design. The proposed design consists of a slightly curved smooth flow channel with an absorber plate of convex shape. A prototype of a curved solar air heater of 1.28 m² collector area was built and tested under summer outdoor conditions in Biskra (Algeria). The performance was evaluated in terms of thermal and effective efficiency for mass flow rates of 0.0172, 0.029, and 0.0472 kg/sm². It is observed that the overall efficiency of this solar air heater is considerably higher in comparison with the efficiency range of the conventional smooth flat plate heaters reported in the literature for similar operating conditions.     

Performance investigation of a new solar desalination unit based on sequential flat plate and parabolic dish collector

A new system composed of a sequential flat plate and parabolic dish solar collector was applied to enhance the solar desalination productivity. Heated saline water was desalinated using the evaporation/condensation principle and an effort was made to achieve higher distillate production compared to previous studies. Desalination efficiency values were calculated between 23% and 57%. Maximum desalinated water productions were obtained as 1,038 mL/m².h in autumn and 1,402 mL/m².h in summer. The cost of solar desalination system was found as economically feasible with 3 years’ payback period and the produced water cost of 0.014 $/L. Physicochemical analyses revealed that as a result of the desalination process, salinity level decreased from 35.6‰ to 0.0–0.1‰, chloride concentration decreased from 21,407 mg/L to 10 mg/L, and electrical conductivity decreased from 53.1 mS/cm to 0.11 mS/cm.     

Impact of utilizing reflector,single-axis and two-axis sun trackers on the performance of an evacuated tube solar collector

ABSTRACT

In this paper, a novel evacuated tube solar collector (ETSC) is first designed and built. Then, the impact of adding reflector, reflector plus single-axis sun tracker and reflector plus two-axis sun tracker to the built ETSC on the thermal efficiency of the ETSC is evaluated both theoretically and experimentally. In this regard, four identical versions of the proposed ETSC have been built and utilized in four collectors built and presented in this research work. The first collector is the same proposed built ETSC, the second collector is a parabolic trough solar collector comprising one built ETSC and a reflector (ETSC+R), the third collector is composed of one built ETSC, a reflector and a single-axis sun tracker all built in this study (ETSC+R+ ST), and the fourth collector consists of one built ETSC, a reflector and a two-axis sun tracker all built in this study (ETSC+R+ DT). Theoretical basis and concepts of the four collectors are formulated and analyzed in separate subsections. Theoretical results are outlined and highlighted at the end of each subsection. Experimental measurements and data obtained from the operation of the four collectors in the four seasons are presented that point by point verify theoretical results obtained in this study. To provide a comprehensive view, a techno-economic numerical comparison is performed between the four collectors. The following points, which are also the novelty and contributions of this work, are deduced from theoretical concepts, experimental data, and comparison provided in this study:

?There is no technical and economic justification for adding a reflector to an ETSC that results in forming a parabolic trough solar collector (ETSC+R) without any sun tracker.

?There is no economic justification for adding a single-axis sun tracker to a parabolic trough solar collector (ETSC+R).

?There is no economic justification for adding a two-axis sun tracker to a parabolic trough solar collector (ETSC+R).

?Comparing between a two-axis sun tracker and a single-axis sun tracker, adding the single-axis type to a parabolic trough solar collector (ETSC+R) is more advantageous.     

Performance study on evacuated tubular collector coupled solar still in West Texas climate

Experimental study was performed on a single basin active solar distillation system augmented with a solar collector using evacuated solar tubes. Field tests were conducted over several days under the climatic conditions of West Texas to evaluate the effect evacuated solar tubes have on the daily distillate yield rate. To investigate the feasibility of the solar tubes, active and passive solar stills with and without exterior insulation were examined. The maximum daily production rate for the active distillation system using evacuated solar tubes and the passive distillation system was 3.6 and 1.4 kg/m²day, respectively. The results showed the augmentation of the still with evacuated solar tubes increased its production capacity by a factor of 2.63. It also increased the maximum temperature of the water in the still basin by at least 20 °C. Economic analysis shows that it is feasible to use evacuated tubular collector coupled solar still as an alternative means for reclaiming water in farmlands with a payback period of approximately 6 years.     

Available solar energy for flat-plate solar collectors mounted on a fixed or tracking structure

The solar energy received by a flat plate collector is calculated for various tracking modes: fixed, inclination depending on the season or the month; variable inclination with fixed azimuth, variable azimuth with fixed inclination and double tracking. At first, we take into account only the sun position and then, we use validated radiation models for estimating the ground solar radiation. Using a tracker is questionable particularly if the additional costs are taken into account. A good solution to increase the available solar energy is to change seasonally the inclination, that is, 4 times per year.     

紧密型栅栏对风沙流影响的实验研究

开展了紧密型栅栏阻沙的野外观测实验,探讨栅栏对风沙流粒度组成及输沙量的影响。结果表明:受栅栏影响风沙流中大粒径沙粒含量降低,小颗粒含量增加;沙粒越过栅栏继续随气流运动的能力与其粒径相关,以0.1mm~0.075mm粒径穿越能力最强,随着粒径的增大或减小这种能力逐渐减弱;粒径1mm的沙粒则很难通过栅栏;沙粒沉积主要发生在在栅栏前端,以粒径0.1mm沙粒为主,占沉积沙土总量的80%强。     

Finned Single-pass Solar Air Heaters with Wire Mesh as an Absorber Plate

Single-pass solar air heaters (SAHs) with two and six fins attached and packed with wire mesh layers were experimentally investigated. Wire mesh layers were used between the fins in the place of an absorber plate. The effects of air mass flow rate on the outlet temperature and thermal efficiency were studied. The results showed an increase in the thermal efficiency as the air mass flow rate was increased. The range of the mass flow rate used in this work was between 0.0121and 0.042 kg/s. It was found that for the same mass flow rate the SAH having six fins has higher efficiency compared to the system that has two fins. The maximum efficiencies for the SAHs were obtained at the mass flow rate of 0.042 kg/s. The maximum efficiencies for the six-finned and two-finned SAHs were 79.81% and 71.8%, respectively. In addition, the maximum temperature difference between the inlet and the outlet, ΔT, for the SAH with six fins exceeded the two-finned SAH for the same mass flow rates. The maximum ΔT was 51.1°C for the six-finned SAH and 44.2°C for the two-finned SAH. As expected, the maximum ΔT for each SAH was obtained at the lowest air mass flow rate (i.e., 0.0121 kg/s). A substantial enhancement in the thermal efficiency was achieved in comparison to the results of a single-flow packed bed collector with those of conventional collectors.     

戈壁地表风沙运动特征的野外观测研究

通过野外观测实验探讨了戈壁地表风沙运动的若干特征。结果表明:戈壁地表风沙活动层主要集中在距地表60 cm高度内;不同粒径沙粒输沙强度的垂向分布不同,以0.25~0.5mm为过渡区,0.25mm颗粒输沙强度随高度增大先增加而后按指数规律递减,0.5mm颗粒则随高度增加呈线性递减,且粒径越大,递减的梯度越小;风沙流中颗粒的粒度组成不仅受风速和颗粒起动风速影响,而且还与地表粒度组成直接相关;输沙率与风速之间关系服从指数规律,公式形式为q=α.eβ.u,其中α、β为相关系数,u为地面2m高处风速。     

A numerical model for drying of spherical object in an indirect type solar dryer and estimating the drying time at different moisture level and air temperature

A numerical model for simultaneous heat and mass transfer was developed for solar drying of spherical objects and the object considered is green peas. Solar collector outlet temperature is assumed as drying chamber temperature and justified through energy balance equations. Assumptions are imposed on heat and mass transfer governing equations without losing the physics of the problem. Discretization is performed by finite difference method with implicit scheme. To generalize, the governing equation and boundary conditions are non-dimensionalized. The set of finite difference equations was solved by Tridiagonal Matrix Algorithm and a computer code in MATLAB was developed to solve them. The drying curves showed two stages of drying, initial, and secondary drying stage. At all drying temperatures and drying time, the center moisture was maximum and it was minimum at the boundary. A percentage of 85.67 surface moisture content and 25.33% center moisture was eliminated in the first 1 hr at 348 K. The product should be dried up to 7.45, 4.74, and 3.74 hr at air drying temperatures of 318, 333, and 348 K respectively, to maintain 10% of the product’s initial moisture content. The result is compared with the experimental result from literature and they are found to be in good agreement.     

Transport of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) applied with sewage sludge to undisturbed and repacked soil columns

Municipal sewage sludge is often used on arable soils as a source of nitrogen and phosphorus, but it also contains organic contaminants that may be leached to the ground water. Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) is a priority pollutant that is present in sewage sludge in ubiquitous amounts. Column experiments were performed on undisturbed soil cores (20-cm depth x 20-cm diameter) with three different soil types: a sand, a loamy sand, and a sandy loam soil. Dewatered sewage sludge was spiked with 14C-labeled DEHP (60 mg kg(-1)) and bromide (5 g kg(-1)). Sludge was applied to the soil columns either as five aggregates, or homogeneously mixed with the surface layer. Also, two leaching experiments were performed with repacked soil columns (loamy sand and sandy loam soil). The DEHP concentrations in the effluent did not exceed 1.0 microg L(-1), and after 200 mm of outflow less than 0.5% of the applied amount was recovered in the leachate in all soils but the sandy loam soil with homogeneous sludge application (up to 3.4% of the applied amount recovered). In the absence of macropore flow, DEHP in the leachate was primarily sorbed to mobilized dissolved organic macromolecules (DOM, 30.3 to 81.3%), while 2.4 to 23.6% was sorbed to mobilized mineral particles. When macropore flow occurred, this changed to 16.5 to 37.4% (DOM) and 36.9 to 40.6% (mineral particles), respectively. The critical combination for leaching of considerable amounts of DEHP was homogeneous sludge application and a continuous macropore structure.     

An investigation of the kinetic processes influencing mercury emissions from sand and soil samples of varying thickness

Mercury flux from HgCl2-treated sand and untreated soil samples of varying thickness (0.5-15 mm) were measured in dark and light under a Teflon dynamic flux chamber. Mean emissions over a 5.5-d sampling period showed an increase with depth for sand samples between 0.5 and 2 mm, but increasing depth above 2 mm had no effect. First-order kinetic models showed strong goodness of fit to the data and explained a high degree ofvariability in the emissions profile of all sand samples (R = 0.70-0.98). Soil samples showed an initial emissions peak that was not correlated with depth, suggesting a very shallow process at work. However, longer-term "baseline" emissions, measured as mean emissions between days 4.5 and 5.5, did show a relationship with depth. First-order kinetic models showed good fit for soil samples up to 4 mm thick (R2 = 0.66-0.91); however, thicker samples did not show a consistent fit to first- or second-order kinetic models (1 degree R2 = 0.00-0.46; 2 degree R2 = 0.00-0.54). The data suggest that mercury emissions from soil samples may follow a multicomponent model for which more     

CFD analysis on the performance of a solar chimney power plant system: Case study in Algeria

The solar chimney power plant (SCPP) is a power generator which uses solar radiation to increase the internal energy of the air circulating in the system, thereby transforming the useful gain of the solar collector into kinetic energy. The produced kinetic energy then can be converted into electrical energy by means of an appropriate turbine. In this paper, four locations in Algeria

(Constantine, Ouargla, Adrar, and Tamanrasset) were considered as case studies to describe the SCPP mechanism in detail. Numerical simulation of an SCPP which has the same geometrical dimensions was performed to estimate the power output of SCPP in these regions. Using the CFD software FLUENT we simulated a two-dimensional axisymmetric model of a SCPP with the standard k-ε turbulence model. The simulation results show that the highest power output produced monthly average value 68–73 KW over the year and the highest hourly power produced in June is around 109–113 KW.     

Power performance characterization of multi-crystalline silicon solar cells and its module at outdoor exposure

Outdoor power performance measurements of silicon (Si) solar cells and its assembled module were carried out at the coastal site of geographical location of 12.0107° Latitude and 79.856° Longitude, of Puducherry, India. Measurements were analyzed in comparison with the daily solar illumination data obtained by an optical pyranometer deployed with global measurement condition. It was found that the module required ~3 times more illumination to stabilize in its output voltage than the requirement of an individual cell and exhibited 11.35% loss in its efficiency compared to its STC value. Proposed operation of 5.30 hours was found resulting in an output rating fixed at ~40% from its 100% full capacity.     

Drying of salted silver jewfish in a hybrid solar drying system and under open sun: Modeling and performance analyses

This study investigated the thin-layer drying kinetics of salted silver jewfish in a hybrid solar drying system and under open sun. Ten drying models were compared with experimental data of salted silver jewfish drying. A new model was introduced, which is an offset linear logarithmic (offset modified Page model). The fit quality of the models was evaluated using the coefficient of determination (R²), root mean square error (RMSE), and sum of squared absolute error (SSAE). The result showed that Midilli et al. model and new model were comparable with two or three-term exponential drying models. This study also analyzed energy and exergy during solar drying of salted silver jewfish. Energy analysis throughout the solar drying process was estimated on the basis of the first law of thermodynamics, whereas exergy analysis during solar drying was determined on the basis of the second law of thermodynamics. At an average solar radiation of 540 W/m² and a mass flow rate of 0.0778 kg/sec, the collector efficiency and drying system efficiency were about 41% and 23%, respectively. Specific energy consumption was 2.92 kWh/kg. Moreover, the exergy efficiency during solar drying process ranged from 17% to 44%, with an average value of 31%. The values of improvement potential varied between 106 and 436 W, with an average of 236 W.     

Enhanced solar still productivity using transparent walls with an integral trough and organic porous absorber material

This experimental work has been conducted to compare the performance of the modified stills with that of the conventional still. Three modified stills (S1, S2, and S3) and conventional still (S4) were fabricated, each with 0.5 m² of the basin area. S1 and S3 had transparent double glass walls with air in between acting as insulation, whereas S2 has a single transparent wall. S4 has insulated plywood walls painted black from inside. A mixture of coco peat and charcoal was used in S1, S2, and S3, whereas there was no basin material for S4. Experiments were conducted by changing the water quantity in the solar still ranging from 5 to 10 kg. Maximum distillate output of 5.46 l/m²-d was obtained for S2, whereas it was 3.80 l/m²-d for S4 for an average solar radiation intensity of 675 W/m² (24.3 MJ/m²-d). Use of transparent walls with troughs to collect condensate increased the condenser area by 78.4%. The distillate water cost per liter was estimated as Rs. 0.86 (0.013 US$) and Rs. 1.61 (0.025 US$) for S2 and S4, respectively. Energy payback time for S2 was estimated as 4 months. Theoretical and experimental values showed that there is a significant loss of incoming solar radiation due to wall shadow.     

Optimizing Li2O-2B2O3 coating layer on LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) cathode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

ABSTRACT

In this paper, a wet chemical method is used to coat LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂ (NCM811) cathode material by Li₂O-2B₂O₃ (LBO) layer for Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). For performance optimization, the effects of different contents (thicknesses) of LBO coating layers on NCM811 particle surface on the morphologies, structures, compositions, and electrochemical properties of the corresponding LIBs are studied using XRD, SEM, TEM, and electrochemical measurements. Coin LIBs are assembled with such coated NCM811 cathode materials for performance validation. Results show that LBO coating layer does not change the original lattice structure of the bulk material, it can only adhere to the surface of the bulk material. After coating, NCM811 shows a good crystallinity and the ordered layered structure. TEM images show that the thickness of LBO coating is increased with increasing LBO content, and that the appropriate LBO coating thickness and uniform coating state are conducive to the improvement of the electrochemical properties of NCM811 cathode materials. Particularly, NCM811 with LBO coating content of 1000 ppm shows the best performance compared to other coating contents. In this case, the coating thickness is relatively uniform, which is about 40～100 nm, giving a good first charge-discharge capacity of 214.1mAh/g, and a high Coulomb efficiency of 90.06%. After 50 cycles, the capacity retention rate of LIBs still keeps as high as 99.64%. Therefore, LBO coating can improve the performance of NCM811 and then the lithium-ion batteries.