In this work, a flat-plate solar air heater (FSAH) and a tubular solar air heater (TSAH) were designed and tested numerically. The work investigates the effect of increasing the contact area between the flowing air and the absorber surface of each heater and predicts the expected results before the fabrication of the experimental rig. Three-dimensional two models were designed and simulated by the ANSYS-FLUENT 16 Program. The solar irradiation and ambient air temperature were measured experimentally on December 1st 2022, at the weather conditions of Baghdad City- Iraq, at three air mass flow rates, 0.012 kg/s, 0.032 kg/s, and 0.052 kg/s. The numerical results showed the advantage in the thermal performance of the TSAH in comparison to the FSAH, represented by better air temperature difference, better heat transfer from the absorber to air, and better thermal efficiency. The TSAH has a higher thermal efficiency than the FSAH by 7 %, 19 % °C, and 22 % at 0.012 kg/s, 0.032 kg/s, and 0.052 kg/s, respectively. The improvement of the thermal characteristics of the TSAH can be referred to as the increment in the heat transfer contact area between the absorber and the flowing air.
An experimental study was conducted to determine the performance of a solar electric refrigeration system. The system contained flat photovoltaic solar panel which absorbs the solar energy and convert it to electrical energy, used to run the refrigeration cycle. Two refrigeration cycles with electrical solar panel were used over a period of 12 months, the first one with classical parts known in refrigeration cycle, while the second one introduced heat exchanger which improves the coefficient of performance by saving the consumed energy. The coefficient of performance of these refrigeration cycles with compressor efficiency 85% are 2.102 and 2.57 respectively. The overall efficiency of the two systems are 18.9% and 23.13%.
A numerical method is developed to obtain two-dimensional velocity and pressure distribution through a cylindrical pipe with cross jet flows. The method is based on solving partial differential equations for the conservation of mass and momentum by finite difference method to convert them into algebraic equations. This well-known problem is used to introduce the basic concepts of CFD including: the finite- difference mesh, the discrete nature of the numerical solution, and the dependence of the result on the mesh refinement. Staggered grid implementation of the numerical model is used. The set of algebraic equations is solved simultaneously by “SIMPLE” algorithm to obtain velocity and pressure distribution within a pipe. In order to
... Show MoreIn this paper, the solar surface magnetic flux transport has been simulated by solving the diffusion–advection equation utilizing numerical explicit and implicit methods in 2Dsurface. The simulation was used to study the effect of bipolar tilted angle on the solar flux distribution with time. The results show that the tilted angle controls the magnetic distribution location on the sun’s surface, especially if we know that the sun’s surface velocity distribution is a dependent location. Therefore, the tilted angle parameter has distribution influence.
Flat-plate collector considers most common types of collectors, for ease of manufacturing and low price compared with other collectors. The main aim of the present work is to increase the efficiency of the collector, which can be achieved by improving the heat transfer and minimize heat loss experimentally. Five types of solar air collectors have been tested, which conventional channel with a smooth absorber plate (model I), dual channel with a smooth absorber plate (model II), dual channel with perforating “V” corrugated absorber plate (model III), dual channel with internal attached wire mesh (model Ⅳ), and dual channel with absorber sheet of transparent honeycomb, (model Ⅴ). The dual channel collector used for
... Show MoreSolar energy is still commonly used to produce clean drinking water due to its simple construction, low maintenance, and ecofriendliness. This work aims to experimentally investigate the yield upgrade and the thermal performance of a novel concentrated single‐axis tracking trough tubular solar still (TSS). This tubular still is identified by three baffles that generate four interrupted sections in the U‐receiver, which is inserted with copper mesh and fitted in a hexagonal‐shaped glass cover. Two identical TSS models were side‐by‐side outdoor tested in Baghdad‐Iraq 33.3° N and 43.3° E from January to March 2024. The first is inserted with black copper mesh (Model I), and the other h
In this paper, an experimental study of the thermal performance for hybrid solar air conditioning system was carried out, to investigate system suitability for the hot climate in Iraq. The system consists of vapor compression unit combined with evacuated tube solar collector and liquid storage tank. A three-way valve was installed after the compressor to control the direction flow of the refrigerant, either to the storage tank or directly to the condenser. The performance parameters were collected by data logger to display and record in the computer by using LabVIEW software. The results show that the average coefficient of performance of hybrid solar air conditioning system (R=1) was about 2.42 to 2.77 and the average p
... Show MoreZinc-air fuel cells (ZAFCs) are a promising energy source that could compete with lithium-ion batteries and perhaps proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) for next-generation electrified transportation and energy storage applications. In the present work, a flow-type ZAFC with mechanical rechargeable was adopted, combined with an auxiliary cell (electrolyzer) for zinc renewal and electrolyte recharge to the main cell. In this work a practical study was performed to calculate the cell capacity (Ah), as well as study the electrolysis cell efficiency by current efficiency, and study the effective parameters that have an influence on cell performance such as space velocity and current density. The best parameters were selected to
... Show MoreInvestigating the thermal and electrical gains and efficiencies influence the designed photovoltaic thermal hybrid collector (PVT) under different weather conditions. The designed system was manufactured by attaching a fabricated cooling system made of serpentine tubes to a single PV panel and connecting it to an automatic controlling system for measuring, monitoring, and simultaneously collecting the required data. A removable glass cover had been used to study the effects of glazed and unglazed PVT panel situations. The research was conducted in February (winter) and July (summer), and March for daily solar radiation effects on efficiencies. The results indicated that electrical and thermal gains increased by the incre
... Show MoreHeat transfer process and fluid flow in a solar chimney used for natural ventilation are investigated numerically and experimentally her in. Solar chimney was designed, manufactured and tested by selecting different positions of air entrance namely: bottom entrance, side entrance, and both side and bottom entrances. The effect of integrating the chimney with paraffin (phase change material) on its thermal behavior has been also investigated. CFD analysis based on finite volume method is used to predict the thermal performance, and fluid flow in two-dimensional solar chimney under unsteady state condition, to identify the effect of different parameters such as solar radiation, and inclination angle. Experimental results show that a solar chi
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