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RESEARCH PAPERS

Thermal Modeling of PCM-Based Solar Integrated Collector Storage Water Heating System

[+] Author and Article Information
K. S. Reddy

Heat Transfer and Thermal Power Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian  Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai-600036, Indiaksreddy@iitm.ac.in

J. Sol. Energy Eng 129(4), 458-464 (May 11, 2007) (7 pages) doi:10.1115/1.2770753 History: Received March 13, 2006; Revised May 11, 2007

Abstract

The thermal modeling and analysis of a transparent insulation materials (TIM) covered solar integrated collector storage (ICS) water heating system with phase-change material (PCM) is carried out in this paper. The system consists of a double rectangular enclosure of cross section $1m×1m$ where the top enclosure is filled with paraffin wax and that of the bottom is with water. The transient response of the PCM-water solar ICS system is studied with and without fins on the diurnal basis. The performance of the system is investigated with 4, 9, and 19 fins inside the wax having a pitch of $20cm$, $10cm$, and $5cm$, respectively. The latent heat storage with nine fins is found to be optimum for maximum water temperature and minimum heat losses to the surroundings. The temperature of water in the ICS exceeds $50°C$ with a temperature drop of only $1.5–2°C$ during nighttime. The nine-fin solar ICS configuration attains $∼9°C$ higher than other configurations.

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Figures

Figure 1

Integrated-collector-storage solar water heater with fins inside the wax

Figure 2

Diurnal variation of solar radiation, ambient temperature, and average water temperature for the different configurations

Figure 3

Maximum water temperature in solar ICS system

Figure 4

Minimum water temperature in solar ICS system

Figure 5

Variation of liquid fraction of phase change material with time

Figure 6

Stratification (Tmax−Tmin) of water in the solar ICS system

Figure 7

Variation of heat transfer coefficient with time for the wax-water interface

Figure 8

Temperature contours for the different configurations at 6.00h next day (after 24h)

Figure 9

Liquid fraction variation contours for the different configurations at 6.00h next day (after 24h)

Figure 10

Comparison of the average water temperature without fins with experimental results from Ahmet (22)

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