Advanced Energy Technologies
Ehsan Hasan Zaim; Hadi Farzan
Abstract
Utilizing thermal storage units such as Phase Change Materials (PCMs) is a suitable approach to improving Solar Air Heaters (SAHs). The present study tries to assess the effects of PCM mass values on the heat dynamics and thermal performance of SAHs. To this aim, an analytical thermodynamic model was ...
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Utilizing thermal storage units such as Phase Change Materials (PCMs) is a suitable approach to improving Solar Air Heaters (SAHs). The present study tries to assess the effects of PCM mass values on the heat dynamics and thermal performance of SAHs. To this aim, an analytical thermodynamic model was developed and validated by available experimental data. This model provides a robust numerical framework to model the phase change phenomenon and analyze the heat dynamics and thermal performance of SAH using various PCM masses. Four scenarios were considered using the developed analytical model including SAHs using 0, 30, 60, 90 kg PCM. The obtained results illustrated that the maximum outlet temperature was reduced, approximately near 20 %, by increasing the PCM mass between 0 and 90 kg; however, heating time was extended to periods when solar energy availability was inadequate. The thermal performance improved by nearly 14.5 % in the SAH using 90 kg PCM mass compared to the SAH without using PCM. The thermal performance of the SAH with 90 kg PCM was slightly higher than the SAH using 30 kg of PCM; hence, a significant portion of stored thermal energy was lost during nighttime through heat exchange with ambient surroundings. The obtained results also showed that despite available latent thermal energy, the outlet air temperature profiles for the SAHs using different PCM mass were close after sunset due to the low thermal conductivity of paraffin.
Advanced Energy Technologies
Mahdi Shakouri; Alireza Noorpoor; Hossein Ghadamian
Abstract
This study presents an analytical method for quantifying the improvement of thermal energy performance of a building integrated photovoltaic double-skin façade. The system was suggested as a retrofit measure for an existing building in Tehran. The effect of thermal performance was analyzed through ...
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This study presents an analytical method for quantifying the improvement of thermal energy performance of a building integrated photovoltaic double-skin façade. The system was suggested as a retrofit measure for an existing building in Tehran. The effect of thermal performance was analyzed through computer-assisted developed codes using Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software. Three scenarios were defined and for each scenario, temperature and velocity profiles were provided through continuity, momentum, and energy equations. Given that the monocrystalline photovoltaic modules and the double-glazed windows are quite common in the current condition in Tehran, the authors considered them for analysis. A comparison of results is valuable for those cases that intend to select either glass or photovoltaic as the outer façade. The quantitative results illustrate that the proposed system would reduce the cooling demand in the summer case by 18.5 kilowatts, which is around 8.7 percent of the current cooling load. According to the results of the sensitivity analysis, both glass and photovoltaic façades were of greater efficiency in terms of energy saving in the summer. By increasing the ratio between the photovoltaic outer façade to the surface area of the glass section, the amount of energy saving due to the total cooling load reduction will increase. The results of the analysis showed that the application of the suggested system would reduce the thermal load by 2.1 percent in the winter season.
Renewable Energy Resources and Technologies
Seyed Amir Hossein Zamzamian; Mohsen Mansouri
Abstract
The enhancement of the thermal performance of Vacuum Tube Solar Collectors (VTSC) was studied by using alumina nanofluid as working fluid. VTSC is a simple and commonly utilized type of collector. This study established the heat transfer experimental model of all glass VTSCs used in a forced-circulation ...
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The enhancement of the thermal performance of Vacuum Tube Solar Collectors (VTSC) was studied by using alumina nanofluid as working fluid. VTSC is a simple and commonly utilized type of collector. This study established the heat transfer experimental model of all glass VTSCs used in a forced-circulation solar water heating system using alumina nanofluid as base fluid. Al2O3 (with an average particle size of 15 nm) nanoparticles were provided and utilized to prepare nanofluids at a low mass concentration (0.5–1 wt.%). The thermal performances of VTSC were 15.3%, 25.7%, and 27.2% for the deionized water and Al2O3/water nanofluids with 0.5 and 1.0 wt. % as the working fluid, respectively. Generally, for Al2O3/water nanofluids with mass concentrations of 0.5 and 1.0 wt. %, the thermal performance increased by 67.9% and 77.7%, respectively, superior to that of vacuum tube using deionized water as the working fluid. Experimental results also showed that, for all three experimental tests, the thermal efficiency of the VTSC would increase by enhancing the average solar radiation.
Mohammad Ahmadzadehtalatapeh
Abstract
Air pre-cooling equipment is normally being employed in air-conditioning systems for pre-cooling the ambient outdoor air to enhance the air-conditioning systems performance. In this study, the potential of a passive water-to-air heat pipe based heat exchanger (HPHEX) for air pre-cooling purpose in air-conditioning ...
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Air pre-cooling equipment is normally being employed in air-conditioning systems for pre-cooling the ambient outdoor air to enhance the air-conditioning systems performance. In this study, the potential of a passive water-to-air heat pipe based heat exchanger (HPHEX) for air pre-cooling purpose in air-conditioning systems for the high cooling load demanding regions of Iran was investigated. To this end, effectiveness-NTU approach was employed to determine the thermal performance of the heat exchanger. Water-to-air HPHEX with different numbers of rows namely two, four, and six was studied to determine the heat transfer characteristics of the heat exchanger. The thermal performance of the water-to-air HPHEX was investigated under different operating conditions in terms of evaporator inlet air and condenser inlet water coil face velocities and temperatures. After determining the thermal performance of the water-to-air HPHEX, the air pre-cooling capability of the water-to-air HPHEX was explored hour-by-hour for the required months of the year by using TRNSYS software. Based on the simulations results, the water-to-air HPHEX shows an acceptable thermal performance under the operating conditions. In addition, studies showed that the water-to-air HPHEX has a significant capability for air pre-cooling, which makes it applicable to be implemented in the air-conditioning systems operating in south of Iran.