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    Evacuated tube solar heat pipe collector model and associated testsFarzad Jafarkazemiand Hossein AbdiCitation: J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012); doi: 10.1063/1.3690958View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3690958View Table of Contents: http://jrse.aip.org/resource/1/JRSEBH/v4/i2Published by theAmerican Institute of Physics.Related ArticlesTheoretical and experimental investigation of Alfa type bio mass Stirling engine with effect of regeneratoreffectiveness, heat transfer, and properties of working fluidJ. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 043126 (2012)Performance analysis and parametric optimum criteria of the nanothermoelectric engine with a single-levelquantum dot at maximum powerJ. Appl. Phys. 111, 094318 (2012)Optimization of power and efficiency of thermoelectric devices with asymmetric thermal contactsJ. Appl. Phys. 111, 024509 (2012)Performance of copper coated two stroke spark ignition engine with methanol-blended gasoline with catalyticconverterJ. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 013102 (2012)

    A high performance thermoacoustic engineJ. Appl. Phys. 110, 093519 (2011)Additional information on J Renewable Sustainable EnergyJournal Homepage: http://jrse.aip.org/Journal Information: http://jrse.aip.org/about/about_the_journalTop downloads: http://jrse.aip.org/features/most_downloadedInformation for Authors: http://jrse.aip.org/authors

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    Evacuated tube solar heat pipe collector model andassociated tests

    Farzad Jafarkazemia) and Hossein Abdib)

    Department of Mechanical Engineering, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University,P.O. Box 1584743311, Tehran, Iran

    (Received 10 December 2011; accepted 8 February 2012; published online 6 March 2012)

    In this paper, an evacuated solar heat pipe collector is investigated theoretically

    and experimentally. Heat transfer formulas were used for theoretical modeling, and

    a test method was adopted from ISO 9806-1 to compare the theoretical model with

    the experimental results. The collector efficiency and useful heat gain were com-

    pared between the theoretical and experimental methods. The effect of the working

    fluid flow rates and collector area were also investigated and discussed. The com-

    parison shows that the theoretical model is in good agreement with the experimen-

    tal results and is capable of predicting the efficiency, useful heat gain, and working

    fluid outlet temperature of an evacuated heat pipe collector with good accuracy.VC 2012 American Institute of Physics.[http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3690958]

    I. INTRODUCTION

    Currently, most of the global energy demand is met by fossil fuels, but the massive exploi-

    tation of fossil fuels leads to a real threat to the environment from global warming and acidifi-

    cation of the water cycle. Rapidly increasing energy requirements, reduced availability of tradi-

    tional sources of energy, and environmental pollution have forced scientists to search for

    alternative energy sources. Sun and wind are among those energy resources that are effectively

    unlimited and are available in abundant amounts and all over the world at no cost.

    The average solar irradiation for the whole of Iran is approximately 5.3 kWh per square

    meter per day, and it is even higher in the central part of the country. The amount of useful so-

    lar radiation hours in Iran exceeds 2800 h per year.1

    To convert the solar radiation energy into a more usable or storable form, solar collectors

    are used. These devices constitute the core of solar heating systems and are available in differ-

    ent forms and designs. Evacuated solar heat pipe collectors represent a novel design concept

    that has a low loss coefficient.

    The literature contains studies on evacuated and heat pipe solar collectors and the effect of

    different parameters on their performance. Mahdjuri2 first introduced a tubular evacuated solar

    collector with rectangular performance characteristics. He introduced a heat pipe cycle to trans-

    fer heat from the absorber to the water tubing. Ortabasi and Fehlner3 used a solar thermal heat

    pipe collector based on an internal cusp concentrator. The performance of the collector was

    compared to that of an evacuated, selectively coated flat-plate absorber equipped with flow-

    through heat transfer. Garg et al.4 have discussed the state of the art for evacuated tubular solar

    energy collectors. They have also attempted to analyze the optical and thermal behavior of this

    evacuated collector. Ezekwe5 employed a mathematical model to analyze and compare solar

    energy systems that useheat pipe absorbers with systems that use conventional solar collectors.

    Zambolin and Del Col6 and Fischeret al.7 tested different collectors with standard testing meth-

    ods, such as EN, ISO, and ASHRAE. EN 12975-2 (Ref. 8) standard is the latest standard in

    these series. Ng et al.9 conducted performance tests under steady state conditions for two types

    a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: [email protected]. Tel.: 0098(912)

    3499232. Fax: 0098(21)66572717.b)

    Electronic mail: [email protected].

    1941-7012/2012/4(2)/023101/13/$30.00 VC 2012 American Institute of Physics4, 023101-1

    JOURNAL OF RENEWABLE AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY 4, 023101 (2012)

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    http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3690958http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3690958http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3690958http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3690958http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3690958http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3690958http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3690958
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    of evacuated tube solar heat pipe collectors. A theoretical model was also presented to predict

    the collector efficiency. Azad10 designed and constructed a heat pipe solar collector and meas-

    ured its performance in an outdoor test facility. The thermal behavior was investigated theoreti-

    cally and experimentally. The theoretical model was based on the effectiveness-NTU method.

    Ayompeet al.11

    presented year-round energy performance monitoring results for two solar waterheaters (SWHs) with flat plate and heat pipe evacuated tube collectors (ETCs). The energy pe r-

    formance of the two systems was compared on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis. Hayek et al.12

    conducted an experimental investigation of the overall performance of two kinds of evacuated

    tube solar collectors, specifically, the water-in-glass tube and the heat-pipe designs. Jafarkazemi

    et al.13 reviewed the international standards for determining the thermal performance of solar

    thermal collectors and solar water heating systems and introduced the details of a test center

    which was under construction in Iran. Badaret al.14 investigated the overall heat loss coefficient

    (U-value) of a vacuum tube solar collector experimentally and theoretically with regard to the

    pressure of the remaining gas inside the evacuated glass envelope. Tang et al.15

    constructed and

    tested two sets of water-in-glass evacuated tube SWH for performance comparative study. Both

    SWHs were identical in all aspects but had different collector tilt-angle from the horizon with

    the one inclined at 22 and the other at 46. Zambolin and Del Col16 introduced an improved

    procedure for the experimental characterization of optical efficiency in evacuated tube solar col-lectors. The new method does not require a minimum number of data points for each data subset

    and thus it is less demanding in terms of required number of tests.

    In this study, an evacuated heat pipe solar collector with a circular fin and a dry condenser

    has been theoretically modeled by heat transfer formulas, and its efficiency and heat gain dia-

    grams are compared with the results of experimental tests. The test procedure was adapted

    from the ISO 9806-1 (Ref. 17) test procedure. Additionally, the variation of the working (cool-

    ing) fluid flow rate and its effect on the efficiency and useful heat gain has been discussed, and

    the experimental and theoretical results are also presented.

    II. THERMAL ANALYSIS

    The heat pipe is a device with very high thermal conductance. The main components of

    the heat pipe are the evaporator, the condenser, and the contained working fluid. When theevaporator is heated, the working fluid is evaporated as it absorbs an amount of heat equivalent

    to its latent heat of vaporization. In the condenser section, the working fluid vapor is condensed

    by a cooling fluid. The method of condensate return is dependent on the heat pipe structure.

    Condensate return techniques include capillary force and gravity, among others. This cycle con-

    tinues as the evaporator is heated.18,19 A solar heat pipe collector consists of a row of heat

    pipes that are connected to a manifold on the top that transfers the heat produced in the pipes

    to the working fluid. A schematic of a wickless heat pipe that uses gravity for condensate return

    and an evacuated heat pipe collector schematic are shown in Figs. 1and2, respectively.

    In this study, an evacuated tube solar collector with a heat pipe has been modeled. The con-

    denser part of the collector in the manifold was of the dry type. There are many advantages to the

    use of heat pipes for solar thermal applications. They have no moving parts, and if the condenser is

    of the dry type, maintenance difficulties are reduced because a damaged heat pipe can be changed

    while the working fluid is circulating. Moreover, leakage problems are reduced because of the indi-rect contact between the heat pipe and the condenser.9 Water was chosen as the working (cooling)

    fluid because the local ambient temperature did not drop below its freezing point during the test. For

    simplicity, the following assumptions were made in the theoretical model:

    The collector absorber area is always at a uniform temperature. The temperature gradient across the absorber thickness and over its perimeter is neglected. Because the evaporator section is subjected to a constant heat flux and the phase change occurs

    at a constant temperature, the temperature gradient along the longitudinal direction is negligible. The thermal contact resistance between the absorber area and the evaporator tube and between

    the condenser section and the condenser manifold is neglected. The connection of the evaporator and the condenser of the heat pipe is assumed to be adiabatic.

    023101-2 F. Jafarkazemi and H. Abdi J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012)

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    The thermal resistance model that has been used is shown in Fig. 3. In the figure, I repre-

    sents the solar radiation that reaches the collector surface, and I (sa) represents the radiation

    that reaches the absorber. A small part of the gained heat is wasted by radiation, which is

    shown by Q loss.rad. The useful heat gain, Qu, is calculated by subtracting the heat pipe collector

    heat gain, Qhp, from the manifold heat loss from the top of the collector, Qloss,ma. Rloss,radis the

    radiation thermal resistance, which can be calculated and represented as follows:

    Rloss;rad TpTa

    erT4p T4a Ar

    : (1)

    The evaporator thermal resistance is represented by Rhp and is a combination of three resistan-

    ces. These resistances are the circular fin resistance, the copper pipe resistance, and the boiling

    film condensation resistance inside the evaporator pipe. Thus, Rhp may be written as follows20:

    RhplnDo;fin=Di;fin

    2pkfinLevap

    lnDo;evap=Di;evap

    2pkevapLevap

    1

    hhpAevap; (2)

    where

    hhp 0:555gqlql qvk

    3lhfg

    llTpTkDevap

    14

    : (3)

    Rcond,w is considered to be the thermal resistance of the condenser section, which is the sum of

    the condensing film resistance in the condenser, the condenser copper pipe section, and the dry

    manifold condenser resistance. The thermal contact resistance in the dry condenser is assumed

    to be negligible. Rcond,wmay be written as:20

    Rcond;w 1

    hcondAcond

    lnDo;cond=Di;cond

    2pkcondLcond

    lnDo;ma=Di;ma

    2pkmaLma; (4)

    FIG. 1. Heat pipe schematic.

    023101-3 Evacuated tube solar heat pipe collector J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012)

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    where

    hhp 0:555gqlql qvk

    3lhfg

    llTpTkDcond

    14

    : (5)

    The manifold resistance is also calculated by the common heat transfer formulas, as

    1/UmaAma,loss.

    The heat transfer balance is written using the thermal resistance model shown in Fig. 3, as

    follows:

    _qin _qloss;rad _qhp _qloss;rad _qu _qloss;ma: (6)

    The expressions for the temperatures, resistances, and radiation are used in Eq. (6), and it yields

    the following:

    FIG. 2. Evacuated heat pipe collector schematic.

    FIG. 3. Thermal resistance model for an evacuated heat pipe collector.

    023101-4 F. Jafarkazemi and H. Abdi J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012)

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    IsaArTpTa

    Rrad _qu

    TfTaRloss;ma

    : (7)

    To simplify the derivation process, Rcond;w=Rrad is replaced by Rcrand Rhp=Rrad is replaced by

    Rhr. From the thermal resistance model, the following expression may be written:

    _qhp TpTf

    RhpRcond;w; (8)

    _qhp _qu _qloss;ma _quTfTaRloss;ma

    : (9)

    Using the energy balance in the thermal resistance model and Eqs. (8) and (9) to simplify the

    useful heat gain equation, the following may be written,

    _qu IsaAr

    1Rhr Rcr

    TfTa

    1RhrRcr

    1

    Rrad

    1

    Rloss;ma1RhrRcr : (10)

    Equation(10)may be written as

    _qu F0ArIsa ULTfTa; (11)

    where

    F0 1

    1RhrRcr; (12)

    and

    UL 1

    RradAr

    1

    Rloss;maArF0: (13)

    The collector heat removal factor can be calculated by the following equation:21

    FR _mCp

    ArUL1exp

    ULArF0

    _mCp

    : (14)

    FR is similar to heat exchanger effectiveness and is defined as the ratio of the actual heat trans-

    fer to the maximum possible heat transfer. The maximum possible heat transfer occurs when

    the collector is at the working fluid inlet temperature.21

    The actual collector useful heat gain may be calculated from the following:

    _qu ArFRIsa ULTf;iTa: (15)

    By incorporating the useful heat gain value, the heat gain of the working fluid in the manifold

    can be expressed as _qu _mCpTfTo, where To represents the outlet temperature of theworking fluid and will be determined.

    The instantaneous efficiency of a collector, which is the ratio of the useful energy to the

    solar radiation, can be expressed as follows:21

    g _qu=ArI FRsa FRULTf;iTa=I: (16)

    023101-5 Evacuated tube solar heat pipe collector J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012)

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    III. EXPERIMENTAL TEST AND PROCEDURE

    Fig.4shows a schematic of the experimental configuration used for the efficiency and per-

    formance evaluation of an evacuated heat pipe collector. The test facility and weather station

    are located on the roof of solar energy laboratory building of the Islamic Azad University

    South Tehran Branch. The collector tilt angle was set to 45 , facing south. The latitude and lon-

    gitude of the test center are 35.6 N and 51.4 E, respectively. A picture from the test facility

    is shown in Fig.5.

    The test plan for testing the collectors was adopted from ISO 9806-1 because it is known as

    an accepted standard in Iran. The specifications of the system components are described below.

    The reservoir tank volume was 150 l, and the tank was made of galvanized steel. Calibrated Pt-

    100 temperature sensors were used to measure the inlet and outlet fluid temperatures of the col-

    lector and the reservoir tank. In order to control the tank fluid temperature, two 2 kW electric

    heaters and one 1 kW heater were used. A calibrated flow meter with a range of 20-200 l/h was

    used to measure the inlet working fluid flow rate. The heaters were controlled by a solid state

    relay (SSR) controller. A proportional integral derivative (PID) temperature controller was used

    for this purpose. The pyranometer, ambient temperature probe, and wind velocity sensor are all

    calibrated against reference instruments and supplied by Soldata Instruments. The weather datawere logged at intervals of 10 min during the tests. The general specification of the tested collec-

    tor, which is a heat pipe solar collector with 19 heat pipes, is presented in Table I.

    The test procedure which is used to test the performance and efficiency, according to ISO

    9806-1, is as follows. First, the temperature of the reservoir tank is kept constant with the heat-

    ers and controller. The water tank temperature is set to different values during each test period.

    The minimum temperature is set to the ambient temperature, and the other temperatures are set

    higher for the subsequent data points. Using the flow control valve, the flow is set to a constant

    rate, and after 10 min, when the outlet temperature is constant, the collector outlet temperature

    FIG. 4. Schematic diagram of the test set-up.

    023101-6 F. Jafarkazemi and H. Abdi J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012)

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    is recorded. This procedure is repeated for five other temperatures in each test period with steps

    of approximately 8 C. The test procedure is also repeated for two other flow rates. The time

    periods are chosen such that the data points represent times symmetrical to the solar noon. In

    this study, the test is performed for two collectors, one with 19 heat pipes and the other with 4

    heat pipes. The experimental efficiency and the useful heat gain of each solar collector are

    compared to the theoretical calculated values to evaluate the accuracy of the model. The effect

    of the three flow rates on the efficiency and heat gain is discussed after the test procedure was

    completed.

    IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

    The test for evaluation of the heat pipe performance was performed in August 2011. The

    climate conditions on August 8 and August 15, 2011 when the tests were performed are shown

    in Fig.6.

    The tests were performed for 19 heat pipes and 4 heat pipes on days 1 and 2, respectively.

    The flow rates were set to 0.056, 0.042, and 0.028 kg/s for the 19 heat pipe collector and 0.014,

    0.010, and 0.007 kg/s for the 4 heat pipe collector for the tests. These are based on requirement

    of ISO 9806-1, which recommends a flow rate of 0.02kg/s/m2 for collector testing. Other flow

    rates were chosen to compare the flow rate effect on heat gain and efficiency.

    FIG. 5. Test facility.

    TABLE I. Specifications of an evacuated collector.

    Parameter (unit) Value

    Aperture area (m2

    ) 2.50

    Absorber area (m2) 1.78

    Emittance 0.07

    Tube spacing (m) 0.078

    Tube length (m) 1.7

    Condenser O.D. (m) 0.024

    Condenser length (m) 0.065

    Evaporator O.D. (m) 0.008

    Absorber absorptance 0.93

    Glass cover transmittance 0.90

    023101-7 Evacuated tube solar heat pipe collector J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012)

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    The theoretical and experimental efficiencies, useful heat gains and inlet and outlet temper-

    atures for the collector with 19 heat pipes and a flow rate of 0.042 kg/s of working fluid is

    shown in Table II as an example. For each working fluid flow rate, this table should be madeavailable before processing the data.

    The collector flow factor, F00, which is the ratio ofFR to F0, is a function of a single vari-

    able, the dimensionless collector capacitance rate _mCp=ArULF0. This factor is shown in Fig. 7

    for a working fluid flow rate of 0.028 kg/s and a collector with 19 heat pipes. The theoretical

    (calculated) collector outlet temperatures and experimental (measured) collector outlet tempera-

    tures are shown in Fig. 8. The data points shown correspond to the collectors with both 4 heat

    pipes and19 heat pipes and all six flow rates. The predicted values are in good agreement with

    the experimental results to within an error of less than 5%, which means that the theoretical

    model is acceptable.

    Figs.9and10 show the rise in the working fluid temperature for different flow rates. These

    figures indicate that the experimental outlet and inlet temperature difference increases as the

    working fluid flow rate decreases. Additionally, while the ratio of the temperature difference to

    the incident radiation increases, the experimental outlet and inlet temperature difference also

    decreases. This result indicates that in order to reach the maximum outlet temperature, the opti-

    mum condition is to have a reduced working fluid flow rate and a smaller difference between

    the inlet and ambient temperatures. The slopes of the diagrams are nearly the same, which

    means that the results do not depend on the collector area or the number of heat pipes.

    The theoretical collector heat gain and the experimental results during the testing day for

    different flow rates are shown in Figs. 11 and 12. The theoretical and experimental heat gains

    are shown by lines and rectangular diagrams, respectively. The model prediction is close in

    value to the experimental results at most data points. As expected, when the difference between

    the inlet and ambient temperatures increases, the useful heat gain decreases, and vice versa.

    FIG. 6. Climate conditions for the two test days (a) August 8 and (b) August 15.

    TABLE II. Data table for the collector with 19 heat pipes and a working fluid flow rate of 0.042kg/s.

    Time Temp (C) Efficiency (%) Useful heat gain (W) Radiation

    Hour Tinlet

    Experimental

    Toutlet

    Theoretical

    Toutlet Tamb Theoretical Experimental Theoretical Experimental

    I

    (W/m2

    )

    11:25 75.1 77.4 78.69 34.4 46.39 29.67 625.87 400.22 757.9

    12:00 67.9 71.4 71.93 36 48.88 42.43 701.57 609.04 806.4

    12:25 59.7 63.4 64.01 36.5 50.98 43.76 750.13 643.84 826.6

    13:00 52.5 56.7 56.93 37.8 52.76 49.91 772.47 730.85 822.6

    13:30 44.7 48.5 49.33 37.7 54.54 44.72 806.50 661.24 830.7

    14:10 40.7 44.8 45.19 39.4 55.63 50.72 782.45 713.45 790.2

    023101-8 F. Jafarkazemi and H. Abdi J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012)

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    FIG. 7. Collector flow factor.

    FIG. 8. Theoretical model and comparison with experimental results for outlet temperature.

    FIG. 9. Variation in the working fluid temperature in a collector with 19 heat pipes for different flow rates.

    023101-9 Evacuated tube solar heat pipe collector J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012)

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    FIG. 10. Variation in the working fluid temperature in a collector with 4 heat pipes for different flow rates.

    FIG. 11. Comparison of theoretical and experimental heat gain for a collector with 19 heat pipes.

    FIG. 12. Comparison of theoretical and experimental heat gain for a collector with 4 heat pipes.

    023101-10 F. Jafarkazemi and H. Abdi J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012)

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    This result indicates that more heat can be gained from the collector when the inlet and ambient

    temperature difference is kept near zero.

    Figs. 13 and 14 show a comparison between the efficiency predicted using the theoretical

    model vs. that obtained using the experimental results for the two collectors at different flow

    rates. The experimental results are close in value to the predicted results of the model for both

    collectors. As the flow rate of the working fluid and the number of heat pipes increase (Fig.

    13), efficiency decreases. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 14, for a collector with smaller

    area and reduced working flow rate, the rate of efficiency decrease (slope) is higher. This result

    indicates that it is possible to reach higher efficiencies by decreasing the collector aperture

    area, but the substantial rate at which the efficiency decreases should be considered. The instan-

    taneous efficiency decreases as the ratio of the temperature difference to the incident radiation

    increases in both diagrams. The values of FRUL and FR(sa) are estimated for both collectors.FRUL is the slope of the straight regression line, and FR(sa) is the value of the point of intersec-

    tion with the y-axis in the region of maximum efficiency. By linear curve fitting of the data

    points for the collector with 19 heat pipes, the experimental values of FRUL for flow rates of

    0.056, 0.042, and 0.028 kg/s are equal to 3.77, 3.36, and 3.45, respectively, while the theoretical

    model yields 1.87, which was approximately constant for all flow rates. The FR(sa) values that

    FIG. 13. Predicted efficiency from the theoretical model vs. efficiency determined from the experimental results for the

    collector with 19 heat pipes.

    FIG. 14. Predicted efficiency from the theoretical model vs. efficiency determined from the experimental results for the

    collector with 19 heat pipes.

    023101-11 Evacuated tube solar heat pipe collector J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012)

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    are determined from the experimental results are equal to 0.55, 0.52, and 0.51 for flow rates of

    0.056, 0.042, and 0.028 kg/s, respectively, while the theoretical model yields 0.56, which was

    approximately constant for all flow rates. For the collector with 4 heat pipes, the experimental

    value of FRUL for flow rates of 0.014, 0.010, and 0.007 kg/s are 8.86, 8.85, and 10.03, respec-

    tively, while the theoretical model yields 8.5,which was approximately constant for all flowrates. The experimental FR(sa) values are 0.73, 0.72, and 0.76 for flow rates of 0.014, 0.010,

    and 0.007 kg/s, respectively, while the theoretical model yields 0.79, which was approximately

    constant for all flow rates.

    V. CONCLUSIONS

    In this study, a comparison between the theoretical and experimental results for two collec-

    tors with different numbers of heat pipes and different aperture areas were made. The results

    led to the following findings.

    The theoretical model is in good agreement with the experimental results and is capable of

    predicting the efficiency, useful heat gain, and working fluid outlet temperature of an evacuated

    tube heat pipe collector with good accuracy.

    The effect of the flow rate on the efficiency and heat gain were also discussed theoreticallyand experimentally. It is found that decreasing the flow rate leads to a higher outlet temperature

    for an evacuated tube heat pipe collector.

    It has been shown that the efficiency of the collector decreases as the ratio of the inlet tem-

    perature to the incident radiation increases. It is recommended that the inlet water temperature

    is kept as near as possible to the ambient temperature to gain more heat and higher efficiency.

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

    The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of Islamic Azad University, South

    Tehran Branch (under Contract No. B/16/561).

    NOMENCLATURE

    Ar collector area (m2

    )Cp specific heat capacity (J/kg K)

    D diameter (m)

    F0 collector efficiency factor

    F00 collector flow factor

    FR collector heat removal factor

    h heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K)

    I incident solar radiation (W/m2)

    k thermal conductivity (W/m K)

    _m mass flow rate (kg/s)

    _q heat transfer rate (W)

    R resistance (W/K)

    t wall thickness (m)

    T temperature (K)UL overall heat transfer coefficient of collector (W/m

    2 K)

    emittance coefficientg efficiency

    l dynamic viscosity (N s/m2)

    q density (kg/m3)

    sa transmittance absorbance product

    SUBSCRIPTS

    a ambient

    cond condenser

    023101-12 F. Jafarkazemi and H. Abdi J. Renewable Sustainable Energy 4, 023101 (2012)

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    evap evaporator

    exp experimental or measured

    f working fluid

    g gas

    hp heat pipei inlet

    l liquid

    ma manifold

    o outlet

    p plate

    rad radiation

    u useful

    w wall

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