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International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:19 No:05 1 193205-8484-IJMME-IJENS © October 2019 IJENS I J E N S Thermal Performance of Corrugated Solar Air Heater Integrated with Nanoparticles to Enhanced the Phase Change Material (PCM) Ali Mohammed Hayder 1,2 , Azwan Bin Sapit 1 , Qahtan Adnan Abed 2 , Mohammed Saad Abbas 1,2 , Bassam Abed Saheb 2 , Nawfel Muhammed Baqer Mohsin 3 1 Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia., ([email protected] ) 2 Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Al Najaf, Iraq([email protected]) 3 Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Al Najaf, Iraq([email protected]) Abstract-- The purpose of this study is to design, fabricate and evaluate the performance of SAH with integrated nanoparticles enhanced phase change material (PCM) absorber storage system ,the central problem of the solar energy is that it is an intermittent source, due to it dependence on the period of solar radiation. Consequently, thermal energy storage is considered a perfect option to solve this issue Three different of the SAH configurations have been designed and studied; without thermal storage, with thermal storage using paraffin wax as a PCM and with thermal storage using Al2O3- paraffin wax. All configurations are fabricated and tested under the climatic conditions of middle Iraq according to ASHRAE standard tests at different air mass flow rates. The two steps method is used to prepare the mixture of nanoparticles with PCM and ultrasonic device is used to suspend the nanoparticles in the PCM. The experimental results show that improvement in the efficiency of the SAH integrated with storage compared to SAH without storage. Moreover, the discharging time of heat stored took 5.5, 5, 4.5 and 4 hours at the air mass flow rate 0.03, 0.04, 0.05 and 0.06 kg/s, respectively. The experimental results also show that increment in the thermal conductivity of PCM with the dispersion 1wt. % Al2O3 which led to raise the outlet air temperature and thermal efficiency of the SAH compared to SAH with pure PCM. Index Term-- Corrugated solar air heater, Nanoparticles, thermal efficiency, air mass flow rate, phase change material (PCM). 1. INTRODUCTION In some case, solar energy has occupied graded prime position in the renewable energy research field, caused from an inexhaustible energy source [1, 2]. A thermal energy storage unit works to enhance the conservation of energy and hence, improve the performance of the solar heating system [3]. The most important components in the solar heat systems are thermal solar collector and thermal energy storage system [4]. The improvement of mechanism technical methods of the thermal energy storage systems is essential to taking advantage of solar radiation falling on the ground for generating thermal energy effectively [5]. It is necessary to determine a thermal energy storage method and a material used for thermal energy storage systems. Using thermal storage materials in solar energy systems not only reduces the mismatch between request and supply of energy, but also improves the performance and reliability of solar energy systems as well [6]. Therefore, using the thermal storage materials in solar energy systems is appropriate in cities where there is a significant difference in temperature between day and night such as desert cities [7]. The development of heat energy storage systems, the thermal performance of storage materials is enhanced by mixing it with nanoparticle to increase the thermal conductivity for storage materials [8, 9]. The thermo-physical properties of the storage materials are affected after being mixed with nanoparticles and leads to enhancement of the heat transfer characteristics of the storage materials [10]. The use of high thermal conductivity nanoparticles in increasing thermal conductivity of thermal storage materials is a simpler thermal conductivity enhancement method than thermal storage materials integration into porous material [11]. Therefore, the thermal conductivity and heat transfer characteristics of the thermal storage materials are important factors to develop thermal performance of the solar energy systems. The solar energy systems integrated with a thermal energy storage unit has been a subject of interest for scientists and researchers in the past decades. Numerical and experimental studies have been reported in order to increase the output temperature of the solar energy heater, increase the thermal conductivity of the material used for thermal energy storage, and reduce the thermal losses of the heating solar systems. The thermal storage in solar energy system gives rise to a high thermal efficiency of the system, which may be exploited in many applications such as space heating of buildings, drying agricultural crops and heating of water in homes. One of the most significant things to emerge from this study is the investigation of the effect of using latent thermal energy storage materials. Many types of research have shown that when solar energy is stored in the form of latent heat by using PCMs, it gives a good performance. This is due to the fact that the PCMs provide suitable temperature rates during the melting and freezing processes [12]. Consequently, using PCMs is a more effective way to

Thermal Performance of Corrugated Solar Air Heater Integrated … · 2019. 11. 9. · by 45 % - 79 % compared with a solar air collector without PCM. Also, the heat losses for evacuated

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  • International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:19 No:05 1

    193205-8484-IJMME-IJENS © October 2019 IJENS I J E N S

    Thermal Performance of Corrugated Solar Air Heater

    Integrated with Nanoparticles to Enhanced the

    Phase Change Material (PCM)

    Ali Mohammed Hayder1,2, Azwan Bin Sapit1, Qahtan Adnan Abed2, Mohammed Saad Abbas1,2 , Bassam Abed

    Saheb2 , Nawfel Muhammed Baqer Mohsin3 1Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia.,

    ([email protected] ) 2Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Al Najaf, Iraq([email protected])

    3Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Al Najaf, Iraq([email protected])

    Abstract-- The purpose of this study is to design, fabricate and evaluate the performance of SAH with integrated

    nanoparticles enhanced phase change material (PCM)

    absorber storage system ,the central problem of the solar

    energy is that it is an intermittent source, due to it dependence

    on the period of solar radiation. Consequently, thermal energy

    storage is considered a perfect option to solve this issue Three

    different of the SAH configurations have been designed and

    studied; without thermal storage, with thermal storage using

    paraffin wax as a PCM and with thermal storage using Al2O3-

    paraffin wax. All configurations are fabricated and tested

    under the climatic conditions of middle Iraq according to

    ASHRAE standard tests at different air mass flow rates. The

    two steps method is used to prepare the mixture of

    nanoparticles with PCM and ultrasonic device is used to

    suspend the nanoparticles in the PCM. The experimental

    results show that improvement in the efficiency of the SAH

    integrated with storage compared to SAH without storage.

    Moreover, the discharging time of heat stored took 5.5, 5, 4.5

    and 4 hours at the air mass flow rate 0.03, 0.04, 0.05 and 0.06

    kg/s, respectively. The experimental results also show that

    increment in the thermal conductivity of PCM with the

    dispersion 1wt. % Al2O3 which led to raise the outlet air

    temperature and thermal efficiency of the SAH compared to

    SAH with pure PCM. Index Term-- Corrugated solar air heater, Nanoparticles,

    thermal efficiency, air mass flow rate, phase change material

    (PCM).

    1. INTRODUCTION In some case, solar energy has occupied graded prime

    position in the renewable energy research field, caused

    from an inexhaustible energy source [1, 2]. A

    thermal energy storage unit works to enhance

    the conservation of energy and hence, improve

    the performance of the solar heating system [3]. The most

    important components in the solar heat systems are thermal

    solar collector and thermal energy storage system [4]. The

    improvement of mechanism technical methods of the

    thermal energy storage systems is essential to taking

    advantage of solar radiation falling on the ground for

    generating thermal energy effectively [5]. It is

    necessary to determine a thermal energy storage method and

    a material used for thermal energy storage systems. Using

    thermal storage materials in solar energy systems not only

    reduces the mismatch between request and supply of energy,

    but also improves the performance and reliability of solar

    energy systems as well [6]. Therefore, using the thermal

    storage materials in solar energy systems is appropriate in cities where there is a significant difference in temperature

    between day and night such as desert cities [7]. The

    development of heat energy storage systems, the thermal

    performance of storage materials is enhanced by mixing it

    with nanoparticle to increase the thermal conductivity for

    storage materials [8, 9]. The thermo-physical properties of

    the storage materials are affected after being mixed with

    nanoparticles and leads to enhancement of the heat transfer

    characteristics of the storage materials [10]. The use of high

    thermal conductivity nanoparticles in increasing thermal

    conductivity of thermal storage materials is a simpler thermal conductivity enhancement method than thermal

    storage materials integration into porous material [11].

    Therefore, the thermal conductivity and heat transfer

    characteristics of the thermal storage materials are important

    factors to develop thermal performance of the solar energy

    systems.

    The solar energy systems integrated with a thermal energy

    storage unit has been a subject of interest for scientists and

    researchers in the past decades. Numerical and experimental

    studies have been reported in order to increase the output

    temperature of the solar energy heater, increase the thermal

    conductivity of the material used for thermal

    energy storage, and reduce the thermal losses of the heating

    solar systems. The thermal storage in solar energy system

    gives rise to a high thermal efficiency of the system, which

    may be exploited in many applications such as space heating

    of buildings, drying agricultural crops and heating of water

    in homes. One of the most significant things to emerge from

    this study is the investigation of the effect of using latent

    thermal energy storage materials. Many types of research have shown that when solar energy is stored in the form of

    latent heat by using PCMs, it gives a good performance.

    This is due to the fact that the PCMs provide suitable

    temperature rates during the melting and freezing processes

    [12]. Consequently, using PCMs is a more effective way to

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

  • International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:19 No:05 2

    193205-8484-IJMME-IJENS © October 2019 IJENS I J E N S

    meet the request of energy and balance between request and

    supply of energy and is the most common storage types in

    heating solar systems [13]. An experimental study have

    been carried out by Khadraoui et al. [14] to improve the performance of SAH by using a paraffin wax as a PCM. The

    PCM is filled in rectangular container as a thermal storage

    unit. The experimental tests were conducted on two solar air

    collector (with and without PCM). They found that the PCM

    increases the outlet air temperature from 3 °C to 7 °C

    compared with a SAH without PCM during the night. Also,

    the daily efficiency of collector reached 33 % and 17 % with

    and without PCM, respectively.

    Felinski and Sekret [15] presented the optimized design of

    evacuated tube collector with paraffin wax as a PCM. The

    experimental tests conducted to study the impact of paraffin wax on the thermal performance of the evacuated tube

    collector. They found that the total quantity of useful heat

    for evacuated tube collector integrated with PCM increases

    by 45 % - 79 % compared with a solar air collector without

    PCM. Also, the heat losses for evacuated tube collector

    integrated with PCM decreased by 31 % - 32 % compared to

    without PCM.

    Shalaby et al. [16] evaluated the performance of the

    corrugated absorber solar collector with and without paraffin wax. The collector is tested with and without the

    paraffin wax by using different water masses. The hourly

    production of the system with and without the PCM

    depending on the temperature difference between water and

    glass cover. They observed that the daylight productivity

    decreases by 7.4 % whereas, overnight productivity

    increases by 72.7 % when the PCM is used. Kabeel et al.

    [17] performed an experimental investigation of the finned

    absorber plate solar air collector with paraffin wax as a PCM. The suggested finned solar air collector was

    fabricated and tested under the climate condition of Tanta

    city Egypt. The authors found that the daily efficiency of

    finned solar air collector with PCM was increased by 10.8

    % - 13.6 % compared to a finned solar air collector without

    PCM. Also, the finned solar air collector with PCM

    continues to four hours after sunset to be the outlet air

    temperature 8.6 °C higher than ambient temperature. Rabha

    and Muthukumar [18] provided a detailed analysis of energy

    and exergy of novel double pass solar air collector dryer

    integrated with the paraffin wax as a PCM. The dryer was

    operated for ten hours every day from 8 AM. to 6 PM. to dry 20 kg of red chili. They found that the values of energy

    and exergy efficiency for thermal storage unit are between

    43.6 % - 49.8 % and 18.3 % - 20.5 %, respectively while,

    the average exergy efficiency of the drying chamber is 52.2

    % and the overall efficiency of the drying system is 10.8 %.

    An experimental study was conducted by Arfaoui et al. [19]

    to evaluate the performance of solar air collector integrated

    with AC27 as a PCM under climate condition of Tunisia.

    They found that the outlet air temperature is almost constant

    which is 27 °C at nights during the discharge period and the

    daily energy efficiency amounted to about 47 %.

    Wang et al. [20] developed a novel experimental

    investigation for the flat micro heat pipe arrays collectors

    integrated with a lauric acid as a PCM. The results showed

    that the high air flow rate achieves high thermal collector

    efficiency and low charging and discharging period which

    lead to improved heat transfer, whilst the air flow rate of 60 m3/h achieves a constant outlet temperature during the

    discharge period. Hamed et al. [21] presented a Numerical

    analysis of a solar water collector with and without PCM.

    They found that the maximum outlet water temperatures

    obtained from the collector with and without PCM are 62.52

    °C and 64.10 °C, respectively. In addition, the final melting

    period for PCM is shorter than the freezing period because

    of the rise heat transfer coefficient during melting period.

    Miqdam et al. [22] conducted an experimental study of the

    novel solar air collector consists of vertical and horizontal

    parts. The vertical part consists of five pipes filled with

    paraffin wax as a PCM while, the horizontal part is filled with the black colored iron chip. Two tests were conducted

    at the natural and forced convection of the air movement.

    The authors found that the efficiencies in natural and forced

    convection were close. However, the use of PCM extends

    the work time of the collector for 14 hours during the day.

    Although PCMs have been widely used on the thermal

    energy storage in many applications. On the other hand, the

    low thermal conductivity of the PCMs leads to low heat

    transfer rate [23] as well as increases the melting and

    solidification time [24]. The heat transfer rate is an

    important factor in evaluating the performance of thermal

    energy storage system, and the enhancement of thermal

    conductivity is considered as an effective method to

    improve thermal energy storage system [25]. The high

    thermal conductivity is an important property of materials

    used for thermal energy storage. Therefore, various types of

    metals such as nanoparticles are added to enhance the

    thermal conductivity of thermal energy storage materials

    [26]. The addition of nanoparticles to latent thermal energy

    storage materials leads to improving the thermal

    conductivity and achieves a good thermal performance of

    energy storage systems. However, nanoparticles can't be

    added excessively to thermal energy storage materials

    because this increases their dynamic viscosity [27]. The

    enhancement of materials properties used for latent thermal

    energy storage by nanotechnology gives us a great

    opportunity to be used in various industrial and engineering

    applications such as; communication engineering systems,

    fields of electronic industries, boilers for power plants and

    building heating systems etc. [28]. The heat transfer

    properties of the thermal energy storage materials after the

    addition of nanoparticles could be affected by several

    parameters; type of thermal energy storage material,

    nanoparticles concentration, nanoparticles shape,

    nanoparticles size, and method of preparation. The

    nanoparticles concentration is considered the major

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    parameter that has the most influence and it has a direct

    relationship in enhancement of the thermal conductivity

    [29]. There is a large volume of recent studies focusing on

    how to enhance the thermal conductivity of the latent

    thermal energy storage material. Therefore, Table 1 presents

    the summary of the previous studies for the latent thermal

    energy storage materials with nanoparticles of the solar

    system

    TABLE I

    Summary of the previous studies for the latent thermal energy storage materials with nanoparticles of the solar system

    Author Year Type of nanoparticles

    Size of nanoparticles

    Type of PCM

    wt. % Result

    Shaikhc et al.

    [30]

    2008 SWCNTs,

    MWCNTs,

    CNFs

    1 nm

    10 nm 100 nm

    Paraffin

    wax

    0.1-1 The various types of nanoparticle are

    additives to paraffin wax leads to

    improve the latent energy of wax.

    The maximum improvement in

    SWCNTs nanoparticle at the mass fraction 1 % which reached 13 %.

    Mahmud et

    al. [31]

    2009 Al2O3 80 μm Paraffin

    wax

    5 The performance of collector

    enhanced by adding the Al2O3 to paraffin wax. The flow rate affects

    the discharging time so that at the

    flow rate of 0.19 kg/s took a

    discharge time 3.5 h, while at the

    flow rate of 0.05 kg/s took a

    discharge time of 8 h.

    Alkilani et al.

    [32]

    2011 Al2O3 70 μm Paraffin

    wax

    5 By adding nanoparticles to wax gives

    a better storage efficiency from the

    pure wax. Accordingly, the storage

    efficiency attained the maximum

    value 71.9 % for pure wax and 77.18 % when the wax-nanoparticles at the

    mass flow rate of 0.05 kg/s.

    Guo and

    Wang [33]

    2012 Al2O3 50 nm Paraffin

    wax

    1, 5, 10 The thermal energy storage rate of

    paraffin wax-nanoparticles is better

    than conventional pure paraffin wax

    due to an increase in the thermal

    conductivity and melting rate.

    Hence, it will lead to an

    improvement in the efficiency of

    heat transfer.

    Teng and Chieh Yu

    [34]

    2012 Al2O3, TiO2,

    SiO2, ZnO

    20-30 nm Paraffin wax

    1.2, 3 By adding TiO2 nanoparticles to PCM gives a better performance than

    the other nanoparticles in the

    improvement of the heat conduction.

    In addition, TiO2 decreases the start

    of melting temperature and increases

    the start of freezing temperature of

    PCM.

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    Dhaidan et al.

    (a) [35]

    2013 CuO 9 nm Paraffin

    wax

    1, 3, 5 The addition of CuO nanoparticles to

    paraffin wax leads to enhancing the

    thermal conductivity of paraffin wax

    and increasing the heat transfer rate

    which leads to decreasing the charging time. Also, the increasing

    concentration of nanoparticles results

    in increasing viscosity,

    agglomeration and precipitation of

    the composite.

    Dhaidan et al.

    (b) [36]

    2013 CuO 9 nm Paraffin

    wax

    1, 3, 5 The addition of the CuO

    nanoparticles with paraffin wax

    resulted in improvement of melting

    characteristics as well as an increase

    in both the thermal conductivity and

    natural convection. Therefore, the

    properties of compound decreased by increasing the concentration

    nanoparticles due to increase

    viscosity, agglomeration and

    precipitation.

    Pise et al.

    [37]

    2013 Al2O3 20 nm Paraffin

    wax

    1, 3, 5 The suspend of nanoparticles with

    paraffin increases the heat transfer

    rate, thermal energy charging rate

    and heat release rate compared with

    the pure paraffin.

    Wang et al.

    [38]

    2014 TiO2 20 nm Paraffin

    wax

    0.3, 0.5,

    0.7, 0.9,

    1, 3, 5, 7

    The difference in mass fraction of

    TiO2 nanoparticles leads to

    difference in latent thermal capacity

    and phase change temperature. They

    found that the mass fraction 1 wt. %

    or less which results in latent thermal

    capacity increases and decreases the

    phase change temperature. The mass

    fraction of 3wt. % or more results in the latent thermal capacity decreases

    and increases the phase change

    temperature.

    Chaichan and

    Kazem [39] 2015 Al2O3 45 μm Paraffin

    wax 1 The results proved that the addition

    of Al2O3 nanoparticles to paraffin

    wax increases productivity and time

    of distillation as well as improving

    thermal conductivity.

    Baydaa J.

    Nabhan [40]

    2015 TiO2 10 nm Paraffin

    wax

    1, 3, 5 The phase change temperature varies

    depending on mass fraction for TiO2

    nanoparticles, at the mass fraction

    5wt. % the thermal conductivity

    increases by around 10 % with

    increasing temperature 15 ⁰C.

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    Chaichan et

    al. [41]

    2015 Al2O3,

    TiO2

    30-60 nm

    20-50 nm

    Paraffin

    wax

    1, 2, 3, 4,

    5

    The thermal conductivity of wax

    increased by addition the

    nanoparticles so that the increase was

    found 65 % and 40 % at mass

    fraction 5 % for Al2O3 and TiO2, respectively.

    Nourani et al.

    [42]

    2016 Al2O3 10-20 nm Paraffin

    wax

    2.5, 5,

    7.5, 10

    The best improvement of thermal

    conductivity was the mass fraction

    10wt. % by 13 %, and increasing the

    melting rate by 27 %.

    Arya et al. [43]

    2016 Al2O3 80 lm Paraffin wax

    1.3, 4, 5 Based on the results, the low thermal conductivity for the paraffin wax

    could be increased by adding various

    types of nanoparticles with various

    types of mass fractions.

    Singh et al.

    [44]

    2017 Al2O3, CuO 40-50 nm Myo-

    inositol

    1.2, 3 It was found that the myo-inositol

    with nanoparticles could be used for high temperature applications from

    160 ⁰C to 260 ⁰C. They found also that the Al2O3 is more suitable for

    this applications due to an increase in

    melting temperature.

    Mohamed et

    al. [45]

    2017 α-Al2O3 2-4 nm Paraffin

    wax

    0.5, 1, 2 The α-Al2O3 nanoparticles additive

    to paraffin wax leads to enhancement

    in the latent heat and thermal

    conductivity by 2 % with the highest

    effect at 50 ⁰C. Chaichan et

    al. [46]

    2017 Al2O3 30-60 nm Paraffin

    wax

    1.2, 3 Adding the Al2O3 nanoparticles with

    paraffin wax leads to change in many properties of the wax paraffin such

    as the color and thermal

    conductivity. The thermal

    conductivity of paraffin wax was

    enhanced by 18 %, 21 %, and 30 %

    at the mass fraction 1 %, 2 % and 3

    %, respectively.

    Tarish and

    Alwan [47]

    2017 CuO 70 μm Paraffin wax

    10 The thermal storage rate of the CuO nanoparticles with paraffin wax is

    increased by 30.7 % compared with

    pure paraffin.

    Saeed et al.

    [48]

    2017 Fe3O4 16.6-30.1 nm Paraffin

    wax

    1, 5, 10 Enhancement of the activation

    energy and latent heat for the paraffin wax after addition of Fe3O4

    nanoparticles compared with

    pure paraffin. But the range of

    melting temperature stay the same

    and unaffected.

    Qian et al.

    [49]

    2018 Na2SiO3 - Paraffin

    wax

    5 The thermal conductivity increasing

    by 60 % when adding Na2SiO3

    nanoparticles to paraffin wax as well

    as enhancement of the thermal

    storage efficiency and release.

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    Purohit et al.

    [50]

    2018 CuO 5-17 nm Paraffin

    wax

    1, 2, 3, 4,

    5

    Increasing the concentration of CuO

    nanoparticles increases both the

    latent heat and melting temperature

    even for mass fraction of 2 %. On the

    other hand, the latent heat and melting temperature were decreased

    at the mass fraction higher than 2 %.

    Shalaby et al.

    [51]

    2018 α-Al2O3 71.5 nm Paraffin

    wax

    3 The using of α-Al2O3 nanoparticles

    with a mass fraction 3% increasing

    the thermal conductivity by 18.6 %,

    and also increasing the thermal

    effusively by 28.2 %.

    NOMENCLATURE

    TI Solar irradiance on the tilt surface (W/m2)

    convh Convection heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K)

    radh Radiation heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K)

    condh Conduction heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K)

    outT Output temperature (°C)

    inT Inlet temperature (°C)

    ambT Ambient temperature (°C)

    pT Absorber plate surface temperature (°C)

    gT Glass cover surface temperature (°C)

    skyT Sky temperature (°C)

    mT Mean temperature (°C)

    PCMT PCM Temperature (°C)`

    k Thermal conductivity (W/m K)

    LU Overall heat loss coefficient (kJ/kg K)

    tU Top heat loss coefficient (kJ/kg K)

    bU Bottom heat loss coefficient (kJ/kg K)

    eU Edges heat loss coefficient (kJ/kg K)

    S (W) The Absorbed Solar Irradiance by a Collector

    PC Coefficient heat capacity (kJ/kg K)

    uQ Useful energy of collector (W)

    airm Air mass flow rate (kg/s) .g w Glass Wool

    cA Cross section area of collector (m2)

    l Absorber to glass cover distance (m)

    HD Hydraulic diameter of the air flow channel (m)

    chH Depth of air flow channel (m)

    cW Width of air flow channel (m)

    cL Length of the Collector (m)

    eR Reynolds number (Dimensionless)

    rP Prandtl number (Dimensionless)

    aR Rayleigh number (Dimensionless)

    uN Nusselt number (Dimensionless) Greek Symbols

    Density (kg/m3) Stephan constant (W/m2 K) Transmittance (Dimensionless) Absorptance (Dimensionless) Emissivity (Dimensionless) Kinetic viscosity (m2 /s) Dynamic Viscosity (kg/m s)

    th Thermal efficiency (%)

    Volumetric coefficient of expansion (1/ K)

    II. MATERIALS AND METHODS

    Thermal Energy Storage Material (PCM)

    Phase change material storage is preferable to sensible

    material storage in low temperature applications because of

    its isothermal storing mechanism and high storage density.

    Paraffin wax is commonly used as a PCM in most thermal energy storage systems because to it melts at

    fixed temperatures, unreactive, inexpensive and available.

    The PCM used in the current experiences is Iraqi paraffin

    wax. It was purchased from the Al-Dora Factory in

    Baghdad-Iraq. The paraffin wax was placed inside the

    containers of the novel designed collector, each container

    was filled with 80 % due to the expansion of paraffin wax

    size when melts. Each container has 0.515 kg paraffin wax

    and the total paraffin wax of the collector is 8.76 kg as Table 2 indicates the thermo-physical properties of paraffin

    wax used in the experiments. Paraffin wax absorbs the

    excessive thermal energy during the charging period in

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    193205-8484-IJMME-IJENS © October 2019 IJENS I J E N S

    daytime and releases the absorbed thermal energy later

    during the discharging period in night-time. The thermal

    energy storage could be dimensioned in a way that the

    storage temperature is kept in a specified temperature level

    while the excess external thermal energy is stored at the

    same time. TABLE II

    Thermo-physical properties of paraffin wax

    Property Value

    Latent Heat 176 KJ/kg

    Thermal Conductivity 0.21 W/m K

    Specific Heat Capacity 2.871 KJ/kg K

    Melting Temperature 60 ºC

    Freezing Temperature 55 ºC

    Liquid Density 770 kg/ m3

    Solid Density 850 kg/ m3

    Dynamic viscosity 0.03499 KJ/m.s

    Alumina (Al2O3) Nanoparticles

    Although the paraffin wax have been widely used for the

    thermal energy storage in applications of solar systems, but

    the low thermal conductivity for the paraffin wax generates

    high thermal resistance for a heat transfer between the

    surface and wax. This high thermal resistance may not melt

    the entire depth of the PCM. To overcome this problem and

    give the best condition for the PCM, paraffin wax was

    mixed with nanoparticles. Alumina Al2O3 nanoparticles are

    thermodynamically stable particles over a wide temperature

    range as well as it has a high thermal conductivity [52], so it

    is used as thermal conductivity enhancer. In general, Al2O3

    nanoparticles have several interesting properties, for

    example high solidity, high stability, high insulation, and

    transparency [53]. They have been widely used in many

    applications such as catalysts, sensors, semiconductors,

    capacitors, batteries, fire retard, surface protective coating,

    composite materials, pharmaceutical industry and

    biomedical field [54]. The thermo-physical properties of

    Al2O3 nanoparticles are presented in Table III.

    TABLE III

    Thermo-physical properties of Al2O3 nanoparticles

    Property Value

    Color White

    Morphology Spherical

    Purity 99 % (trace metals basis)

    Average Particle Size (APS)

    40 nm

    SSA 60 m2 /g

    Thermal Conductivity 40 W/m K

    Specific Heat Capacity 765 J/kg K

    Density 3970 kg/m3

    Thermal Diffusivity 1.31×10-5 m2/s

    Preparation of Mixture (Nanoparticles with PCM)

    The mass fraction ( ) of nanoparticles was calculated by the following equation:

    (1)

    The two steps method are used to prepare the mixture of

    Al2O3 nanoparticles and paraffin wax with mass fraction by

    1wt. %. Paraffin wax is melted at 60 ℃ and the dispersion of nanoparticles is done directly in flask with capacity of

    1000 ml that could be closed by a PVC cap. The ultrasonic

    water bath used Elmasonic P180H type with tank and its

    capacity is of 18 liters. The flask was fixed to the stainless

    steel basket inside the ultrasonic water path. The tank of the

    ultrasonic device is filled with distilled water above the

    level of mixture in the flask about 3 cm as shown in Figure

    1. Then, the degas mode is switched on to remove the air

    from the mixture. After that, the flask is closed by the cap

    and oscillated continuously for 2 hours in the ultrasonic path

    water with working frequency of 37 kHz and power

    efficiency of 100 % at 70 ℃, until Al2O3 nanoparticles are uniformly suspended in paraffin wax as shown in figure 2.

    Fig. 1. Suspension of nanoparticles in PCM

    by ultrasonic water bath (Elmasonic P180H)

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    Fig. 2. View of the (a) pure paraffin wax, (b) Al2O3 nanoparticle suspended

    in paraffin wax with concentration 1wt. %

    Thermo-physical properties of Mixture

    The uniform distribution of nanoparticles in the paraffin

    wax affects the thermo-physical properties of the mixture

    such as thermal conductivity, density, specific heat capacity

    and viscosity. In this section the thermo-physical properties

    of mixture were determined to define the heat transfer

    coefficient of the mixture.

    a. Thermal Conductivity of Mixture

    Suspension of nanoparticles in PCM with a low mass

    fraction is to give stability to the mixture for a longer period

    of time more than the mixture with a high mass fraction. The thermal conductivity of the mixture depends on the

    thermal conductivities of constituents, the concentration of

    nanoparticles and dispersed nanoparticles in PCM. In the

    current study, Maxwell’s equation is adopted evaluating the

    effective thermal conductivity of mixture, as given by this

    equation [55].

    2 2 ( )

    2 ( )

    np PCM np PCM

    mix PCM

    np PCM np PCM

    k k k kk k

    k k k k

    (2)

    b. Density of Mixture

    The density of the mixture is affected by the concentration

    ratio of nanoparticles and type of base fluid (PCM) while

    the shape and size of nanoparticles do not affect the density

    of the mixture. The density equation of the mixture can be written as following [56].

    (1 ) mix PCM np (3)

    c. Specific Heat Capacity of Mixture

    The specific heat capacity of the mixture depends on the

    concentration ratio of nanoparticles, the density of the

    mixture and the heat capacity of mixture components. The

    specific heat capacity equation is given by the following

    [56].

    (1 )( ) ( )

    mix

    p PCM p np

    p

    mix

    C CC

    (4)

    d. Viscosity of Mixture

    The viscosity is considered as an important property of

    fluids thermal applications and it describes the internal

    resistance of fluids to flow. The heat transfer coefficient

    depends mainly by viscosity and it is also important in

    thermal conductivity in thermal systems. The viscosity of

    the mixture depends on the viscosity of base fluid (PCM)

    and concentration ratio of nanoparticles. The shape and size

    of nanoparticles affect the viscosity of the mixture. In this

    study, Brinkman equation [57] to compute the viscosity of

    the mixture was adopted. It is an equation used to calculate the viscosity of the mixture containing suspensions of small

    spherical particles as following.

    2.5(1 )

    PCMmix

    (5)

    Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM)

    The Field Emission Ecanning Electron Microscope

    (FESEM) was conducted for a sample of Al2O3 nanoparticles with paraffin wax. FESEM device is a

    microscope that works by electrons instead of light, these

    electrons are liberated by a field emission source. Figure 3

    shows image of FESEM for the sample of Al2O3

    nanoparticles suspension with paraffin wax. The figure

    indicates that the mixture of Al2O3 nanoparticles with

    paraffin wax has non porous structure. Also, the figure

    shows that there is an acceptable dispersion of Al2O3

    nanoparticles in paraffin wax.

    Fig. 3. FESEM image of 1wt. % Al2O3 nanoparticles with paraffin

    wax

    a b

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    Experimental Setup

    The experimental tests were conducted in the current study

    on three configurations of the single pass solar air heater.

    The first configuration represents a solar air heater without

    storage (SAHWOS), the second configuration represents a

    solar air heater with paraffin wax as PCM (SAHWP) and the third configuration represents a solar air heater with

    nanoparticles and PCM (SAHWNP) as shown in Figure 4.

    The experimental prototypes of the solar air collector were

    fabricated using locally available materials and tested under

    actual outdoor operating weather conditions. The

    experimental tests were conducted in the Technical College

    Najaf, Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University located in

    the center of Iraq 31°57 N and 44°15 E [58]. The dimensions and specifications of the Solar Air Heaters

    (SAH) configurations are summarized in Table 4. The air

    temperatures were measured in the experimental tests

    by using K-type thermocouples which were distributed in

    different places of the SAH. Furthermore, all the K-

    type thermocouples were fitted in a data logger, and all the

    data was registered automatically.

    Fig. 4. Photographic view of the experimental setup of the SAH

    TABLE IV

    Dimensions and specifications of the solar air heaters

    Parameters Measurement

    Thickness of plywood used

    for the fabrication

    16 mm

    Thickness of

    transparent glass

    4 mm

    Thickness of glass-wool 20 m

    Distance between glazing

    and absorber plate

    10 mm

    Length of the air flow

    channel

    1.8 m

    Width of the air flow channel

    0.7 m

    Height of the air flow 0.07 m

    channel

    Area of transparent glass 1.8 × 70 m2

    Cross sectional area of

    SAHWOS

    3.6 × 0.7 m2

    Cross sectional area of

    SAHWS

    2.75 × 0.7 m2

    Distance after the axial fan 0.3 m

    Distance before the axial fan 0.3 m

    Capacity of axial fan 50 W

    Collector tilt angle 42º

    Air flow rates 0.03, 0.04, 0.05,

    0.05 kg/s

    Thickness of absorber plate 0.8 mm

    Type of absorber plate Aluminum

    4. Thermal Analysis of the SAH

    In this round, the thermal analysis of the SAH were

    presented. The experimental useful energy from the SAH

    can be calculated by the following equation [59]:

    ( )u air P out inQ m C T T (6)

    The thermal efficiency is considered the primary indicator

    to evaluate the performance of a solar air collector. In

    general, thermal efficiency for a solar collector is defined as

    the ratio of the obtained useful thermal energy to the overall

    absorbed thermal energy. Consequently, the thermal

    efficiency equation of the solar collector is written as follows:

    ( )

    .

    air p out in

    th

    T c

    m C T T

    I A

    (7)

    The difference between thermal heat losses energy and the

    absorber solar irradiance was identified by using the Hottel-

    Whillier equation.

    [ ( )]u c R L out inQ A F S U T T (8)

    Where to determine how to absorb energy ( )RF is used,

    while the method of loss energy is determined by R LF U ,

    RF is defined as the removal factor and given by the

    following equation.

    1 expp c L

    R

    c L p

    mC A U FF

    A U mC

    (9)

    Where F is collector efficiency factor, can be calculated by the following equation:

  • International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:19 No:05 10

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    1

    1

    ( )

    ( ) ( )

    1

    1 1

    L

    conv p air

    conv p air rad p b

    UF

    hh h

    (10)

    Therefore, the steady state efficiency of the

    collector is given by the following equation, known as

    Hottel-Whillier–Bliss equation.

    ( )( ) out inth R R L

    T

    T TF F U

    I

    (11)

    The convection and radiation heat transfer

    coefficient between the transparent glass cover and

    the ambient is given by the following equations.

    0.6

    ( ) 0.4

    8.6 (w )

    ( )

    vconv g amb w

    c

    h hL

    (12)

    2 2

    ( )

    ( ) (T )( )

    ( )

    g sky

    rad g sky g g amb g amb

    g amb

    T Th T T T

    T T

    (13)

    1.50.0552sky ambT T (14)

    The convection and radiation heat transfer

    coefficient between the absorber plate surface and the transparent glass cover is given by the following equations.

    ( )

    ( )

    u p g air

    conv p g

    N kh

    l

    (15)

    0.2917

    ( ) 0.1673 ( cos )u p g aN R (16)

    3

    2

    g. . ra p g

    PR T T l

    (17)

    1

    mT (18)

    2

    p g

    m

    T TT

    (19)

    2 2

    ( ) 1 11

    p g p g

    rad p g

    p g

    T T T Th

    (20)

    The convection heat transfer coefficient between the

    corrugated absorber plate surface and air flow channel is

    given by the following equation.

    ( )

    ( )

    .u p air airconv p air

    D

    N kh

    H

    (21)

    4 2

    2

    c chD ch

    c

    W HH H

    W

    (22)

    0.76

    ( ) 0.0743 ( )u p air eN R (23)

    air De

    v HR

    (24)

    The overall heat losses from the system can be calculated by

    the following equation:

    1

    ( ) ( ) ( )

    1 1

    ( ) ( )t

    conv p g rad p g w rad g sky

    Uh h h h

    (25)

    .

    .

    g w

    b

    g w

    kU

    t (26)

    .

    .

    g w c c

    e

    g w c

    k p HU

    t A (27)

    III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

    Thermal Performance Test of the SAH

    The thermal performance tests of the solar heater was

    performed according to ASHRAE [60] standard. In this work, four thermal efficiency curves were established at

    different air mass flow rates. The efficiency curve equation

    for each air mass flow rate was obtained to calculate SAH

    characteristic parameters. The equation (11) mentioned in

    above indicates that if efficiency th is plotted against Tout – Tin / IT, it well be resulted in a straight line where the slope

    is equal to FRUL and the y-intercept is equal to FR(τα).

    Figure 5 to Figure 7 illustrate the typical efficiency curves

    for SAHWOS, SAHWP and SAHWNP collectors,

    respectively, at different air mass flow rates. It is clearly

    seen that the efficiency increases considerably as the air

    mass flow rate increases. From these figures it is also

    observed that the slope of the efficiency curves decreases with the increase of air mass flow rate which means a

    decrease in the heat loss coefficient with the increase of the

    air mass flow rates. This result is due to the lower plate

    temperature with increased air mass flow rate resulting in

    lower heat loss coefficient. It can also be seen from the

  • International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:19 No:05 11

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    curves that the loss coefficient is higher in the SAHWOS

    collector, followed by SAHWP collector and least in

    SAHWNP collector for the same air mass flow rates.

    Fig. 5. Efficiency curve for SAHWOS at different air mass flow rates

    Fig. 6. Efficiency curve for SAHWP at different air mass flow rates

    Fig. 7. Efficiency curve for SAHWNP at different air mass flow rates

    The incidence angle modifier of the collector is important to

    predict efficiency during a day of normal collector

    efficiency [60]. The incidence angle modifier for flat plate

    collectors was explained in detail in Ref. [61], whilst the

    incidence angle modifier for corrugated plate collectors is

    not yet determined. The incidence angle sensitivity of corrugated plate collectors is different from the flat plate

    collectors because of shading between aspects of the

    corrugated plate. This may lead to the incidence angle

    modifier of corrugated plate collectors is a lower than flat

    plate collectors. Furthermore, the solar air collector with a

    single glass cover is insensitive for incidence angle modifier

    as stated by Hill et al. [62].

    The incidence angle modifier for corrugated solar air

    collectors was investigated by the method of ASHRAE

    standard. Three pairs separate from efficiency values of the

    solar collector about solar noon at early and late in the time

    of day have been selected, when the incidence angles of

    beam radiation are almost 30 , 45 and 60 . It was observed that the average incidence angle of both data

    values was the same, as well as the efficiency value for the

    incidence angle, is equal to the average of those two values.

    Figure 8 shows the variation between incidence angle modifier Kατ and the incidence angle. Therefore, the

    relationship between incidence angle modifier Kατ and the

    collector efficiency is given by the following equation.

    ,( )R e nK

    F

    (28)

    Fig. 8.Variation incidence angle modifier Kατ

    Experimental Performance Results of The SAH

    Figure 9 to Figure 12 presents the hourly solar irradiance

    and the performance of SAHWOS collector for different air

    mass flow rates in the entire daytime. It is clearly seen from

    the figures that the solar irradiance increases from 8:00

    (Tout

    -Tin)/I

    T(

    oC.m

    2/W)

    Eff

    icie

    ncy

    (%)

    0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.050

    0.1

    0.2

    0.3

    0.4

    0.5

    0.6

    0.7

    0.8

    0.9

    1

    Air mass flow rate = 0.03 kg/s

    Air mass flow rate = 0.04 kg/s

    Air mass flow rate = 0.05 kg/s

    Air mass flow rate = 0.06 kg/s

    (Tout

    -Tin)/I

    T(

    oC.m

    2/W)

    Eff

    icie

    ncy

    (%)

    0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.050

    0.1

    0.2

    0.3

    0.4

    0.5

    0.6

    0.7

    0.8

    0.9

    1

    Air mass flow rate = 0.03 kg/s

    Air mass flow rate = 0.04 kg/s

    Air mass flow rate = 0.05 kg/s

    Air mass flow rate = 0.06 kg/s

    (Tout

    -Tin)/I

    T(

    oC.m

    2/W)

    Eff

    icie

    ncy

    (%)

    0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.050

    0.1

    0.2

    0.3

    0.4

    0.5

    0.6

    0.7

    0.8

    0.9

    1

    Air mass flow rate = 0.03 kg/s

    Air mass flow rate = 0.04 kg/s

    Air mass flow rate = 0.05 kg/s

    Air mass flow rate = 0.06 kg/s

    Incidence Angle (degrees)

    In

    cid

    en

    tA

    ng

    leM

    od

    ifie

    r

    0 10 20 30 40 50 60 700

    0.2

    0.4

    0.6

    0.8

    1

    1.2

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    A.M. to 12:30 P.M. Then, the sun irradiation begins

    declining toward the end of the day at 6:00 P.M. From the

    temperature measurements it can be seen that the

    temperature of air at the outlet of the collector in the

    beginning increased at a slower rate, because of the low

    irradiation rate. After that, the increase in outlet temperature

    is at a faster rate which is due to the increase in the

    insolation rate. After 12:00 P.M., the increase in

    temperature is slightly reduced, and this increase continues

    until 1:00 P.M. The little irradiation in the increase of

    temperature is due to the increase in the average air

    temperature of the collector. After 2:00 P.M. there is a clear

    linear drop in outlet air temperature even 6:00 P.M. at all

    cases, which is in direct proportion to the reduction in the

    solar irradiance.

    Fig. 9. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg and Tp) for the SAHWOS at m = 0.03 kg/s Fig. 10. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg and Tp) for the SAHWOS at m = 0.04 kg/s

    Fig. 11. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg and Tp) for the SAHWOS at m = 0.05 kg/s Fig. 12. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg and Tp) for the SAHWOS at m = 0.06 kg/s

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    So

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    pera

    ture

    (oC

    )

    7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 190

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    0

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110

    120

    130

    140

    150Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    So

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    pera

    ture

    (oC

    )

    7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 190

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    0

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110

    120

    130

    140

    150Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    so

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    pera

    ture

    (oC

    )

    7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 190

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    0

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110

    120

    130

    140

    150Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    So

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    pera

    ture

    (oC

    )

    7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 190

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    0

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110

    120

    130

    140

    150Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

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    Fig. 13. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg, Tp and Tpcm) for the SAHWP at m = 0.03 kg/s Fig. 14. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg, Tp and Tpcm) for the SAHWP at m = 0.04 kg/s

    Fig. 15. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg, Tp and Tpcm) for the SAHWP at m = 0.05 kg/s Fig. 16. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg, Tp and Tpcm) for the SAHWP at m = 0.06 kg/s

    Fig. 17. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg, Tp and Tpcm) for the SAHWNP at m = 0.03 kg/s Fig. 18. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg, Tp and Tpcm) for the SAHWNP at m = 0.04 kg/s

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    So

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    pera

    ture

    (oC

    )

    8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 240

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110

    Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

    PCM temperature

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    So

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    pera

    ture

    (oC

    )

    8 10 12 14 16 18 20 220

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110

    Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

    PCM temperature

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    So

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    per

    atu

    re(o

    C)

    8 10 12 14 16 18 20 220

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

    PCM temperature

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    So

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    per

    atu

    re(o

    C)

    8 10 12 14 16 18 200

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

    PCM temperature

    Time of Dat (Hrs)

    So

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    pera

    ture

    (oC

    )

    7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 230

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110

    120

    Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

    PCM temperature

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    So

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    pera

    ture

    (oC

    )

    7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 220

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110

    120

    Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

    PCM temperature

    Melting

    Solidification

    Liquid

  • International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:19 No:05 14

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    Fig. 19. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg, Tp and Tpcm) for the SAHWNP at m = 0.05 kg/s Fig. 20. Hourly solar irradiance and mean temperature of (Tamb, Tout,

    Tg, Tp and Tpcm) for the SAHWNP at m = 0.06 kg/s Figure 13 to Figure 16 presents the effect of using paraffin

    wax on the performance of the SAH. These Figures illustrates

    the variation of outlet air temperatures, plate temperature,

    glass temperature and PCM temperature. Hourly variations of

    measured solar irradiance intensity and ambient temperature

    are also shown during the day. Measured data for all cases

    explain that the maximum temperatures are obtained about

    1:00 P.M. The move of the peaks location for different

    temperatures versus time curves compared to solar irradiance

    curve are due to the heat stored on the PCM during charging period. In all cases, it was observed that the absorber plate

    surface temperature exhibited the highest temperature from

    1:00 P.M. until 3:00 P.M. After this time, the PCM

    temperature will be the highest. From these figures, it was

    clearly seen that the heating rate of PCM during the solid

    sensible heating is slow and increases at a higher rate beyond

    60 °C. After that, the PCM has changed its phase completely

    into liquid. Hence, the experiment is continued until the exit

    air temperature is equal to the ambient temperature. It can be

    seen that the absorber plate surface temperature in general

    increases with the increasing intensity of solar irradiance that

    leads to melt the paraffin wax.

    Figure 17 to Figure 20 illustrate the variation of the outlet air

    temperatures, plate temperature, glass temperature and PCM

    temperature. Hourly variations of measured solar irradiance

    intensity and ambient temperature are also shown during the

    day for the SAHWNP. Measured data for all cases explains

    that the maximum temperatures are obtained at about 1:00

    P.M. which is the same with SAHWP. In all results, it was

    observed that the temperature difference between absorber

    plate surface and PCM is small compared to the case of

    SAHWP due to the effect of nanoparticles (Alumina). The

    effect of nanoparticles was to increase the thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity. It was also found that the

    maximum temperatures of PCM vary with different values of

    air mass flow rate.

    Figure 21, 22 and 23 shows the variation of the thermal

    efficiency of SAHWOS, SAHWP and SAHWNP

    respectively, at different air mass flow rates. The thermal

    efficiency increases with the day time due to increasing solar

    irradiance which leads to increase in the air flow temperature.

    Furthermore, the thermal efficiency increases with the

    increasing of the air mass flow rate until the value of 0.06

    kg/s. Moreover, the use of PCM leads to increasing the

    thermal efficiencies as the time increases to obtain their peak

    values about 2:00 P.M. and decrease slowly at about 5:00 P.M. Then, the thermal efficiencies increase sharply due to the

    large heat supply from the PCM during discharging process.

    Fig. 21. A instantaneous thermal efficiency versus time of day at different air

    mass flow rates for SAHWOS

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    So

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    pera

    ture

    (oC

    )

    7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 210

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110

    Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

    PCM temperature

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    So

    lar

    Irra

    dia

    nce

    (W/m

    2)

    Tem

    pera

    ture

    (oC

    )

    7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 200

    100

    200

    300

    400

    500

    600

    700

    800

    900

    10

    20

    30

    40

    50

    60

    70

    80

    90

    100

    110

    Solar irradiance

    Ambient temperature

    Outlet temperature

    Glass temperature

    Plate temperature

    PCM temperature

    Time of Day (Hrs)

    Insta

    nta

    neo

    us

    Th

    erm

    al

    Eff

    icie

    ncy

    (%)

    7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 190

    0.1

    0.2

    0.3

    0.4

    0.5

    0.6

    0.7

    0.8

    0.9

    1

    Air mass flow rates = 0.03 kg/s

    Air mass flow rates = 0.04 kg/s

    Air mass flow rates = 0.05 kg/s

    Air mass flow rates = 0.06kg/s

  • International Journal of Mechanical & Mechatronics Engineering IJMME-IJENS Vol:19 No:05 15

    193205-8484-IJMME-IJENS © October 2019 IJENS I J E N S

    Fig. 22. A instantaneous thermal efficiency versus time of day at different air

    mass flow rates for SAHWP

    Fig. 23. A instantaneous thermal efficiency versus time of day at different air

    mass flow rates for SAHWNP

    Finally, the results of the all configurations in current

    experiments can be summarized in Table 5 which represents a

    comparison of different configuration in terms of Tin, Tout, T

    and th.

    TABLE V

    Change of (Tin, Tout, T and th) for different configuration of the SAH at different air mass flow rates and solar irradiance of 800 W/m2

    Configuration

    m

    (kg/s)

    Tin

    (C)

    Tout

    (C)

    T

    (C)

    th

    (%)

    SAHWOS

    0.03 28.9 57.2 28.3 44

    0.04 29.7 55.5 25.8 53

    0.05 28.4 53.3 24.9 60

    0.06 30.3 50.5 20.2 66

    SAHWP

    0.03 28.9 52.5 23.6 41

    0.04 29.7 50.5 20.8 49

    0.05 28.4 46.8 18.4 56

    0.06 30.3 44.4 14.1 60

    SAHWNP

    0.03 28.9 55.1 26.2 43

    0.04 29.7 53.0 23.3 52

    0.05 28.4 49.9 21.5 59

    0.06 30.3 47.4 17.1 64

    IV. CONCLUSIONS

    The main aim of this paper is to present the actual SAH

    collector's experimental performance and efficiency results for

    various design configurations of SAH. In thermal

    performance, those parameters such as; plate temperature,

    glass temperature, inlet and outlet air temperature, ambient

    temperature, solar irradiance, thermal efficiency and air mass

    flow rate have been investigated thoroughly.

    The air mass flow rate is an important and factor influential on results of SAH temperatures. Increment in air mass flow rate

    will result to more and more air volume which entering the air

    flow channel. It has been noted from the results the outlet air

    temperature decreased because of the increase in air velocity

    inside a flow channel.

    It is clearly there is enhancement in performance of SAH with

    thermal storage by using paraffin wax compared to SAH

    without storage. Furthermore, the discharging of heat is

    possible for duration of 5.5 , 5, 4.5, and 4 hours at the air mass

    flow rates of 0.03, 0.04, 0.05 and 0.06 kg/s, respectively.

    There is also an increase in the thermal conductivity of

    paraffin wax with the dispersion of 1wt. % alumina nanoparticles which led to raise the outlet air temperature and

    increased the thermal efficiency of the SAH compared with

    pure paraffin wax.

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