This dissertation was written as a part of the MSc in energy systems at the International Hellenic University. The main focus of this study is to investigate the
performance of a polycarbonate flat plat solar collector. The aim of this research
project is to investigate the possibility of using polymer material in production of solar flat plate collector design. Using the suggested material will result in more cost
effective flat plate collectors production while being more environmental friendly.
this project work focuses on the process of energy conversion from the collector to
the working fluid. This is accomplished by employing a polymer honeycomb structure placed as the channels of a collector to transfer heat to water as a working
fluid and induce a gradient of heat capacitance. The other focus area is the fluid
behaviour inside the collector and investigating the temperature, velocity and pressure patterns in different regions of the collector to gain a broader insight regarding
the performance of the collector and its design.
This novel poly-carbonate collector is tested theoretically using Computational
Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and the results was compared to experimental data available.
The obtained CFD data and the experimental findings are coupled and show a good
agreement. All the obtained results are validated with the literature. The result of
the simulation clearly shows an acceptable performance of this polymer design and
its efficiency is comparable to the classic models which costs more both in material
and production. An in depth analysis of the results also revealed some weak points
of the design such as re-circulation streams and the cause of the problem which help
us calibrate and improve our further designs in future works.
Collections
Show Collections
