A simulation study of a solar collector using phase change materials for air heating application needs

Numerical simulation method has been employed to improve thermal performance of plan solar collectors, and to increase their daily operation length. The present study focused on the numerical simulation of a solar collector with integration of a flat layer of phase change material in the aim to store thermal energy by latent heat. Several calculations were conducted, using the finite volume method with a two-dimensional unsteady model implemented in the Fluent CFD software. It was found that the integration of 1cm of PCM layer below the absorber plate increases the collector daily operating length with 2 hours and improves the outlet temperature with a value of 10°C after sunset. The PCM with melting temperature of 345K gave the best temperature at the collector outlet.Numerical simulation method has been employed to improve thermal performance of plan solar collectors, and to increase their daily operation length. The present study focused on the numerical simulation of a solar collector with integration of a flat layer of phase change material in the aim to store thermal energy by latent heat. Several calculations were conducted, using the finite volume method with a two-dimensional unsteady model implemented in the Fluent CFD software. It was found that the integration of 1cm of PCM layer below the absorber plate increases the collector daily operating length with 2 hours and improves the outlet temperature with a value of 10°C after sunset. The PCM with melting temperature of 345K gave the best temperature at the collector outlet.

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