Experimental and Numerical Study of Forced Circulation Solar Water Heaters (SWHs

In this paper, a forced circulation solar water heater (SWH) has been studied both experimentally and numerically. Outdoor condition is based on ambient climate of Tabriz. Flat plate collector was kept facing the equator at a tilt of l+15° (l is latitude of the place and l=38.7 N for Tabriz) from the horizontal for getting maximum radiation in winter. The Investigated system is consisted of a collector with total absorber area of 1.82 (m2), a storage tank of 60-liter capacity, 12 tubes and an overhead tank placed at a higher level respect to the rest of the system. Also, a numerical model was developed to simulation of SWH. To discrete equations, finite volume method is employed. In addition, a numerical model of SWH with elliptical tubes was developed and results show that there is no significant difference in heat transfer rate between circular and elliptical tubes. Two major circumstances were investigated in this study namely parallel and series coupling of collectors. Finally, the simulation outcomes are compared with the experimental data and differences between numerical and experimental results have been reported.

کلیدواژه ها:

Solar water heater (SWH) ، Flat plate collector ، Numerical simulation