Simulation Studies on Porous Medium Integrated Dual Purpose Solar Collector

Abstract

Solar air heating is a sustainable option for obtaining thermal energy over a varying temperature range. Design and operation of such systems must focus on the energy performance for their wider acceptability. The present work concentrates on the incorporation of porous medium to improve the thermal performance of a dual purpose solar collector. Dual purpose solar collectors can be used for heating air and water simultaneously using incident solar radiation resulting in optimum usage of energy and space. A simulation study is undertaken to investigate the integration of a porous matrix to dual purpose collectors. The porous matrix is incorporated below the absorber plate of the collector to improve the thermal performance of the overall system. The total thermal efficiency of the modified collector is found to vary from 34.60% to 46.03% over inlet water temperature range of 30°C to 90°C. Comparison of the proposed dual purpose solar collector with an existing design clearly indicates the advantage of incorporating the porous medium in terms of enhanced heat delivery and thermal efficiency.