An extensive testing programme is performed on a solar collector experimental
set-up, installed on a location in Shtip (Republic of Macedonia), latitude
41? 45? and longitude 22? 12?, in order to investigate the effect of the sun
tracking system implementation on the collector efficiency. The set-up
consists of two flat plate solar collectors, one with a fixed surface tilted
at 30? towards the South, and the other one equipped with dual-axis rotation
system. The study includes development of a 3-D mathematical model of the
collectors system and a numerical simulation programme, based on the
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach. The main aim of the mathematical
modelling is to provide information on conduction, convection and radiation
heat transfer, so as to simulate the heat transfer performances and the
energy capture capabilities of the fixed and moving collectors in various
operating modes. The feasibility of the proposed method was confirmed by
experimental verification, showing significant increase of the daily energy
capture by the moving collector, compared to the immobile collector unit. The
comparative analysis demonstrates a good agreement between the experimental
and numerically predicted results at different running conditions, which is a
proof that the presented CFD modelling approach can be used for further
investigations of different solar collectors configurations and flow schemes.
Use of CFD Modelling for Transpired Solar Collectors and Associated Characterization of Multi-scale Airflow and Heat Transfer Mechanisms
