Study of rate of heat transfer in a flat-plate solar collector is the main
subject of this paper. Measurements of collector and working fluid
temperatures were carried out for one year covering the harmattan and rainy
seasons in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, which is situated at the latitude of
4.858oN and longitude of 8.372oE. Energy balance equations for heat exchanger
were employed to develop a mathematical model which relates the working fluid
temperature with the vital collector geometric and physical design
parameters. The exit fluid temperature was used to compute the rate of heat
transfer to the working fluid and the efficiency of the transfer. The optimum
fluid temperatures obtained for the harmattan, rainy and yearly (or combined)
seasons were: 317.4, 314.9 and 316.2 [K], respectively. The corresponding
insolation utilized were: 83.23, 76.61 and 79.92 [W/m2], respectively, with
the corresponding mean collector efficiency of 0.190, 0.205 and 0.197 [-],
respectively. The working fluid flowrate, the collector length and the range
of time that gave rise to maximum results were: 0.0093 [kg/s], 2.0 [m] and
12PM - 13.00PM, respectively. There was good agreement between the computed
and the measured working fluid temperatures. The results obtained are useful
for the optimal design of the solar collector and its operations.
Determining the Effect of Inlet Flow Conditions on the Thermal Efficiency of a Flat Plate Solar Collector
