Investigate the impact of Riser Tube Shape Variations on Flat Plate Solar Water Heater Performance Using CFD Analysis.

Abstract

Abstract— The flat plate collectors typically consist of a large heat absorbing plate designed for operation in the low temperature range. The main factors to be considered in flat plate collector design are increasing absorption, minimizing heat losses, and effective heat transfer from the absorbing surface to the working fluids. Therefore, an improvement in their geometrical and operating condition would definitely lead to savings in cost of fuel and operating temperature range. One of the important issues is obtaining a good thermal bond between the absorber plate and riser tubes containing the heat-transfer fluids. Generally, arrays of circular cross-section riser tubes are bonded to the absorber plate. The goal of this research is to investigate how different riser tube shape affects flat plate collector performance. According to CFD studies, square and triangular riser tubes have the highest water exit temperatures compared to circular riser tubes for the same working conditions. This is because square and triangular riser tubes have more surface area in contact with the plate, which allows for more heat absorption and increased collector performance. The temperatures indicated by the CFD analysis are compared to the numerical values derived using the experimentally recorded temperatures, and it is discovered that the calculated and measured findings are very close.