Abstract

AVILA GOMEZ, Adrián Enrique; MENDOZA FANDINO, Jorge Mario  and  BELTRAN SARMIENTO, Julio Fernando. Energy assessment of a double cover flat-plate solar collector. Ing. Desarro. [online]. 2010, n.27, pp.93-112. ISSN 0122-3461.

This study establishes the effect of the aspect ratio (ratio between length and width of a constant collector area) on the thermal efficiency of a flat-plate solar collector that uses a double cover for air heating. The analysis has two approaches: first, using a physical-mathematical model that develop a steady state analysis from a collector energy balance and the second, using an instrumented prototype to calculate its performance in experimental way. The collector configuration consists in a wood structure, a double glass cover, an absorber plate of solar radiation and blower to extract the heated air. To calculate the performance temperature data, solar radiation and mass flow of air were automatically recorded for about 6 hours for several days and under different weather conditions in the city of Montería, Cordoba. In general it was found, for a constant collector area, where the thermal efficiency increases when the aspect ratio increases and that the theoretical model fits in an acceptable way with the experimental results.

Keywords : Constant collector area; solar collector; efficiency; flat-plate; aspect ratio.

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