Energy, exergy an‎d economic eva‎luation an‎d selec‎tion of the optimal configuration for flat-plate solar water heating systems with series an‎d parallel arrangements incorporating turbulator in the internal flow

2/8/2027 12:00:00 AM

Flat-plate solar water heaters, as one of the efficient systems for hot water production, require precise performance eva‎luation an‎d optimization to achieve higher efficiency. In this study, four different configurations were investigated, including the system with a simple collector, the system with a collector equipped with an internal flow turbulator, the series arrangement of collectors equipped with a turbulator, an‎d the parallel arrangement of collectors equipped with a turbulator. Analyses were carried out based on energy, exergy, an‎d economic criteria to determine the optimal system from various aspects. The eva‎luation results showed that the use of a turbulator in a single collector increased the outlet temperature from about 38 °C to about 42 °C. In the series arrangement, the temperature gradually increased an‎d reached 76.6 °C at the final outlet. In the parallel arrangement, due to the division of flow rate between the collectors, the combination of outlet streams created a temperature similar to the series configuration. Exergy analysis also indicated that the presence of the turbulator reduced exergy destruction compared to the base system, although the series an‎d parallel configurations, due to the simultaneous use of multiple collectors, were associated with higher exergy destruction. From an economic perspective, the cost-to-heat ratio improved in the configurations equipped with a turbulator; in multi-collector arrangements, this value reached 0.6 US$/kW. Ultimately, the obtained results demonstrate that the combination of series an‎d parallel arrangements with the presence of an internal flow turbulator is accompanied by a significant increase in outlet temperature. However, the difference in achieving higher temperatures in series an‎d parallel configurations, due to the division of the inlet flow rate to the system, can occur at different stages, which, depending on the desired operating conditions, can be utilized an‎d selec‎ted accordingly.

آبگرمكن خورشيدي , آرايش كلكتورها , آشفته ساز جريان داخلي , ارزيابي ترموديناميكي

Solar water heater , Collector configuration , Internal flow turbulator , Thermodynamic analysis

Saman Bahmanyar

Dr. Mojtaba Mirhosseini