TY - JOUR
T1 - Enhancing light transmission and thermal conduction for accelerating direct photo-thermal conversion and storage
AU - Zhang, Shaoliang
AU - Liu, Shuli
AU - Xu, Zhiqi
AU - Shen, Yongliang
AU - Chen, Hongkuan
AU - Wang, Jihong
AU - Li, Yongliang
AU - Yar Khan, Sheher
AU - Kumar, Mahesh
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 International Solar Energy Society
PY - 2024/3/15
Y1 - 2024/3/15
N2 - Direct absorption/storage solar collectors (DASSC) using composite phase change materials (CPCM) have attracted great attention in the solar energy field for the advantages of less heat exchange processes and high heat storage density. However, the low thermal conductivity of the CPCM has greatly restricted the thermal performance of the DASSC. This study aims to improve the photo-thermal conversion efficiency (PTCE) of DASSC using light transmission and thermal conduction enhancing methods within a new developed CPCM. Firstly, paraffin/expanded graphite CPCM is developed for direct solar absorption, conversion and storage. Secondly, both light transmission and thermal conduction enhancing methods have been investigated to improve the charging rate and PTCE of the solar collector. The paraffin/expanded graphite CPCM exhibits high absorbance in the visible light region with higher radiation energy, which is 3.03 times that of pure paraffin. At low irradiation intensity (400 W/m2), thermal conduction enhancing method performs better than light transmission enhancing method, in which the charging rate are increased by 15.64 % and 13.24 % compared to the non-enhanced collector, respectively. However, with irradiation intensity increase, such as 1000 W/m2, the light transmission enhancing method has a slightly better effect than the thermal conduction enhancing method, which increase the PTCE by 8.29 % and 8.25 %, respectively. This research introduces a new view to think about the method for improving the efficiency of DASSC.
AB - Direct absorption/storage solar collectors (DASSC) using composite phase change materials (CPCM) have attracted great attention in the solar energy field for the advantages of less heat exchange processes and high heat storage density. However, the low thermal conductivity of the CPCM has greatly restricted the thermal performance of the DASSC. This study aims to improve the photo-thermal conversion efficiency (PTCE) of DASSC using light transmission and thermal conduction enhancing methods within a new developed CPCM. Firstly, paraffin/expanded graphite CPCM is developed for direct solar absorption, conversion and storage. Secondly, both light transmission and thermal conduction enhancing methods have been investigated to improve the charging rate and PTCE of the solar collector. The paraffin/expanded graphite CPCM exhibits high absorbance in the visible light region with higher radiation energy, which is 3.03 times that of pure paraffin. At low irradiation intensity (400 W/m2), thermal conduction enhancing method performs better than light transmission enhancing method, in which the charging rate are increased by 15.64 % and 13.24 % compared to the non-enhanced collector, respectively. However, with irradiation intensity increase, such as 1000 W/m2, the light transmission enhancing method has a slightly better effect than the thermal conduction enhancing method, which increase the PTCE by 8.29 % and 8.25 %, respectively. This research introduces a new view to think about the method for improving the efficiency of DASSC.
KW - Composite phase change materials
KW - Direct absorption/storage solar collector
KW - Enhancement technologies
KW - Light transmission
KW - Solar energy
KW - Thermal conduction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85187198024&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.solener.2024.112441
DO - 10.1016/j.solener.2024.112441
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85187198024
SN - 0038-092X
VL - 271
JO - Solar Energy
JF - Solar Energy
M1 - 112441
ER -
