Performance evaluation of external compound parabolic concentrator integrated with thermal storage tank for domestic solar refrigeration system

Christopher SS 1 , Thakur AK 2 , Hazra SK 3 , Sharshir SW 4 , Pandey AK 5 , Rahman S 5 Show all authors , Singh P 6 , Sunder LS 7 , Raj AK 8 , Dhivagar R 9 , Sathyamurthy R 10

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Saveetha School of Engineering, SIMATS, Chennai, India
  • 2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Arasur, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641407, India
  • 3 Cryogenic Engineering Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal, 721302, India
  • 4 Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
  • 5 Research Centre for Nano-Materials and Energy Technology (RCNMET), School of Engineering and Technology, Sunway University, No. 5, Jalan Universiti, Bandar Sunway, 47500, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
  • 6 Institute of Engineering and Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, GLA University Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, 281406, India
  • 7 Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Al-Khobar, 31952, Saudi Arabia
  • 8 Center for Computational Engineering and Networking (CEN), Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, India
  • 9 Department of Mechanical Engineering, QIS College of Engineering and Technology, Ongole, 523272, India
  • 10 Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. [email protected]
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2023 Mar 20.
PMID: 36940023 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-26399-2

Abstract

The aim of this research was to develop a model for a solar refrigeration system (SRS) that utilizes an External Compound Parabolic Collector and a thermal energy storage system (TESS) for solar water heating in Chennai, India. The system parameters were optimized using TRNSYS software by varying factors such as collector area, mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid, and storage system volume and height. The resulting optimized system was found to meet 80% of hot water requirements for the application on an annual basis, with an annual collector energy efficiency of 58% and an annual TESS exergy efficiency of 64% for a discharge period of 6 h per day. In addition, the thermal performance of 3.5 kW SRS was studied by connecting it to an optimized solar water heating system (SWHS). The system was found to generate an average cooling energy of 12.26 MJ/h annually, with a coefficient of performance of 0.59. By demonstrating the ability to efficiently generate both hot water and cooling energy, the results of this study indicate the potential for utilizing a SWHS in combination with STST and SRS. The optimization of system parameters and the use of exergy analysis provide valuable insights into the thermal behavior and performance of the system, which can inform future designs and improve the overall efficiency of similar systems.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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