Thermal performance modelling of solar collector with heat storage

Abstract

Solar drying is used to reduce post-harvest losses. An indirect solar dryer with oriented air is presented. It provides the ability to store energy. This work predicts the outlet temperature at the collector in the single-face and bifacial modes of collector. The heat balance applied to each element is determined taking into account the temporal term which characterises storage in the material. The simulation is done using Matlab software. Both models of the collector are validated by comparing the experimental and theoretical curves. The results show that the two curves of outlet temperatures have the same profile when the global heat transfer coefficient loss is 2.94 W.m -2 .K -1 , the contact resistance between the absorber and the insulator is 0.025 W -1 .m2.K and the velocity is 0.2 m.s -1 . The contact resistance has a significant influence on the outlet air temperature but not accessible for controlling temperature compared to the velocity. G.B. Tchaya et al.Martin Kamta is an Associate Professor in Electronics at the University of Ngaoundere. His main range of scientific interests is physics of semiconductor devices, electronics and photovoltaic systems. He has published three articles in electron spin resonance (ESR) of defects in III-V materials, three articles in superconducting materials, one article and six communications about photovoltaic systems. He has supervised several PhD, several Master's degree theses and several Master engineering.Michel Havet received his Doctorate in Aerodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, Combustion and Thermal from the University of Poitiers in 1995. He is currently in charge of Food Process Engineering Department at ONIRIS, France. His research activities concern the aerodynamics and increased transfers in food processing. He has published close to 25 papers in refereed journals and has supervised several Masters and PhD theses.César Kapseu is a Professor of Process Engineering at the University of Ngaoundere. He has published close to 100 papers in refereed journals and is a holder of more than ten prestigious awards. He has supervised several Masters and PhD theses. He has equally held several posts of responsibilities at the University of Ngaoundere.