Experimental assessment of novel designed solar hot water storage collector incorporating an array of partitioned ducts absorber

A Novel design of a solar water collector consisting of an array of adjacent partitioned ducts representing the collector absorber is investigated experimentally. Each duct is divided into two flow passages by a partitioned plate made from insulation material. The heated water flows over the partitioned plate to the storage tank, while the cold water flows from the storage tank to the duct down the portioned plate. The designed partitioned ducts solar collector (PDSC) performance is compared to conventional flat plate solar water collectors (FPSC) with the same dimensions and materials. The study is performed under hot weather conditions of upper Egypt for collectors' tilt angles of; 17 degrees, 27 degrees, and 37 degrees. The findings reveal that PDSC has higher storage water temperature, energy storage, energy efficiency, and lower energy losses. The PDSC has average daily efficiencies of 57.5%, 55.2%, and 47.5%, with enhancement percentages of 31.2%, 32.4%, and 38.6%, relative to the FPSC, at the studied tilt angles, respectively. The PDSC has average exergy efficiencies of 4.47%, 3.71%, and 2.89%, with enhancement percentages of 36.3%, 36.5%, and 41% relative to the FPSC, at the studied tilt angles, respectively. The maximum required thermosyphon heads of the PDSC are 0.8, 0.7, and 0.1, and the corresponding values of the FPSC are 1.7, 1.65, and 0.9 mm at the studied tilt angles, respectively.