Experimental investigation of thermal performance of a new solar air collector with porous surface

In this study, thermal performance of a new solar air collector with porous absorber plate was investigated. The porous surface was accomplished by laying out the copper meshing on the absorbing plate. Hence, it was aimed that the plate could absorb more heat and the thermal boundary layer of the flow would be disturbed. The experimental data was acquired for mass flow rates of 0.031 and 0.038 kg/s. The thermal efficiency was determined as 25 to 57 % while the thermal-hydraulic efficiency of the collector was calculated as 14 to 44 % depending on the experimental case. It was seen that temperature of the fluid at outlet of the collector, useful heat amount and pressure loss were increased as mass flow rate was increased. The results presented that the increasing the mass flow rate and establishing the surface of collector as porous would improve the thermal efficiency of the collector. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.