Experimental and numerical thermal analysis of conical solar collector using helical absorber tube

This article elaborates the conical solar concentrator collector system design and performance evaluation. A simple and innovative solar collector experimental system was constructed to absorb thermal energy from incident solar irradiance more effectively, and experiments were performed to evaluate system efficiency. Tonatiuh software was used to determine the best optical geometry and reflector effectiveness. The thermal performance of a conical collector having a novel helical copper tube along its axis was investigated for use as a domestic hot water collector. The experiments were conducted at three different irradiance values (800, 900, and 1000 W m-2) under indoor conditions using halogen floodlights. Two different water cycles, open and closed, were used in the experimental system. Three flow rates (5, 10, and 15 kg h-1) were used in the heat exchanger's cycle (open), and five flow rates (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 kg h-1) were used in the absorber tube's cycle (closed). Experimental results showed that the water temperature at outlet increased the most by 16.17 degrees C for a helical absorber tube with D0 = 10 mm at 1000 W m-2 irradiance and a mass flow rate of 5 kg h-1. Furthermore, the numerical analysis was performed using ANSYS-Fluent Simulation software, and numerical results were consistent with the experimental results.

Journal

JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY

Year

2025

Volume

150

Issue

16

Pages

12699-12715

ISSN

1388-6150

eISSN

1588-2926

DOI

10.1007/s10973-025-14519-8

WoS UID

WOS:001532608800001