Numerical Modelling of Evacuated Tube Collector and Evaluation of Integrating Thermal Storage Materials

The paper presents the numerical modelling of an evacuated tube collector system (ETC) and evaluation of adding thermal storage material. The aim is to assess the effect, performance, and operating hours of the ETC system. The chosen thermal storage material are Acetamide, Magnesium nitrate hexahydrate, and Desert sand. Both Acetamide and Magnesium nitrate hexahydrate are examples of phase change materials (PCM). Melting temperature of Acetamide is 80°C while Magnesium nitrate hexahydrate is 89°C. Proposed system is suitable for domestic, and commercial purposes. Hence, ETC modules can produce high temperatures by adding more collector tubes and optimizing the mass flow rate. Mass flowrates can also affect heat energy supplied to the ETC system and time duration. Numerical results obtained indicate that an ETC system integrated with thermal storage material can prolong and maintain the temperature of hot water in the system.