Maximization of Exergy Output From Volumetric Absorption Solar Collectors

Abstract

A model has been developed to study the behavior of Volumetric Absorption Solar Collectors (VASC) and the influence of the design parameters on the performance of the collector. The model’s approach is based on the use of several dimensionless numbers, each of them having a clear physical significance, which play a key role in the analysis of the collector. The model is then used to conduct a thermodynamic optimization of VASC, which gives the optimal design parameters that maximize the exergy output of the heat extracted from the collector. The results agree with the findings made by other authors who have studied flat plate solar collectors.