Numerical Investigation of Wind Flow around a Cylindrical Trough Solar Collector

Seyyed Mohammad Nima Shojaee¹, Mohammad Adel Moradian², Mashhood Mashhoodi^3*

¹Faculty of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
²School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
³Young Researchers and Elites Club, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: 10.4236/jpee.2015.31001                

Abstract

The goal of this study is to model the effects of wind on Cylindrical Trough Collectors (CTCs). Two major areas are discussed in this paper: 1) heat losses due to wind flow over receiver pipe and 2) average forces applied on the collector’s body. To accomplish these goals a 2D modeling of CTC was carried out using commercial codes with various wind velocities and collector orientations. Ambient temperature was assumed to be constant at 300 K and for specific geometries different meshing methods and boundary conditions were used in various runs. Validation was done by comparing the simulation results for a horizontal collector with empirical data. It was observed that maximum force of 509.1 Newton per Meter occurs at +60 degrees. Nusselt number is almost the constant for positive angles while at negative angles it varies considerably with the collector’s orientation.

Keywords

Component, Flow Analysis, Wind Forces, Solar Collectors, Cylindrical Trough Collector, Computational, Solar Energy

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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