Experimental Investigation on Flat Plate Solar Collector with Integrated Wickless Heat Pipe

Abstract

An experimental study is carry out to investigate the effectiveness of a flat plate solar collector (FPSC) through replacing the riser tubes by integrated wickless heat pipe (WHP) heat exchanger. The study show the effect of working fluid filling charge of the WHP, the tilt angle, and inlet coolant temperature on the solar system performance. A FPSC with area of (0.76*0.96) m2 built with copper WHP of 19mm evaporator tubes outer diameter and single horizontal condenser of 28mm outer diameter using distilled water with (40, 60, and 80) % filling ratios as a working fluid inside the WHP. The collector efficiency was directly affected by the filling ratio of the WHP while tilt angle is contributed to solar radiation more than WHP performance.