A NOVEL METHOD OF POROUS MEDIA SIMULATION IN OPEN-FLOW PV/T COLLECTOR USING DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING

• Main Authors: Al-Bayati T.N., Om N.I.B., Wahhab H.A.A., Ismail F.B.
• Other Authors: 58875306700
• Format: Article
• Published: Taylor's University 2024
• Subjects: Digital image processing; Open-flow material foam; porous media; PV/T system; Solar collector simulation

Using metal foam enhances heat transfer in thermal systems by increasing the contact area. In the present research, the effects of using metal foam and different water flow rates on the thermal performance of direct absorption flat solar collectors were examined numerically. This collector is attached to the rear side of a PV panel to extract the excessive heat from the PV panel. The numerical work was designed by establishing a new digital image processing technique for simulating porous material and it was analysed by using ANSYS FLUENT 17.2. The temperature distribution for different water flow rates with porous media at 60% porosity has been analysed. The numerical results showed that the thermal efficiency was compared for the different flow rates at maximum radiation, where the thermal efficiency increased at the flow rate of 3.5 l/min by 4.7%. � 2023 Taylor's University. All rights reserved.