International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)

Volume 4 Issue 6, September-October 2020 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470

Experimental Investigation of Solar Water Heater

Integrated with a Nanocomposite Phase Change Material
Shashi Kumar1, Prof. Ranjeet Arya2
1M
Tech Scholar, 2Assistant Professor,
1,2Departmentof Mechanical Engineering,
1,2Corporate Institute of Science & Technology, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT How to cite this paper: Shashi Kumar |

This present work contributes to the improvement in thermal energy Prof. Ranjeet Arya "Experimental
storage capacity of an all-glass evacuated tube solar water heater by Investigation of Solar Water Heater
integrating it with a phase change material (PCM) and with a Integrated with a Nanocomposite Phase
nanocomposite phase change material (NCPCM).. Change Material"
Paraffin wax as PCM and a nanocomposite of paraffin wax with 1.0 mass% Published in
GeO2 nanoparticles as NCPCM had been used during the experiments. International Journal
Three different cases, namely, without PCM, with PCM, and with NCPCM, of Trend in Scientific
were considered. Research and
The testing procedure involved the observation of total temperature Development (ijtsrd),
variation in the tank water from 6.00 a.m. to 6.00 a.m. of next morning. ISSN: 2456-6470, IJTSRD35820
Volume-4 | Issue-6,
OBJECTIVE
October 2020, pp.1833-1837, URL:
The main objective of my project is to increase the performance of solar water
www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd35820.pdf
heater integrated storage tank with PCM and NCPCM which would serve the
varying demands.
Copyright © 2020 by author(s) and
International Journal of Trend in Scientific
Research and Development Journal. This
is an Open Access article distributed
under the terms of
the Creative
Commons Attribution
License (CC BY 4.0)
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

INTRODUCTION
Solar water heater is most alternative source to toughened to cover the box large open surface, black paint
the conventional electric heater to meet the for absorbing solar radiation and insulation layer. Maximum
domestic and industrial hot water demand, temperature of water obtained at outlet of collector is 73.3
where energy utilized is from the renewable 0C. Also an innovative storage tank is investigated. The
source. It is abundant renewable energy source. It storage tank is made up of MS plate, 50 mm puff insulation,
brings the hopeful scope for the solar thermal outer- cladding cover, inside coating with Fiber
industries for producing commercially successful and Reinforcement plastic and 60%-40% partition for hot and
competent products to cater the customer needs cold water. Due to this FRP coating thermal conductivity of
Phase change materials (PCMs) are considered to tank material and night heat losses get reduced. In
be the potential resources, since they can absorb or conventional hot water storage tank night temperature
release a lot of heat energy at the constant temperature losses is found to be 9 0C while in modified FRP coating tank
during their phase transitions. They are having great with partition night temperature losses is found to be 4 0C
energy densities compared to other form of
thermal storage materials International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Research
(IJSER) (2015). We are blessed with Solar Energy in
LITERATURE REVIEW abundance at no cost. The solar radiation incident on the
The system consists of two simultaneously functioning heat- surface of the earth can be conveniently utilized for the
absorbing units. The storage unit stores the heat in PCMs benefit of human society. One of the popular devices that
during the day supplies hot water during the night. harness the solar energy is solar hot water system (SHWS).
The solar energy is the most capable of the alternative
M. V. Kulkarni, Dr. D. S Deshmukh (2017). An Innovative energy sources. Due to increasing Demand for energy and
design of solar water heater flat plate collector is developed rising cost of fossil type fuels (i.e., gas or oil) solar energy is
and tested. The collector is made-up of rectangular considered an attractive source of renewable energy that can
aluminium having size 0.97 m X 1.81 m total surface area for be used for water hearing in both homes and industry.
heat conduction is 1.9845 m2. The absorber is made of Heating water consumes nearly 20% of total energy
Aluminium box with one large surface exposed to sunlight consumption for an average family. Solar water heating
having size 1.94 m x 1.1 m x 0.1 m, glass 4 mm thick systems are the cheapest and most easily affordable clean

@ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD35820 | Volume – 4 | Issue – 6 | September-October 2020 Page 1833
 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
energy available to homeowners that may provide most of ways. The simplest way is achieved by the direct connection
hot water required by a family. Solar heater is a device which of the tubes to the storage unit. The working fluid can be
is used for heating the water, for producing the steam for either a liquid or a gas. When water is used as the working
domestic and industrial purposes by utilizing the solar fluid, it is directly circulated between the tank and tube
energy. Solar energy is the energy which is coming from sun cavity via natural circulation. The temperature range in this
in the form of solar radiations in infinite amount, when these type is limited by water boiling point. However, air or other
solar radiations falls on absorbing surface, then they gets gases may also be used as working fluids which necessitates
converted into the heat, this heat is used for heating the the use of an appropriate fan or blower to circulate the fluid.
water. This type of thermal collector suffers from heat losses
due toradiation and convection. Such losses increase rapidly The first systematic study on an ETSC was done by Eberlein
as the temperature of the working fluid increases. (1976). He analyzed thermal performance of an ETSC
employing air as the working fluid. The solar collector
Journal of Engineering and Development, Vol. 18, No.2, studied by Eberlein consisted of an array of several
March 2014 The crucial point in designing any solar collector evacuated tubes. Air is introduced in the middle way
is to allow maximum possible amount of solar radiation to between top and bottom of each tube using additional
reach the absorber part of the collector, and concurrently, concentric delivery conduit. It circulates in the annular space
reducing thermal losses from the absorber to the minimum. between the delivery conduit and the absorbing tube to
Evacuated-Tube Solar Collector (ETSC) offers feasible collect solar thermal energy. This analytical study proposed
solution to this problem. An evacuated tube is composed of several mathematical models useful in the design of air
two coaxial glass tubes forming an annulus (Figure. 1). The ETSCs but it was not validated by experimental tests. A
space between the two tubes is evacuated to eliminate detailed numerical study on the natural circulation inside the
convective losses. The outer tube is the transparent cover evacuated tube cavity was done by Gaa F.O. et. al. (1998). A
while the inner tube is the absorber which is coated from numerical model of the inclined open thermosyphon has
outside (vacuum side) with a selective paint to maximize been developed using a finite difference algorithm to solve
solar absorptance. One end of the evacuated tube is closed the vorticity vector potential form of the Navier-Stokes
while the other is left open. The solar collector usually equations. The study was experimentally verified using laser
incorporates several evacuated tubes forming a parallel doppler anemometry to measure the velocity profile at the
array. Heat can be extracted from the tubes by a variety of tube exit.

Photographic view of an experimental setup of evacuated tube solar water heater with measuring instruments b
PCM/NCPCM containers and their integration with the water storage tank

Experimental procedure
The experiments were conducted during the months of January, February, and March of 2020, and the average of at least 3 days
for each case had been monitored to ascertain the reliability and accuracy of the results. The test results belonging to the days
having similar solar insolation were deliberated for the further analysis. The water temperature of the collector storage tank
was monitored with three K-type thermocouples with an accuracy of ± 0.1 ℃, which had been placed in equidistance from the
bottom of the tank in order to measure the average hot water temperature during the experiment.

@ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD35820 | Volume – 4 | Issue – 6 | September-October 2020 Page 1834
 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
Hourly measurement of atmospheric temperature for 4
Exin = Ac Ht [1+1 / 3 (Ta/Tsun) 4/3 (Ta/Tsun)] 8
the three cases on three similar solar days
Exstored = Exw + Expcm 9
Exw =mw xCp;w [ (Tw,f -Tw,i) - TaIn (Tw,f / Tw,i) ] 10

Expcm = Q pcm (1- Ta/ Tpcm) 11

ψc = Exstored /Exm x 100 12

Schematic diagram of the all-glass evacuated tube solar

water heater with PCM container and measuring
instruments.

Energy stored in the solar collector tank for the three

cases of experiments

Energy efficiency of the evacuated tube solar collector

for the three cases of experiments

Exergy efficiency of the evacuated tube solar collector

for the three cases of experiment

Energy stored in the solar collector tank for the three

cases of experiments

Energy analysis
Qi = Qs+Qb+Ql 1
Qs = Qw + QPCM 2
Qs= [mwxCp,w(Tw,f-Tw,i)] + {mpcm[Cp,pcm(Tpcm,f-
Tpcm,i) +a m Δh pcm] 3
Qi = AcxHt 4
Ac =N xLxD 5
ηc= (Qs/Qi )x 100 6
Exin = Exstored + Exloss + Irrevesibility 7

@ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD35820 | Volume – 4 | Issue – 6 | September-October 2020 Page 1835
 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
Daily energy efficiency of solar water heater for the three Conclusions
different cases The all-glass evacuated tube solar water heater was
Description Daily energy fabricated with built-in storage tank.
Description
efficiency (g)/%
Solar water heater The experiments were conducted for 24 h from 6.00 a.m. to
58.74 6.00 a.m. of next day morning for all the cases.
without PCM
Solar water heater
69.62 The performance of the collector was investigated in terms
with PCM
Solar water heater of energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, and temperature of
74.79 hot water supply during next day morning for the three
with NCPCM
cases, namely, the first case without PCM, the second case
with PCM, and the third case with NCPCM.

REFERENCES
[1] Golic ´ K, Kosoric ´ V, Furundz ˇic ´ AK. General model
of solar water heating system integration in
residential building refurbishment—potential energy
savings and environmental impact. Renew Sustain
Energy Rev. 2011; 15(3):1533–44.
[2] Shukla R, Sumathy K, Erickson P, Gong J. Recent
advances in the solar water heating systems: a review.
Renew Sustain Energy Rev. 2013; 19:173–90.
[3] Redpath DA. Thermosyphon heat-pipe evacuated tube
solar water heaters for northern maritime climates.
Sol Energy. 2012; 86(2):705–15.
[4] Ayompe LM, Duffy A, Mc Keever M, Conlon M,
Exergy stored in the solar collector tank for the three McCormack SJ. Comparative field performance study
cases of experiments of flat plate and heat pipe evacuated tube collectors
(ETCs) for domestic water heating systems in a
temperate climate. Energy. 2011; 36(5):3370–8.
[5] Kim JT, Ahn HT, Han H, Kim HT, Chun W. The
performance simulation of all-glass vacuum tubes
with coaxial fluid conduit. Int Commun Heat Mass
Transf. 2007; 34(5):587–97.
[6] Rosen MA, Tang R, Dincer I. Effect of stratification on
energy and exergy capacities in thermal storage
systems. Int J Energy Res. 2004; 28(2):177–93.
[7] Jordan U, Furbo S. Thermal stratification in small
solar domestic storage tanks caused by draw-offs. Sol
Energy. 2005; 78(2):291–300.
[8] Sharma A, Tyagi VV, Chen CR, Buddhi D. Review on
thermal energy storage with phase change materials
and applications. Renew Sustain Energy Rev. 2009;
Exergy stored in the solar collector tank for the three 13(2):318–45.
cases of experiments [9] Kim S, Drzal LT. High latent heat storage and high
thermal conductive phase change materials using
exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets. Sol Energy Mater
Sol Cells. 2009; 93:136–42.
[10] Zalba B, Marın JM, Cabeza LF, Mehling H. Review on
thermal energy storage with phase change: materials,
heat transfer analysis and applications. Appl Therm
Eng. 2003; 23(3):251–83.
[11] Sharif MA, Al-Abidi AA, Mat S, Sopian K, Ruslan MH,
Sulaiman MY, Rosli MA. Review of the application of
phase change material for heating and domestic hot
water systems. Renew Sustain Energy Rev. 2015;
42:557–68.
[12] Cabeza LF, Ibanez M, Sole C, Roca J, Nogues M.
Experimentation with a water tank including a PCM

@ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD35820 | Volume – 4 | Issue – 6 | September-October 2020 Page 1836
 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
module. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells. 2006; [19] Luo R, Wang S, Wang T, Zhu C, Nomura T, Akiyama T.
90(9):1273–82. Fabrication of paraffin@ GeO2 shape-stabilized
composite phase change material via chemical
[13] Chaabane M, Mhiri H, Bournot P. Thermal
precipitation method for building energy
performance of an integrated collector storage solar
conservation. Energy Build. 2015; 108:373–80.
water heater (ICSSWH) with phase change materials
(PCM). Energy Convers Manag. 2014; 78:897–903. [20] Redhwan AA, Azmi WH, Sharif MZ, Mamat R, Zawawi
NN. Comparative study of thermo-physical properties
[14] Anghel EM, Georgiev A, Petrescu S, Popov R,
of GeO2 and Al2O3 nanoparticles dispersed in PAG
Constantinescu M. Thermo-physical characterization
lubricant. Appl Therm Eng. 2017; 116:823–32.
of some paraffins used as phase change materials for
thermal energy storage. J Therm Anal Calorim. 2014; [21] Tang R, Yang Y, Gao W. Comparative studies on
117(2):557–66. thermal performance of water-in-glass evacuated
tube solar water heaters with different collector tilt-
[15] Ahmed SF, Khalid M, Rashmi W, Chan A, Shahbaz K.
angles. Sol Energy. 2011; 85(7):1381–9.
Recent progress in solar thermal energy storage using
nanomaterials. Renew Sustain Energy Rev. 2017; [22] Wu SY, Wang H, Xiao S, Zhu DS. An investigation of
67:450–60. melting/ freezing characteristics of nanoparticle-
enhanced phase change materials. J Therm Anal
[16] Zeng JL, Sun LX, Xu F, Tan ZC, Zhang ZH, Zhang J,
Calorim. 2011; 110(3):1127–31.
Zhang T. Study of a PCM based energy storage system
containing Ag nanoparticles. J Therm Anal Calorim. [23] Jesumathy S, Udayakumar M, Suresh S. Experimental
2007; 87(2):371–5. study of enhanced heat transfer by addition of CuO
nanoparticle. Heat
[17] Zeng JL, Cao Z, Yang DW, Sun LX, Zhang L. Thermal
conductivity enhancement of Ag nanowires on an [24] Ceylan I. Energy and exergy analyses of a temperature
organic phase change material. J Therm Anal Calorim. controlled solar water heater. Energy Build. 2012;
2010; 101(1):385–9. 47:630–5.
[18] Mettawee EB, Assassa GM. Thermal conductivity
enhancement in a latent heat storage system. Sol
Energy. 2007; 81(7):839–45.

@ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD35820 | Volume – 4 | Issue – 6 | September-October 2020 Page 1837