Theoretical and Experimental Study of Heat Transfer in a Two-Channel Flat Plate Solar Air Collector

In this article, a theoretical–experimental study was conducted on a two-channel solar air collector (SAC-2C). For the experimental study, a prototype of the SAC-2C was designed, built, and instrumented with dimensions of 1.860 m in length, 0.605 m in width, and featuring two air channels of 5.5 mm and 5 mm thick each, respectively. The collector operates via forced convection and was positioned at an inclination angle of 18.88 deg at the Tecnológico Nacional de México CENIDET campus (TecNM/CENIDET) located in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. For the theoretical analysis, the method of global energy balances in two dimensions (2D) and under transient conditions was applied. Temperature differences of up to 3.0∘C are observed with respect to mathematical models that do not consider heat conduction terms in solid elements. These differences are accentuated in the glass cover. Furthermore, altitude’s impact on air density calculations could influence theoretical temperature profiles up to 3.0∘C. The theoretical results of the numerical model were validated with the information obtained from the experimental tests, which showed good similarity. It was observed that the elements of SAC-2C are sensitive to sudden changes in meteorological conditions. The system’s response time is not only associated with the characteristics of the materials but also with the thermal bridges between the absorber plate and the casing. The calculation of the appropriate heat transfer coefficients allowed the evaluation of energy gains or losses in the SAC-2C collector.