Energy Conversion and Management 52 (2011) 301–307

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Energy Conversion and Management

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Experimental validation of dynamic simulation of the flat plate collector

in a closed thermosyphon solar water heater
H. Taherian a,*, A. Rezania a,b, S. Sadeghi a, D.D. Ganji a
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Babol University of Technology, P.O. Box 484, Babol 47144, Mazandaran, Iran
b
Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Pontoppidanstraede 101, 9220 Aalborg East, Denmark

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This work studies the dynamic simulation of thermosyphon solar water heater collector considering the
Received 13 January 2009 weather conditions of a city in north of Iran. The simulation was done for clear and partly cloudy days.
Received in revised form 10 November 2009 The useful energy, the efficiency diagrams, the inlet and the outlet of collector, center of the absorber
Accepted 29 June 2010
and center of the glass cover temperatures, were obtained. The simulation results were then compared
Available online 21 August 2010
with the experimental results in fall and showed a good agreement.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Solar water heater
Closed thermosyphon
Dynamic simulation
Experimental model

1. Introduction system. A thermosyphon solar water heating system with an in-

Except for regions with harsh winters, use of thermosyphon so-
lar water heaters (TSWH) is gradually increasing. Absence of envi-
ronmental pollution, using inexpensive and interminable energy
source of the sun and also having no moving parts are the main
reasons of ever-increasing usage of this type of water heater in
mild climates. Extensive investigations were done both as theoret-
ical and experimental studies on solar water heaters, which show
the high efficiency of these systems compared with other systems
of inexpensive energy source. Majority of literature addresses open
cycle or alternatively known as direct thermosyphon solar water
heaters. Traditional configuration for thermosyphon water heater
consisted of one or two flat plate collectors mounted at a tilted po-
sition and a cylindrical storage tank installed vertically so that its
bottom is higher than the top of the collectors. Kettleborough [1]
proposed using a system equipped with a temperature-regulating
valve and stated that its efficiency was higher than the traditional
system. A primary study on solar water heaters was done by
Whillier and Saluja [2] who tried to determine some factors affect-
ing collector performance. To predict the long term performance of
solar domestic hot water (SDHW) systems from short term test
data, Spirkl and Muschaweck [3] used a plug flow model formula-
tion and their focus of attention was on the storage tank of the
* Corresponding author. Present address: Texas A&M University, Department of
Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, 3367 TAMU, College Station, TX
77843, United States. Tel.: +1 979 845 4953; fax: +1 979 862 7969.
E-mail address: hessam.taherian@gmail.com (H. Taherian).
tank auxiliary electric heater was simulated for different hot water
load temperatures using TRNSYS (an energy system simulation
program [4]) by Shariah and Ecevit [5], Shariah and Shalabi [6],
Shariah and Löf [7] and Lima et al. [8]. The results of the simulation
showed that the annual efficiency and solar fraction were functions
of the hot water load temperatures. Hasan [9] performed experi-
ments on solar water heaters with vertical as well as horizontal
storage tank and concluded that horizontal tank systems work as
good as systems with vertical tank. Norton et al. [10] investigated
adoption of three different approaches to performance modeling of
solar water heaters and concluded that while simplified models
could be used for family-size systems, the rigorous simulation
models were better suited to larger scale and commercial applica-
tions. A numerical model to study horizontal and vertical storages
in thermosyphon solar water heaters was proposed by Morrison
and Braun [11]. In this work, changes in the collector efficiency fac-
tor F0 , the overall loss coefficient UL, flow rate and the dependence
of UL on the temperature have been neglected. The temperature of
the collector and the storage and the resulting thermosyphonic
flow rate were calculated and compared with the experimental
data. Vertical storage tanks have lost popularity due to esthetic is-
sues and to lesser extent due to higher aerodynamic resistance to
blowing winds. Several researchers worked on TSWH with direct
connection to a horizontal storage tank. Kalogirou and Papamarcou
[12] performed experimental validation of their numerical model
of the system and found out that the annual solar fraction obtained
was 79% for Nicosia, Cyprus and the system could cover all the hot
water needs of a house of four people during the three summer

0196-8904/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2010.06.063
302 H. Taherian et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 52 (2011) 301–307

Nomenclature

A collector area (m2) Greek letters

Cp specific heat capacity of water (J/kg °C) e emissivity
F collector factor (dimensionless) (sa) collector transmittance–absorptance coefficient
G instantaneous solar radiation (W/m2) g collector efficiency
(h) time (h) r Stephan–Boltzmann constant (W/m2 K4)
h convection heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 °C)
hr radiation heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 °C) Subscripts
I(ac) absorbed energy by cover (W/m2) a ambient
Kair air thermal conductivity (W/m °C)) b back
L plate spacing (m) c cover or collector
m_ flow rate per unit area of collector (kg/s/m2) fi collector inlet fluid
Nu Nusselt number (dimensionless) fo collector outlet fluid
ODE ordinary differential equation L overall
Q_ heat generated (W) p plate
t time (s) pc partly cloudy
T temperature (°C) R heat removal
U heat coefficient (W/m2 °C) s sunny or sky
V ambient air velocity (m/s)

months. Experimental investigation of temperature and flow dis-
tribution in a thermosyphon solar water heating system has been
the subject of research done by Chuawittayawuth and Kumar
[13]. They found that the temperature rise of the water as it flows
through the riser tubes was 21–24 °C for clear sky.
Open cycle TSWH feature two major limitations. They are use-
less wherever the ambient temperature falls below freezing point.
This eliminates them from employment in most countries away
from the equator in both hemispheres. The second limitation has
to do with fouling in small diameter collector riser tubes. This is
due to passage of untreated city water through it. To overcome
the above-mentioned limitations, closed-cycle thermosyphon sys-
tems have been introduced. One of the earliest reports on closed
loop TSWH is by Orlando et al. [14]. They compared the closed loop
system with heat exchanger and the open loop system. The only
literature available on thermosyphon system having mantle heat
exchanger with vertical storage tank was that by Norton et al.
[15]. Horizontal mantle storage tanks are less prone to tripping
over as a result of high winds while their appearance is less bulky.
In fact, in some designs the storage tank has been well assimilated
in the system.
There are a few literatures available that is most relevant to the
current study. Chang et al. [16] after performing experiments on 12
different TSWH – both closed and open cycle – proposed using a
modified efficiency for these systems which is the product of the
traditional efficiency definition multiplied by heat removal effi-
ciency. By this, they allow for the performance of the system dur-
ing water draw from the tank to be influential. Belessiotis and
Mathioulakis [17] applied a simple analytical method to solving
the energy balance equations of a TSWH. However, they used
experimental results to find the main influential parameters in
the equations.
Lack of thermal performance data for closed-type TSWH sys-
tems with horizontal mantle tank was the motive behind the pres-
ent research. In the current study, MATLAB Simulink (from
Mathworks Inc.) [18] has been used to provide high resolution dy-
namic simulation of the collector of a thermosyphon solar water
heating system. Simulink provides means for observation of short
time changes in involving parameters and therefore, can be used
as an optimization tool. By having weather data and some system
initial conditions, the program can predict system’s operation
throughout the year. This can also be used as a tool to model this
type of solar water heater in commercial energy system modeling
software such as TRNSYS which is a widely used tool. The results of
the dynamic simulation have been compared and validated with
experiments on a locally manufactured system.
2. Theoretical background
The solar water heater under study is consisted of two flat plate
solar collectors of 2.06 m2 aperture area each installed at a 40° tilt
and connected to a mantle type horizontal storage tank. The details
of the system are described in Taherian and Riahi [19].
The governing differential equations should be separately writ-
ten for the absorber, the glass cover and the working fluid, and
then solved as a system of equations.
The enthalpy change of the glass cover equals the absorbed en-
ergy from the sun plus the absorbed energy by convection via the
absorber plate plus the absorbed energy by the cover through ab-
sorber radiation minus the outgoing energy via convection with
the ambient minus the outgoing energy through radiation to the
surrounding ambient,
dT c
ðmCpÞc ¼ IðacÞ þ hpc ðT p  T c Þ þ hr pc ðT p  T c Þ
dt
þ hca ðT a  T c Þ þ hrca ðT a  T c Þ ð1Þ
where
hrpc ¼ ðrðT p þ T c ÞðT 2p þ T 2c ÞÞ=ðð1=ep Þ þ ð1=ec Þ  1Þ ð2Þ
The convection heat transfer coefficient of the absorber plate
and the glass cover is [20]:
hpc ¼ NuK air =L ð3Þ
The convection heat transfer coefficient of the absorber plate
and the ambient can be obtained by [20]:
hca ¼ 5:7 þ 3:8V ð4Þ
Also, the radiation heat transfer coefficient of the absorber plate
and the ambient is:
hrca ¼ ec rðT 2c þ T 2s ÞðT c þ T s Þ ð5Þ
where [20]
T s ¼ 0:0552 T 1:5
a ð6Þ
 H. Taherian et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 52 (2011) 301–307 303

2.1. The governing equations for the absorber plate 3. Experimental procedure

The energy changes of the absorber plate equals the absorbed The system consists of two flat plate collectors, each one of area
energy from the sun minus the outgoing energy via convection 2.06 m2 and a horizontal cylindrical storage of volume 160L, which
to the glass cover minus the outgoing energy through radiation is installed outdoors at Babol Noshirvani University of Technology
to the glass cover minus the outgoing energy through the insula- (36.6N, 52.2E) as shown in Fig. 1. The tilt of the collectors with re-
tion minus the energy transferred to the working fluid. spect to the horizontal plane is 40° towards south. In order to have
thermosyphonic flow, the storage tank is located 20 cm above the
dT p
ðmC p Þp ¼ Iðsc  ap Þ þ hpc ðT c  T p Þ þ hrpc ðT c  T p Þ outlet of the collector. Each collector has seven risers and the fins
dt
of the absorbers are made of aluminum and are anodized black
_ f Cpf ðT fi  T fo Þ
þ U b ðT a  T p Þ þ m ð7Þ to increase the collectors overall absorption coefficient. The collec-
tor glazing is 3 mm sheet glass. The collector box is made of ex-
truded aluminum with anodized coating. Since the local ambient
2.2. The governing equations for the working fluid
temperature did not go below zero in the testing period, water
has been used as the working fluid in the collector. The mantle
The only governing equation for the working fluid is the useful
storage tank is made of galvanized iron which is insulated by
energy, which is transferred from the absorber plate, and that is:
5 cm of injected polyurethane foam. The heated outlet water from
the incoming radiation minus energy loss when the collector tem-
the collector enters a horizontal mantle storage tank; after indi-
perature is assumed to be at Tp [20].
rectly transferring heat to the domestic water in the tank and after
Q u ¼ Ac F R ½GðsaÞ  U L ðT fi  T a Þ ð8Þ its temperature is decreased, it enters the inlet pipe of the collec-
tor. Then by a decrease in density caused by the energy received
MATLAB Simulink can be employed to study the efficiency of a
from the sunlight by the absorber, flows upward in the risers and
solar collector during a day with certain weather conditions; exert-
exits the outlet of the collector again. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram
ing the environmental and physical properties, optimum condition
of the experimental setup showing the location that the tempera-
of different parameters can be found. To initialize the simulations,
tures of four points on the absorber and glazing were recorded dur-
the temperature of the glass cover was assumed to be at the ambi-
ing the experiments (i.e. the inlet and outlet of collector, center of
ent temperature and the absorber was assumed to be one degree
the absorber and center of the glass cover). In order to measure the
hotter. In these simulations, a variable-step ordinary differential
temperature, K-type thermocouple wires were used. All thermo-
equation of the order four (ODE45) solver with the initial step size
couples were calibrated against a high accuracy temperature recor-
of 0.01 s was used.
der to ±0.3 °C accuracy. The thermocouples were then connected to
The thermal efficiency of a flat plate solar collector can be de-
an 8-channel Advantech USB analog data acquisition system. Spe-
picted as the linear graph dependent on the outgoing useful energy
cial care was given to appropriate grounding of the system and the
of the collector, the amount of incoming sunlight and the thermal
computer it was attached to. A variable area flow meter of range
loss. The instantaneous efficiency of the collector is defined as the
0.25–4.5l/min was used to measure the outgoing flow of the collec-
ratio of the gained useful energy to the radiated energy onto the
tor. The ambient temperature, the amount of radiation on the col-
collector surface:
lector surface and the wind speed of the location were measured
g ¼ Q u =Ac G ð9Þ and recorded using a dedicated data logger. Actual measured 15-
min interval solar radiation data were incorporated in the numer-
The instantaneous efficiency of solar collectors is affected by
ical model as the input. The uncertainty of the measurements and
many different factors such as the materials used in manufacturing
calculated variables are shown in Table 1. The experiments were
the collector, the type and configuration of absorber plate and riser
conducted in fall season and in several different weather condi-
tubes, the properties of glass cover and the weather conditions;
tions. The presented data are for two clear and partially cloudy
thereby, it can be written in the form of the following efficiency
sample days.
function [20]:

g ¼ F R ðsaÞ  F R U L ðT i  T a Þ=G ð10Þ

where FR(sa) determines how the energy is absorbed and FRUL

determines the way the energy is lost. In Eq. (10), g is the depen-
dent variable and [(Ti  Ta)/G] is the independent variable. There-
fore, in the efficiency diagram, FR(sa) is where the curve
intersects with y-axis and FRUL is the slope of the efficiency dia-
gram. When sloped lines intersect the horizontal axis, it means that
the outgoing useful energy from the collector is crosses and is called
the stagnation status. The useful energy obtained from the collector
can be calculated by measuring the flow rate of the fluid from the
collector and the inlet and outlet temperatures.
_
Q u ¼ mCpðT o  TiÞ ð11Þ
Therefore,

g ¼ mCpðT
_ o  T i Þ=Ac G ð12Þ
The set of differential equations are then represented in Simu-
link graphical user interface (GUI) in the form of simulation blocks
and connecting links. Due to its intricate structure and multiplicity
of sub-systems, the block diagram has not been shown here. Sim-
ulations were run for various weather conditions. Fig. 1. The thermosyphon solar water heater used in the experiments.
304 H. Taherian et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 52 (2011) 301–307

the slope of the straight lines. Extending the lines to intersect with
y-axis in the region of the maximum efficiency, the numeric
amount of FR(sa), will be obtained for the experiment and the sim-
ulation as 0.72 and 0.80, respectively. According to the diagram,
the instantaneous efficiency will decrease as the ratio of tempera-
ture difference to incident radiation increases. Therefore, it is rec-
ommended that the storage tank is designed in such a way that the
incoming fluid to the collector has a temperature near the ambient
temperature. The ratio of the nonlinear changes of the instanta-
neous useful energy obtained during the time the fluid passes
through the collector to the instantaneous radiation energy inci-
dent on the collector is the mean momentary efficiency. If we con-
sider that such a curve as in Fig. 3 has been obtained in one day,
then the average daily efficiency of 68% is quiet considerable for
such thermosyphonic system. Since the working fluid is water,
Tfo increases restrictedly and therefore at noon, when the radiation
is at its highest, the system efficiency is less than after and before
solar noon.
Fig. 4 is a comparison between changes in the useful energy
gain by the collector as measured and as depicted by simulation.
Not only the trend has been followed closely by simulation, the
value of the useful gain has also been predicted closely. The simu-
lation always under predicts the useful energy gain by a small
Fig. 2. The schematic diagram of the experimental setup, (a, b, c and d) collector
inlet, mean absorber plate, mean cover and outlet temperatures, (e) variable area amount. One reason is that in the simulation a constant wind
flow meter, (f) Pyranometer, (g) Anemometer. speed has been considered blowing over the collector glazing while
in the experiments, there may have been calm periods that results
in decreased collector loss.
Table 1
The rate of temperature change of the glass cover, the absorber,
Uncertainty values in the experimental results.
the outgoing fluid from the collector and the increase in the fluid
Parameter Uncertainty values (%) Parameter Uncertainty values (%) temperature flowing through the collector, during the day is pre-
_
m 5.2 T 1.1 sented for a typical sunny day in Fig. 5. Because of the highest level
A 2.0 G 2.5 of radiation at solar noon, the temperature increase of the fluid
Qu 5.4 g 6.6 reaches its highest; but due to the temperature increase of the
stored water in the tank, and consequently the temperature
increase of the incoming fluid to the collector, the highest temper-
4. Results and discussion ature of the outgoing fluid is observed in the afternoon. This causes
an increase in the temperature of the working fluid and therefore,
Separate measurements of tank temperatures at four vertical the maximum temperatures of the absorber and the glass cover are
locations along the height of the tank showed that the stored water seen at this time. This fact is the reason that, at the end of the day,
in the tank is fairly stratified. This assumption was used as the in- the fluid maintains a suitable temperature for domestic use. The
put condition for the simulation program. The efficiency curves of fluctuations in the temperature of the center of the glass cover
the flat plate collectors in a closed thermosyphon loop based on the are caused by the changes in the wind speed blowing over the col-
inlet temperature of the fluid are shown in Fig. 3. By linear curve lector surface. What can be clearly seen is that the simulation is
fitting of the obtained data points, the experiments yields capable of predicting the efficiency of the solar water heater sys-
FRUL = 4.61 while the simulation yields FRUL = 4.54, which is tem on sunny days. Not only the changing trend of the temperature

Fig. 3. The instantaneous efficiency of the collector based on the inlet fluid Fig. 4. Variation of the momentary radiation on the collector and the obtained
temperature. momentary useful energy on a typical sunny day.
 H. Taherian et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 52 (2011) 301–307 305

Fig. 5. Variation of the glass cover temperature, the absorber, the outgoing fluid from the collector and the temperature increase of the working fluid on a typical sunny day.

of different points of the system obtained in the simulation pro-

gram is compatible with the experimental data, but also the simu-
lation has shown strong ability in determining the magnitudes. The
mean error percentages of 6%, 19% and 7% in predicting the tem-
peratures of respectively outgoing working fluid, the absorber
and the glass cover temperature approve this.
Figs. 6–10, are presented to demonstrate the performance char-
acteristics of the flat plate collector in a thermosyphon solar water
heater on a partially cloudy day. One of the remarkable points is
the changes of the obtained instantaneous useful energy as a result
of the changes in the incident radiation on the collector. In the
experimental results and when the rate of the instantaneous radi-
ation experiences strong fluctuations, because of the properties of
the fluid (high thermal capacity of water in the storage tank), the
intensity of these fluctuation is less in the obtained useful energy
and has a small time delay. This fact causes the water heater to
act like a temporary heat store, at the time the collector is subject
to intensive fluctuations of radiation (Fig. 6). The response delay in
experiment is more evident in the afternoon hours such that at
approximately 2:15 pm the useful energy gain is at a local mini-
mum despite that the incident radiation has a local maximum at
that time. Again the simulation underestimates the useful energy
gain except for the time mentioned above. Fig. 7. The variations of the temperature increase of the fluid passing through the
collector on a typical partly cloudy day.

Incident radiation fluctuation can influence changes in the inlet

Fig. 6. Variations of the momentary radiative energy on the collector and the
measured and simulated momentary useful energy on a typical partly cloudy day.
and outlet temperatures of the collector as depicted in Fig. 7. In this
figure the discrepancy between the simulation and the experiment
is high. In the experiment, the temperature increase in the collec-
tor is much less influenced by the incident radiation rise and fall
periods. This can be attributed to circulation halt in the collector
when the radiation from the sun is small. Since flow is as a result
of buoyancy force, when there is not enough solar radiation pres-
ent on the surface of the collector, the flow stops and consequently
the temperature difference between outlet and inlet remain high
for a certain time. This was not modeled well in simulation since
the storage tank model is not elaborate enough. Nevertheless, the
average fluid temperature rise in the collector over the entire day
was estimated by simulation with small error. These temperature
rises were 46.7 °C and 47.3 °C for the simulation and the experi-
ment, respectively.
As previously mentioned, when the intensity of the sun radia-
tion is suddenly decreased or increased, the fluid and the absorber
temperatures do not go through sudden changes; which means
306 H. Taherian et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 52 (2011) 301–307

they do not obey the changes in the radiation immediately. There-

fore, as seen in Fig. 8, sometimes the fluctuations of the efficiency
diagram are more and are different from the simulated one, and
sometimes the instantaneous efficiency becomes more than one.
But the changes of the simulated diagram are based on the radia-
tion intensity.
The glass cover temperature is affected by the absorber and
ambient temperatures and how the radiation and convection heat
contributions are transferred to the absorber and the environment
(Eq. (1)). Thereby, the sudden effect of the convective and radiative
terms of the absorber is neutralized by the ambient temperature
and therefore the temperature changes of the simulated glass cov-
er show less fluctuation and so is similar to that of the experiment
(Fig. 9). Finally, it is concluded that the equations of the simulation
are not completely capable of predicting the exact temperatures on
a partly cloudy day.
Since the solar water heater works by natural convection of the
working fluid, the fluid flow of the collector, which is one of the
most important input parameters of the program, is variable be-
cause of the changes in the incident solar radiation. These changes
Fig. 8. The transient efficiency diagram of the collector on a typical partly cloudy
are shown for sunny and partly cloudy days in Fig. 10. As expected,
day.
the maximum fluid flow on the sunny day is around solar noon.
The mass flow rate result is 11% lower than that reported by
Khalifa [21] at noon time while the incident solar radiation was
27% lower. Khalifa [21] performed tests on a TSWH system some-
what similar to the system used in the current study but with less
collector area. The useful energy gain reported by Khalifa [21] is
only 300 W which is surprisingly low compared to the current
study value of 533 W/m2 of collector area. Also the instantaneous
efficiencies of 21–35% he reported is much lower than what one
would expect from a well-manufactured system.
There is also good agreement in the experimental results by
comparison with [22]. For instance, at the solar noon time, with
a instantaneous solar radiation about 1050 W/m2, mass flow rate
through the collector is about 0.0045 kg/m2 s; while in the current
study it is about 0.0032 kg/m2 s, when the solar radiation flux is
approximately 787 W/m2. When comparing with another experi-
mental investigation [13], the results of the current study become
more creditable. Chuawittayawuth and Kumar [13], also showed
that, the maximum outlet temperature happens in the afternoon.
With a same hourly solar radiation, both the experimental and
simulation outlet temperatures in this study are about 25% more
than their study. This can be attributed to the design of the collec-
Fig. 9. Variation of the glass cover and absorber temperatures on a typical partly
tors and their efficiency enhancement because of better absorbing
cloudy day.
semi-selective surface.
To estimate the accuracy of the simulation model, Table 2 illus-
trates the error associated with the computed temperatures and
useful energy during simulation on a typical sunny day. It is notice-
able that simulation results and experiment data show a good
agreement; specially in the outlet temperature which is an impor-
tant parameter to evaluate the collector functionality. Table 3,
shows the error values for a typical partly cloudy day. As can be

Table 2
The errors associated with the computed temperatures and useful energy through a
typical sunny day.

Time Error (%)

Tp Tfo Tc Qu
10:00 6.3 10.0 7.2 8.2
11:00 6.1 7.5 19.3 7.8
12:00 5.9 7.4 22.1 6.8
13:00 5.9 6.8 20.9 9.3
14:00 5.3 6.0 18.5 11.7
15:00 8.4 9.1 20.7 12.1
Fig. 10. The changes of the fluid flow rate through the collector on a typical sunny Average error (%) 6.1 6.9 19.3 9.8
and partly cloudy days.
 H. Taherian et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 52 (2011) 301–307 307

Table 3 intensity of such sudden changes is less in the gained useful en-
The errors associated with the computed temperatures and useful energy through a ergy, and has a small time delay.
typical partly cloudy day.

Time Error (%) References

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