Study on effects of cross sectional tubes on thermal performance of concrete solar collectors: An numerical study

The concepts of renewable energy utilization, encouraging sustainability, and the scientific principles of environmental conservation have become among the most critical goals that researchers are currently focusing on.Concrete and asphalt solar collectors are considered important types of solar energy collectors because they offer both economic and structural advantages.This study aims to conduct a numerical simulation using COMSOL Multiphasic software to compare the thermal performance of three non-circular tubes cross-sections extending through the solar collectors and to compare them with the commonly used circular cross-section.The cross-sections tested include semicircular, elliptical, and trapezoidal, in addition to the circular shape with a constant hydraulic diameter of 21 mm and tested sections with slab dimensions (0.5 m length, 0.16 m width, 0.05 m thickness).The same boundary conditions were applied to all cases, with a heat flux applied from the top surface and insulated the other surfaces of the slab.The results showed that the semicircular and trapezoidal cross-sections were the most efficient in transferring heat to the working fluid.This study is unique in the choice of cross-sections and contributes to scientific research by introducing innovative and unconventional methods that can enhance the efficiency of thermal and save energy systems.