The Effect of Inlet and Outlet Pattern on a Parabolic Dome Solar Collector
This research aims to investigate the effects of air inlet and outlet patterns on parabolic-dome solar collectors. A three-dimensional transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation in ANSYS Fluent was used to analyze sixteen different inlet-outlet patterns and compare their effects on air behavior, outlet air temperature, and thermal efficiency. Simulation results show that most patterns led to recirculating air, resulting in hot spots and reduced heat transfer efficiency. Conversely, pattern 3-2 exhibited the most uniform air distribution. This 3-2 pattern also had an outlet air temperature and average thermal efficiency of about 42.75°C and 41.97%, respectively. Furthermore, the numerical model was validated using statistical indicators R², MRD, and RMSE, which showed that the model results were highly consistent with the experimental results (R² = 0.9942, MRD = -0.031°C, and RMSE = 3.656°C). These observations underscore the critical role of the inlet-outlet pattern in optimizing airflow and improving heat transfer efficiency. Therefore, this study presents an effective design for air inlet-outlet patterns that improves the efficiency of parabolic dome solar collectors through an optimized air channel design.