Exergy Analysis of a Flat Plate Solar Collector in Combination with Heat Pipe

The use of solar collectors in combination with heat pipes is rapidly growing in recent years.Heat pipes, as heat transfer components, have undeniable advantages in comparison with other alternatives. The most important advantage is their high rate of heat transfer at minor temperature differences. Although there have been numerous studies on the heat analysis or first thermodynamic analysis of flat plate solar collectors in combination with heat pipes, the exergy analysis of these collectors is needed to be investigated. In this work, energy and exergy analysis of a flat plate solar collector with a heat pipe is conducted theoretically. Next, the exergy efficiency of pulsating heat pipe flat plate solar collectors (PHPFPSC) is compared with conventional collectors by using the experimental data. The results indicate that the use of heat pipes for heat transfer from the absorption plate to the water reservoir has significantly higher availability and exergy efficiency than the case with conventional collectors with intermediate fluid.