Title: A review on solar flat plate collectors

Authors: S. Jebaraj; Ali Mubarak Al-Qahtani

Addresses: Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Technology, Jubail Industrial College, Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia ' Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Technology, Jubail Industrial College, Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia

Abstract: Every year, energy demands and global warming are increasing due to the use of conventional energy sources. Hence, the need of the hour requires power to be produced by renewable sources, such as solar power. Even though solar collectors are commonly considered for low and medium temperature applications, their efficiency is low. Various research studies have been carried out in the effort to enhance the solar collector's performance. In this paper, an attempt is made to review the various research articles on analysis and optimisation models, nanofluids' usage and the tilt angle of solar collectors. This review will be beneficial for energy planners, academicians, scientists, and policymakers, to promote solar collectors for thermal applications for cleaner production and sustainable development.

Keywords: flat plate solar collector; performance analysis; optimisation models; tilt angle; collector orientation; nanofluid.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGEI.2021.115140

International Journal of Global Energy Issues, 2021 Vol.43 No.2/3, pp.114 - 134

Received: 23 May 2019
Accepted: 26 Apr 2020
Published online: 20 May 2021 *

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