Investigation of the impact of utilizing PCM into a coil in a single-pass air heater (experimental study)

Abstract

This study aims to design, build, and assess the SAH's performance with an integrated enhanced phase-change material (PCM) absorber storage system. Using materials found locally, two single-pass solar air heaters were designed and produced for this study. The first solar heater was made without phase change material (Conventional SAH), and the second included PCM by adding paraffin wax to the coil tube (Improved SAH). In February, March, and April of 2024, real - results were carried out on the air heaters in Mosul city, Iraq. At a mass flow rate of 0.0147 kg/s, the experiments were conducted with and without a PCM system. As opposed to the first case without PCM, the study's findings indicated that the air temperature outside of the heater increased significantly in the second case with (the addition of paraffin wax). The highest recorded outlet temperatures in February, March, and April for both cases were (39.5, 50.7 °C), (49.4,58.9°C), and (57.4,70.6°C). To compare the efficiencies of the SAHs for both instances (Conventional and Improved), the efficiency of the improved SAH is higher than the efficiency of conventional SAH, such as (48.1% and 68.32 %), (58.6% and 72.8%), and (67.1% and 86.47%) in February, March, and April.