Abstract :
Thermal performance of a novel minichannel-based solar collector is investigated numerically. The particular collector consists of a
U-shaped flat-tube absorber with a selective coating on its external surface. The working fluid flows inside an array of minichannels
located in the cross-section of the absorber along its length. The absorber is enclosed in an evacuated-glass envelope to minimize convective
losses. Performance and pressure drop are evaluated for different inlet temperatures and flow rates of the working fluid. Thermal
performance of minichannel-based solar collector is compared to that of an evacuated tube collector without minichannels from the
literature. Configurations with and without a concentrator are analyzed.
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