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Advanced Technology for Solar Thermal Cooling, Heating, and Energy Storage
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Advanced Technology for Solar Thermal Cooling, Heating, and Energy Storage

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2025 | Viewed by 4308

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ji Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, University of Southern Denmark, Sønderborg, Denmark
Interests: solar thermal cooling; vapour-compression refrigeration systems and heat pumps; cold thermal energy storage; solid adsorption refrigeration system
Dr. Dingli Duan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Thermal Energy and Power Engineering, Yantai University, Yantai, China
Interests: solar thermal cooling; ejector refrigeration system
Dr. Oguzhan Kazaz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering, Khalifa University, Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Interests: radiative cooler; heat recovery systems; ejectors refrigeration systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The path towards a more sustainable future is possible with the development of technologies that facilitate various human needs. Solar technology, as one of the leading decarbonising technologies, is growing much faster than any other energy technologies in history, fast enough to completely displace fossil fuels from the global economy by 2050. Solar energy plays a major role in the green energy supply of the future, both locally for individual homeowners and in the form of large power stations.

Solar thermal energy is different from solar photovoltaics in that solar thermal technologies use the heat collected from the sun to produce energy, while the solar photovoltaics covert sunlight directly into electricity. Solar thermal cooling is a technology for converting the solar heat into useful cooling, which is suitable for commercial, institutional, and industrial use. A typical solar cooling system also generates the heating effect, for example, providing space heating and hot water. In addition, with the increased uptake of the renewable energy comes an increased need for energy storage to ensure the availability of the clean energy when the sun is not delivering sufficient solar energy or the wind is not sufficiently blowing.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to the theory, design, controlling, modelling, case study, validation, and measurements of all types of energy conversion systems, and solar thermal technologies related to the cooling and heating systems or to energy storages are highly preferred.

Topics of interests for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • All aspects of solar thermal technologies related to cooling and heating systems, including thermal-sorption (adsorption and absorption) and thermo-mechanical systems.
  • All aspects of solar-sourced energy storages, including the sorption and thermochemical heat storages.
  • Solar dissociative evaporative cooling technology.
  • Hybrid solar cooling technology.
  • Multi-use solar systems for heating, cooling, and power generation.
  • Phase-change-material in solar thermal storage.
  • Numerical methods and simulation software in the field of solar energy.
  • Fault-tolerant strategy and control framework

Dr. Ji Wang
Dr. Dingli Duan
Dr. Oguzhan Kazaz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • solar energy
  • solar thermal cooling
  • sorption system
  • energy storage power generation
  • evaporative cooling
  • fault-tolerant

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 11094 KiB  
Article
Non-Condensation Turbulence Models with Different Near-Wall Treatments and Solvers Comparative Research for Three-Dimensional Steam Ejectors
by Yiqiao Li, Hao Huang, Dingli Duan, Shengqiang Shen, Dan Zhou and Siyuan Liu
Energies 2024, 17(22), 5586; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17225586 - 8 Nov 2024
Viewed by 847
Abstract
Steam ejectors are important energy-saving equipment for solar thermal energy storage; however, a numerical simulation research method has not been agreed upon. This study contributes to a comprehensive selection of turbulence models, near-wall treatments, geometrical modeling (2-D and 3-D), solvers, and models (condensation [...] Read more.
Steam ejectors are important energy-saving equipment for solar thermal energy storage; however, a numerical simulation research method has not been agreed upon. This study contributes to a comprehensive selection of turbulence models, near-wall treatments, geometrical modeling (2-D and 3-D), solvers, and models (condensation and ideal-gas) in the RANS equations approach for steam ejectors through validation with experiments globally and locally. The turbulence models studied are k-ε Standard, k-ε RNG, k-ε Realizable, k-ω Standard, k-ω SST, Transition SST, and linear Reynolds Stress. The near-wall treatments assessed are Standard Wall Functions, Non-equilibrium Wall Functions, and Enhanced Wall Treatment. The solvers compared are pressure-based and density-based solvers. The root causes of their distinctions in terms of simulation results, applicable conditions, convergence, and computational cost are explained and compared. The complex phenomena involving shock waves, choking, and vapor condensation captured by different models are discussed. The internal connections of their performance and flow phenomena are analyzed from the mechanism perspective. The originality of this study is that both condensation and 3-D asymmetric effects on the simulation results are considered. The results indicate that the k-ω SST non-equilibrium condensation model coupling the low-Re boundary conditions has the most accurate prediction results, best convergence, and fit for the widest range of working conditions. A 3-D asymmetric condensation model with a density-based solver is recommended for simulating steam ejectors accurately. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technology for Solar Thermal Cooling, Heating, and Energy Storage)
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38 pages, 7303 KiB  
Article
Towards Sustainable Energy Solutions: Evaluating the Impact of Floating PV Systems in Reducing Water Evaporation and Enhancing Energy Production in Northern Cyprus
by Youssef Kassem, Hüseyin Gökçekuş and Rifat Gökçekuş
Energies 2024, 17(21), 5300; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17215300 - 25 Oct 2024
Viewed by 986
Abstract
Floating photovoltaic systems (FPVSs) are gaining popularity, especially in countries with high population density and abundant solar energy resources. FPVSs provide a variety of advantages, particularly in situations where land is limited. Therefore, the main objective of the study is to evaluate the [...] Read more.
Floating photovoltaic systems (FPVSs) are gaining popularity, especially in countries with high population density and abundant solar energy resources. FPVSs provide a variety of advantages, particularly in situations where land is limited. Therefore, the main objective of the study is to evaluate the solar energy potential and investigate the techno-economic perspective of FPVSs at 15 water reservoirs in Northern Cyprus for the first time. Due to the solar radiation variations, solar power generation is uncertain; therefore, precise characterization is required to manage the grid effectively. In this paper, four distribution functions (Johnson SB, pert, Phased Bi-Weibull, and Kumaraswamy) are newly introduced to analyze the characteristics of solar irradiation, expressed by global horizontal irradiation (GHI), at the selected sites. These distribution functions are compared with common distribution functions to assess their suitability. The results demonstrated that the proposed distribution functions, with the exception of Phased Bi-Weibull, outperform the common distribution regarding fitting GHI distribution. Moreover, this work aims to evaluate the effects of floating photovoltaic systems on water evaporation rates at 15 reservoirs. To this aim, five methods were used to estimate the rate of water evaporation based on weather data. Different scenarios of covering the reservoir’s surface with an FPVS were studied and discussed. The findings showed that annual savings at 100% coverage can reach 6.21 × 105 m3 compared to 0 m3 without PV panels. Finally, technical and economic assessment of FPVSs with various scales, floating assemblies, and PV technologies was conducted to determine the optimal system. The results revealed that a floating structure (North orientation-tilt 6°) and bifacial panels produced the maximum performance for the proposed FPVSs at the selected sites. Consequently, it is observed that the percentage of reduction in electricity production from fossil fuel can be varied from 10.19% to 47.21% at 75% FPV occupancy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technology for Solar Thermal Cooling, Heating, and Energy Storage)
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19 pages, 9356 KiB  
Article
Scaling Law of Flow and Heat Transfer Characteristics in Turbulent Radiative Rayleigh-Bénard Convection of Optically Thick Media
by Jiajun Song, Panxin Li, Lu Chen, Yuhang Zhao, Fengshi Tian and Benwen Li
Energies 2024, 17(19), 5009; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17195009 - 8 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1043
Abstract
Radiative natural convection is of vital importance in the process of energy storage, power generation, and thermal storage technology. As the attenuation coefficients of many heat transfer media in these fields are high enough to be considered as optically thick media, like nanofluids [...] Read more.
Radiative natural convection is of vital importance in the process of energy storage, power generation, and thermal storage technology. As the attenuation coefficients of many heat transfer media in these fields are high enough to be considered as optically thick media, like nanofluids or molten salts in concentrated solar power or phase change thermal storage, Rosseland approximation is commonly used. In this paper, we delve into the impact of thermal radiation on the Rayleigh-Bénard (RB) convection. Theoretical analysis has been conducted by modifying the Grossmann-Lohse (GL) model. Based on turbulent dissipation theory, the corresponding scaling laws in four main regimes are proposed. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) was also performed, revealing that radiation exerts a notable influence on both flow and heat transfer, particularly on the formation of large-scale circulation. By comparing with DNS results, it is found that due to the presence of radiation, the modified Nu scaling law in small Pr range of the GL model is more suitable for predicting the transport characteristics of optical thick media with large Pr. The maximum deviation between the results of DNS and prediction model is about 10%, suggesting the summarized scaling law can effectively predict the Nu of radiative RB convection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technology for Solar Thermal Cooling, Heating, and Energy Storage)
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18 pages, 25427 KiB  
Article
Two-Phase Lattice Boltzmann Study on Heat Transfer and Flow Characteristics of Nanofluids in Solar Cell Cooling
by Hui Liu, Minle Bao, Luyuan Gong, Shengqiang Shen and Yali Guo
Energies 2024, 17(17), 4265; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17174265 - 26 Aug 2024
Viewed by 705
Abstract
During solar cell operation, most light energy converts to heat, raising the battery temperature and reducing photoelectric conversion efficiency. Thus, lowering the temperature of solar cells is essential. Nanofluids, with their superior heat transfer capabilities, present a potential solution to this issue. This [...] Read more.
During solar cell operation, most light energy converts to heat, raising the battery temperature and reducing photoelectric conversion efficiency. Thus, lowering the temperature of solar cells is essential. Nanofluids, with their superior heat transfer capabilities, present a potential solution to this issue. This study investigates the mechanism of enhanced heat transfer by nanofluids in two-dimensional rectangular microchannels using the two-phase lattice Boltzmann method. The results indicate a 3.53% to 22.40% increase in nanofluid heat transfer, with 0.67% to 6.24% attributed to nanoparticle–fluid interactions. As volume fraction (φ) increases and particle radius (R) decreases, the heat transfer capability of the nanofluid improves, while the frictional resistance is almost unaffected. Therefore, the performance evaluation criterion (PEC) of the nanofluid increases, reaching a maximum value of 1.225 at φ = 3% and R = 10 nm. This paper quantitatively analyzes the interaction forces and thermal physical parameters of nanofluids, providing insights into their heat transfer mechanisms. Additionally, the economic feasibility of nanofluids is examined, facilitating their practical application, particularly in solar cell cooling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technology for Solar Thermal Cooling, Heating, and Energy Storage)
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