Haiyan Yu^1,*, Mingdong Li¹, Ning Guo¹, Fengying Ren¹, Yongheng Lu¹, Mu Du^2,*

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.23, No.5, pp. 1495-1509, 2025, DOI:10.32604/fhmt.2025.071263 - 31 October 2025

Abstract High-temperature radiative cooling is essential for solar absorbers, as it mitigates efficiency degradation resulting from thermal accumulation. While porous structures have proven effective in enhancing absorber performance, practical manufacturing processes and prolonged operational wear inevitably introduce surface roughness and structural deviations, which profoundly impact radiative properties. This study constructs a ZnS/Ag solar absorber model with surface roughness and employs the finite-difference time-domain method to investigate how characteristic length, surface roughness, porosity, pore shape factor, and taper influence its radiative properties in the 3 μm–5 μm band at 750 K. Results show optimal absorption at a More >

Martin Nyanzi Mawejje, Jon Pocock, Santiago Septien^*

Energy Engineering, Vol.122, No.8, pp. 3177-3199, 2025, DOI:10.32604/ee.2025.063898 - 24 July 2025

Abstract Onsite sanitation offers a sustainable alternative to centralized wastewater treatment; however, effective faecal sludge management is crucial for safe disposal and resource recovery. Among emerging treatment solutions, solar thermal drying holds significant promise to reduce sludge moisture content and enhance handling. Despite this potential, its application remains limited, with important knowledge gaps, particularly concerning the drying kinetics under different environmental and operational conditions. This study aims to fill these gaps by investigating the solar thermal drying behaviour of faecal sludge from ventilated improved pit latrines (VIPs) and urine-diverting dry toilets (UDs), with a specific focus… More >

Matiewos Mekonen Abera^1,2,*, Venkata Ramayya Ancha¹, Balewgize Amare¹, L. Syam Sundar³, Kotturu V. V. Chandra Mouli⁴, Sambasivam Sangaraju⁵

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.22, No.4, pp. 1043-1070, 2024, DOI:10.32604/fhmt.2024.049525 - 30 August 2024

Abstract This study is focused on the simulation and optimization of packed-bed solar thermal energy storage by using sand as a storage material and hot-water is used as a heat transfer fluid and storage as well. The analysis has been done by using the COMSOL multi-physics software and used to compute an optimization charging time of the storage. Parameters that control this optimization are storage height, storage diameter, heat transfer fluid flow rate, and sand bed particle size. The result of COMSOL multi-physics optimized thermal storage has been validated with Taguchi method. Accordingly, the optimized parameters… More >

Weijun Li¹, Xin Die², Zhicheng Ma³, Jinping Zhang³, Haiying Dong^1,*

Energy Engineering, Vol.120, No.4, pp. 1001-1022, 2023, DOI:10.32604/ee.2023.024426 - 13 February 2023

Abstract Aiming at the problems of large-scale wind and solar grid connection, how to ensure the economy of system operation and how to realize fair scheduling between new energy power stations, a two-stage optimal dispatching model of wind power-photovoltaic-solar thermal combined system considering economic optimality and fairness is proposed. Firstly, the first stage dispatching model takes the overall economy optimization of the system as the goal and the principle of maximizing the consumption of wind and solar output, obtains the optimal output value under the economic conditions of each new energy station, and then obtains the… More > Graphic Abstract

Farhood Sarrafzadeh Javadi¹, Hendrik Simon Cornelis Metselaar^1,2,*, Poo Balan Ganesan¹

Energy Engineering, Vol.119, No.4, pp. 1587-1610, 2022, DOI:10.32604/ee.2022.020304 - 23 May 2022

Abstract This paper reports the performance investigation of a newly developed Latent Heat Thermal Battery (LHTB) integrated with a solar collector as the main source of heat. The LHTB is a new solution in the field of thermal storage and developed based on the battery concept in terms of recharge ability, portability and usability as a standalone device. It is fabricated based on the thermal battery storage concept and consists of a plate-fin and tube heat exchanger located inside the battery casing and paraffin wax which is used as a latent heat storage material. Solar thermal… More >

Rong Huang¹, Xiaojuan Lu^2,*, Zeping Liang², Pengfei Gao¹, Tian Liang¹

Energy Engineering, Vol.119, No.4, pp. 1711-1728, 2022, DOI:10.32604/ee.2022.019128 - 23 May 2022

Abstract At present, solar thermal power generation is in the demonstration stage, and the large-scale production is affected by many factors. In view of the characteristics of different operating modes of photothermal power generation, it is analyzed that the turbine needs to be started and stopped frequently due to different operating modes, which will lead to the instability of the output energy and the reduction of power generation efficiency. In this paper, the dynamic equation of energy conversion process is established by using the law of conservation of energy and conservation of mass. Combined with the More > Graphic Abstract

Aravindh Madhavankutty Ambika^1,2,*, Aarjab Ghimire², Sreekumar Appukuttan²

Energy Engineering, Vol.119, No.4, pp. 1483-1499, 2022, DOI:10.32604/ee.2022.017618 - 23 May 2022

Abstract This paper explains the experimental performance evaluation of a Corrugated Type Solar Air Heater (CTSAH) for understanding its performance in a humid tropical climatic condition in Puducherry, India. This helps in understanding its effectiveness in using it for drying application of products like seafood, etc. Experiments were conducted at different mass flow rates and their effect on the heat gain, efficiency, friction factor heat transfer, etc., was analyzed. Experiments were carried out at different mass flow rates, i.e., M1 = 0.06 kg/s, M2 = 0.14 kg/s, M3 = 0.17 kg/s, M4 = 0.25 kg/s, M5 = 0.3 kg/s, More >

Sushil Kumar^a , Robin Thakur^a, Amar Raj Singh Suri^a, Kamal Kashyap^a, Arvind Singhy^a, Sunil Kumar^a, Anil Kumar^b

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.16, pp. 1-11, 2021, DOI:10.5098/hmt.16.4

Abstract Solar thermal collector is a simple, economic, and environment friendly equipment which is used to utilize solar energy for various agriculture and industrial applications. The investigators mainly focus on the improvement of the thermal performance by providing various fins shapes underside of the absorber plate in the single pass and double pass solar thermal collector. This work discusses the influence of different shaped fins used by various researchers in improving the thermal performance of thermal collectors. Fin’s design, geometries used, and their influence on turbulence and thermal performance have also been discussed. As per the More >

Xin Xu^*, Lian Zhang^*

Energy Engineering, Vol.118, No.6, pp. 1905-1920, 2021, DOI:10.32604/EE.2021.016738 - 10 September 2021

Abstract This paper briefly summarizes the current status of typical solar thermal power plant system, including system composition, thermal energy storage medium and performance. The thermo-physical properties of the storage medium are some of the most important factors that affect overall efficiency of the system, because some renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are unpredictable. A thermal storage system is therefore necessary to store energy for continuous usage. Based on the form of storage or the mode of system connection, heat exchangers of a thermal storage system can produce different temperature ranges of heat… More >

Xiaojuan Lu, Zeping Liang^*

Energy Engineering, Vol.118, No.4, pp. 1171-1183, 2021, DOI:10.32604/EE.2021.014724 - 31 May 2021

Abstract There are two prominent features in the process of temperature control in solar collector field. Firstly, the dynamic model of solar collector field is nonlinear and complex, which needs to be simplified. Secondly, there are a lot of random and uncontrollable, measurable and unmeasurable disturbances in solar collector field. This paper uses Taylor formula and difference approximation method to design a dynamic matrix predictive control (DMC) by linearizing and discretizing the dynamic model of the solar collector field. In addition, the purpose of controlling the stability of the outlet solar field salt temperature is achieved More >