Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys. 87, 30902 (2019)
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap/2019190032

Regular Article

Comparative study of two types of mini chicanes concentrators implanted in solar collector^★

¹ MECACOMP Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Center of Ain Temouchent, Ain Temouchent, Algeria
² MECACOMP Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tlemcen, Tlemcen, Algeria

^* e-mail: sarihassounz@yahoo.com

Received: 13 February 2019
Received in final form: 12 July 2019
Accepted: 16 September 2019
Published online: 26 November 2019

Abstract

Saving energy and protecting the environment are the cornerstones of the modern concept of energy consumption. Following the Algerian program on renewable energies and energy consumption, dictated by Algeria's new energy transition policy, 40% of electricity production should come from renewable energies by the year 2030. The present article accompanies this policy and makes an attempt to improve the energy efficiency. This work presents a comparative experimental study of two models of flat plate air solar collectors, namely a solar collector with black mini solar concentrators (BMSC) and another model, similar to the first one, with the same geometry and dimensions, and supplied with mini solar concentrators and mirrors (MSCMR) instead of black mini solar concentrators. A comparison of the temperature profiles for these two models of solar collectors is performed in this work, in the two cases of free convection and forced convection. Comments on this innovative design are presented and the results obtained are found encouraging.