Numerical Study of the Effect of Phase Change Material (PCM) on the Performance of the Evacuated Solar Collector System in Tehran’s Climatic Conditions

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 M.Sc., School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In this study, the effect of using phase change materials (PCMs) on the performance of an evacuated tube solar collector for domestic heating applications under the climatic conditions of Tehran was investigated numerically. To solve the governing system of equations, the forward difference numerical method was employed. The equations were solved in such a way that the final temperature of the system at the end of each complete cycle would be equal to the initial temperature at the beginning of the next cycle. The results indicate that adding a phase change material improves the system’s efficiency under various weather conditions; however, this improvement depends on several parameters such as ambient temperature and solar radiation intensity. For example, in the system analyzed in this study, during the month of August, incorporating a phase change material led to 4.1% increase in overall efficiency. Furthermore, comparing the temperature variations of the system with and without the phase change material shows that adding the PCM allows for energy storage and temperature regulation during peak solar radiation and the release of stored latent heat when the radiation intensity decreases. This process ultimately leads to an improvement in the overall performance of the system.

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Main Subjects

References

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Journal of sustainable Energy Systems
Volume 5, Issue 2
April 2026
Pages 329-347

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