Numerical Study on Flow and Thermal Characteristics in Flow Channel of Transpired Solar Collector

At present, it is urgent to improve indoor air quality while improving indoor thermal environment in winter, which is the ultimate goal in the field of architectural environment. The transpired solar collector (TSC), a solar energy integration technology in buildings, was proposed, which usually consists of a heat collecting plate with infiltration holes, an air layer, an insulation wall, an air outlet, and other auxiliary devices. In this paper, the physical models of transpired solar collector were developed, and the model is simplified to facilitate the simulation calculation and be verified through experiments to improve the reliability of the simulation results. By using numerical simulation to carry on the comprehensive and multi-case study of transpired solar collector, such as solar radiation intensities, fan suction speeds, infiltration hole non-uniform distribution up and down, and infiltration hole diameters for flow and thermal characteristics in flow channel of transpired solar collector were analyzed. The results show that the height ratio has the most obvious influence on the flow and thermal characteristics in the air layer compared with other key design and operation parameters. The results can lay a foundation for the large-scale processing and application of transpired solar collector, which is instructive.