Year: 2026 | Month: April | Volume: 13 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 175-182
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20260417
Modeling Heat Transfer in a Solar Water Heater for a Typical Guinean Climate
Yacouba Camara1, Mohamed Lamine Kourouma2, Amadou Lamarana Bah2, et Nénè Aissata Baldé1
1,1Institut Supérieur de Technologie de Mamou, Département Energétique, Guinée
1,1Laboratoire de Recherche en Sciences Appliquées (LaReSA) de Mamou, Institut Supérieur de Technologie (IST) de Mamou, République de Guinée
2Université Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry, Département Génie Electrique, Conakry, Guinée
3Université Gamal Abdel de Conakry, Laboratoire d’Enseignement et de Recherche en Energétique Appliquée, Conakry, Guinée
Corresponding Author: Yacouba Camara
ABSTRACT
This study focuses on the numerical modeling of heat transfer in a solar water heater adapted to the typical climate of Guinea. The analyzed system consists of a flat-plate collector, a water storage tank, and connecting pipes. A mathematical model of the heat transfer phenomena was developed and then implemented using the Fortran programming language for numerical computation. The results were processed and visualized using the Origine software. The temperature profiles obtained at the flat-plate collector show that the absorber wall receives a significant amount of solar energy, reaching a maximum temperature of approximately 107 °C. The evolution of the water temperature in the tank indicates a gradual increase over the operating time, with an inflection point located between 3.5 × 10⁴ s and 4 × 10⁴ s, and a final temperature around 67 °C, demonstrating the system's efficiency for thermal storage. The tank's insulation receives less energy than the side walls, while the collector's glass shows a temperature increase correlated with the evolution of solar radiation throughout the day. Analysis of the tank's internal layers reveals a non-uniform thermal distribution : the first layer absorbs less heat than the upper layers. Layer 4 reaches a maximum temperature of approximately 37°C, while layers 2, 3, and 4 have maximum temperatures close to 54°C, indicating more intense heat transfer to the upper levels of the tank. These results confirm the internal heating dynamics of the fluid under real-world solar operating conditions in Guinea.
Keywords: Solar water heater, thermal modeling, heat transfer, flat-plate collector, storage tank, Fortran, thermal layers, Guinea
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