Thermal Control of Roof Surfaces Using a Concrete Solar Collector With Embedded Pipes

This study evaluates the thermal performance of a concrete solar collector (CSC) for sustainable building applications in hot climates. The investigation focuses on the effects of water mass flow rate, embedded pipe depth, pipe‐to‐pipe spacing, and thermal contact resistance on the internal roof surface temperature to enhance indoor thermal comfort. Numerical simulations were carried out using SolidWorks Flow Simulation (2022) for water mass flow rates ranging from 0.007 to 0.028 kg/s, pipe depths between 4 and 16 cm, and pipe spacings of 10, 8, and 6 cm. The numerical model was validated against published experimental data, demonstrating good agreement. Results indicate that a mass flow rate of 0.014 kg/s achieves a maximum reduction of 17.7% in the interior roof surface temperature, while variations in pipe depth and thermal contact resistance were exhibit a negligible effect. Reducing pipe spacing from 10 to 6 cm decreases the internal roof surface temperature from 30.3°C to 28.4°C and increases the outlet water temperature from 27.5°C to 30°C. Correlation equations were developed to predict both internal roof surface and outlet water temperatures, with prediction accuracies of 97.31% and 95.32%, respectively.