Theoretical approach of a flat plate solar collector with clear and low-iron glass covers taking into account the spectral absorption and emission within glass covers layer

Accurate modeling of solar collector system using a rigorous radiative model is applied for the glass cover which represents the most important component of the system and greatly affects the thermal performance. The glass material is analyzed as a non-gray plane-parallel medium subjected to solar and thermal irradiations in one dimensional case using the radiation element method by ray emission model (REM²). The optical constants of a clear and low-iron glass materials proposed by Rubin have been used. These optical constants, 160 values of real part n and imaginary part k of the complex refractive index of such materials, cover the range of interest for calculating the solar and thermal radiative transfer through the glass cover. The computational times for predicting the thermal behavior of solar collector were found to be prohibitively long for the non-gray calculation using 160 values of n and k for both glasses. Therefore, suitable semi-gray models have been proposed for rapid calculation. The temperature distribution within the glass cover shows a good agreement with that obtained with iterative method in case of clear glass. It has been shown that the effect of the non-linearity of the radiative heat exchange between the black plate absorber and the surroundings on the shape of the efficiency curve is important. Indeed, the thermal loss coefficient is not constant but is a function of temperature, due primarily to the radiative transfer effects. Therefore, when the heat exchange by radiation is dominant compared with the convective mode, the profile of the efficiency curve is not linear. It has been also shown that the instantaneous efficiency of the solar collector is higher in case of low-iron glass cover.     

Combined non-gray radiative and conductive heat transfer in solar collector glass cover

A rigorous approach for the radiative heat transfer analysis in solar collector glazing is developed. The model allows a more accurate prediction of thermal performance of a solar collector system. The glass material is analysed as a non-gray plane-parallel medium subjected to solar and thermal irradiations in the one-dimensional case using the Radiation Element Method by Ray Emission Model (REM by REM).This method is used to analyse the combined non-gray convective, conductive and radiative heat transfer in glass medium. The boundary surfaces of the glass are specular. The spectral dependence of the relevant radiation properties of glass (i.e. specular reflectivity, refraction angle and absorption coefficient) are taken into consideration. Both collimated and diffuse incident irradiation are applied at the boundary surfaces using the spectral solar model proposed by Bird and Riordan. The optical constants of a commercial ordinary clear glass material have been used. These optical constants (100 values) of real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index of the glass material cover the range of interest for calculating the solar and thermal radiative heat transfer through the solar collector glass cover. The model allows the calculation of the steady-state heat flux and temperature distribution within the glass layer. The effect of both conduction and radiation in the heat transfer process is examined. It has been shown that the real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index have a substantial effect on the layer temperature distribution. The computational time for predicting the combined heat transfer in such a system is very long for the non-gray case with 100 values of n and k. Therefore, a simplified non-gray model with 10 values of n and k and two semi-gray models have been proposed for rapid computations. A comparison of the proposed models with the reference non-gray case is presented. The result shows that 10 bandwidths could be used for rapid computation with a very high level of accuracy.     

Simulation model of a CPC collector with temperature-dependent heat loss coefficient

We describe a mathematical model for the optical and thermal performance of non-evacuated CPC solar collectors with a cylindrical absorber, when the heat loss coefficient is temperature-dependent. Detailed energy balance at the absorber, reflector and cover of the CPC cavity yields heat losses as a function of absorber temperature and solar radiation level. Using a polynomial approximation of those heat losses, we calculate the thermal efficiency of the CPC collector. Numerical results show that the performance of the solar collector (η vs. ΔT_f(0)/I_coll) is given by a set of curves, one for each radiation level. Based on the solution obtained to express the collector performance, we propose to plot efficiency against the relation of heat transfer coefficients at absorber input and under stagnation conditions. The set of characteristic curves merge, then, into a single curve that is not dependent on the solar radiation level. More conveniently, linearized single plots are obtained by expressing efficiency against the square of the difference between the inlet fluid temperature and the ambient temperature divided by the solar radiation level. The new way of plotting solar thermal collector efficiency, such that measurements for a broad range of solar radiation levels can be unified into a single curve, enables us to represent the performance of a large class of solar collectors, e.g. flat plate, CPC and parabolic troughs, whose heat loss functions are well represented by second degree polynomials.     

CFD analysis of the thermal losses on the upper part of a flat solar collector

To investigate the reduction of heat losses on the upper part of a flat solar collector, a two‐dimensional study was carried out by CFD analysis using Fluent. For this purpose, the heat transfer behavior in the air gap over a wide range of thicknesses of the latter (1‐20 mm) and the addition of a second glass cover fixed at midheight of the air gap spacing have been investigated. For small thicknesses of the air gap (1‐8 mm), the heat transfer is essentially conductive. An increase in the thickness leads to the intensification of the natural convection which induces high thermal losses. The simulation results have shown that the addition of a second cover glazing leads to the weakening of the natural convection and thus to an average enhancement of the solar collector temperature over the range of thicknesses studied of approximately 17%. The overall thermal losses coefficient is then reduced by an average of 26% compared with the single‐glazed solar collector. They have also shown that the thickness of the air gaps resulting in the minimum overall heat losses is 8 mm and that the thickness of the second glass cover has no significant effect on these results. In addition, this study has highlighted the importance of taking into account the radiation heat transfer in establishing the thermal balance of a flat solar collector. Indeed, this consideration leads to an average decrease of the absorber temperature of about 30%.     

Effect of absorption of solar radiation in glass-cover(s) on heat transfer coefficients in upward heat flow in single and double glazed flat-plate collectors

Absorption of solar radiation in the glass cover(s) of a flat plate solar collector increases the temperature of cover(s) and hence changes the values of convective and radiative heat transfer coefficients. The governing equations for the case of single as well as double glazed collector have been solved for inner and outer surface temperatures of glass cover(s) with/without including the effect of absorption of solar radiation in the glass cover(s), with appropriate boundary conditions. The effects of absorption of solar radiation on inner and outer surface temperatures and consequently on convective and radiative heat transfer coefficients have been studied over a wide range of the independent variables. The values of glass cover temperatures obtained from numerical solutions of heat balance equations with and without including the effect of absorption of solar radiation in the glass cover(s) are compared. For a single glazed collector the increase in glass cover temperature due to absorption of solar radiation could be as high as 6°. The increase in temperatures of first and second glass covers of a double glazed collector could be as high as 14° and 11°, respectively. The effect on the convective heat transfer coefficient between the absorber plate and the first glass cover is substantial. The difference in the values of the convective heat transfer coefficients between the absorber plate and the first glass cover (h_cp1) of a double glazed collector for the two cases: (i) including the effect of absorption and (ii) neglecting the effect of absorption in glass cover, could be as high as 49%. Correlations for computing the temperatures of inner and outer surfaces of the glass cover(s) of single and double glazed flat plate collectors are developed. The relations developed enable incorporation of the effect of absorption of solar radiation in glass cover(s) in the relations for inner and outer surface temperatures in a simple manner. By making use of the relations developed for inner and outer surface temperatures of glass cover(s) the convective and radiative heat transfer coefficients can be calculated so close to those obtained by making use of surface temperatures of glass cover(s) obtained by numerical solutions of heat balance equations that numerical solutions of heat balance equations are not required.     

Combined natural convection and surface radiation in solar collector equipped with partitions

A comprehensive numerical study was carried out to study the thermal performances of a solar collector equipped with partitions attached to its glass cover. This technique is used to favorise and increase the heat transfer coefficient between the working fluid, (air) and the absorber in the solar collector. A specifically developed numerical model based on the finite-volume method and the SIMPLER algorithm is used for the solution of the mass, momentum and energy transfer governing equations. The discretized equations are solved iteratively by an algorithm based on a preconditioned conjugate gradient method. Concerning the radiation exchange, we consider that the working fluid is transparent, so only the solid surfaces contribute to the radiation exchange and assumed to be diffuse-gray. A complete parametric study is made for various partitions length Lp, aspect ratio A and Rayleigh numbers Ra for Prandtl number Pr = 0.71. Results are reported in terms of isotherms, streamlines and average Nusselt-numbers along the absorber plate.     

An optimum performance of flat-type solar air heater with porous absorber

This investigation is concerned with the design and performance of a flat-type solar air heater in which air flows perpendicularly from the transparent cover to a porous absorber plate. The design phase involved a stability analysis to determine the critical distance (maximum allowable distance) between the absober and transparent cover, for suppressing convection currents, at various environmental and operating conditions. These results are useful to designers of solar collectors of the proposed type. In addition, the thermal performance of this solar heater at its optimum design conditions was computed for a wide range of system parameters illustrating the contribution of conduction and radiative modes of heat transfer. The results indicate that the best operating efficiency can be obtained when running the collector with a mass flow rate of m > 40 kg/m².h. Furthermore, the collector thermal performance is superior than channel type solar air heaters operating under similar conditions and much simpler than honeycomb porous bed solar air heaters.     

High efficiency solar air heater

This article presents an analysis for a novel type of solar air heater. The main idea is to minimize heat losses from the front cover of the collector and to maximize heat extraction from the absorber. This can be done by forcing air to flow over the front glass cover (preheat the air) before passing through the absorber. Hence, this design needs an extra cover to form a counter-flow heat exchanger. Porous media forms an extensive area for heat transfer, where the volumetric heat transfer coefficient is very high. Hence, using a porous absorber will enhance heat transfer from the absorber to the airstream. In the design of this type of collector, which combines double air passage and porous media, care should be taken to minimize pressure drop. However, the thermal efficiency of this type of collector is significantly higher than the thermal efficiency of conventional air heaters. The thermal efficiency of the suggested collector exceeds 75% under normal operating conditions. The pressure drop is not so significant if high porous medium is used and careful design of U-return section is considered.     

Natural convective heat transfer in trapezoidal enclosure of box-type solar cooker

This paper presents simple thermal analysis to evaluate the natural convective heat transfer coefficient, h_c12 for a trapezoidal absorber plate-inner glass cover enclosure of a double-glazed box-type solar cooker. Several indoor simulation experiments in steady state conditions have been performed to measure the temperatures of absorber plate, inner and outer glass covers, ambient air, electrical input supply and wind speed. The experimental data has been correlated by an equation of the form, Nu = CRaⁿ. The values of the constants C and n, obtained by linear regression analysis are used to calculate the convective heat transfer coefficient. The heat transfer analysis predicts that h_c12 varies from 4.84 to 6.23 W m^{−2 o}C⁻¹ for the absorber plate temperature from 54 to 141 ^oC. The results of h_c12 are compared with those of rectangular enclosure for the same absorber-inner glass cover temperatures and gap spacing. The study reveals that the values of convective heat transfer coefficient and top heat loss coefficient for rectangular enclosure are lower by 31–35% and 7% respectively.     

Thermal performance of a novel rooftop solar micro-concentrating collector

Concentrating solar thermal systems offer a promising method for large scale solar energy collection. Although concentrating collectors are generally thought of as large-scale stand-alone systems, there is a huge opportunity to use novel concentrating solar thermal systems for rooftop applications such as domestic hot water, industrial process heat and solar air conditioning for commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. This paper describes the thermal performance of a new low-cost solar thermal micro-concentrating collector (MCT), which uses linear Fresnel reflectors, and is designed to operate at temperatures up to 220 °C. The modules of this collector system are approximately 3 m long by 1 m wide and 0.3 m high. The objective of the study is to optimise the design to maximise the overall thermal efficiency. The absorber is contained in a sealed enclosure to minimise convective losses. The main heat losses are due to natural convection inside the enclosure and radiation heat transfer from the absorber tube. In this paper we present the results of a computational and experimental investigation of radiation and convection heat transfer in order to understand the heat loss mechanisms. A computational model for the prototype collector has been developed using ANSYS–CFX, a commercial computational fluid dynamics software package. The numerical results are compared to experimental measurements of the heat loss from the absorber, and flow visualisation within the cavity. This paper also presents new correlations for the Nusselt number as a function of Rayleigh number.     

An evaluation of a transverse slatted flat plate collector

It is generally accepted that the insertion of a type of honeycomb structure into the air gap between the absorber plate and the transparent cover of a flat plate solar collector will suppress convection if the honeycomb dimensions are matched to the particular dimensions and operating temperatures of the collector. However relatively little research has been carried out to characterise the effectiveness of a convection suppression device under actual operating conditions.This paper surveys the experimental work carried out at the University of Melbourne, Mechanical Engineering Department, and its relationship to other experimental and theoretical research, reported in the literature. The experimental program involved the comparative testing of two collectors, identical except that one was fitted with a convection suppression device made of parallel glass slats placed laterally across the collector between the absorber plate and the cover glass. Testing was carried out in a laboratory situation with five convection suppression devices of differing aspect ratio ( ), and the most effective of these devices (aspect ratio ), was tested in the Melbourne University Solar Testing Area under a range of actual operating conditions.In the laboratory tests, the ability of the honeycomb to suppress convection was tested, whilst in the outdoor tests, the influence of the honeycomb on the transmission of solar radiation to the absorber plate was also evaluated. It was found that at high operating temperatures the convection suppression device gave rise to considerable improvement in performance. A forty percent improvement in instantaneous thermal efficiency was produced for fluid temperatures of approx. 100°C. However, if the collector is not oriented correctly the overall improvement in thermal performance will not be as large, due to the decrease in solar transmittance caused by the honeycomb. This indicates the probable need for some form of collector tilt adjustment during the year if the long-term thermal performance is to be optimised.     

Experimental Study on Performance Enhancement of Evacuated Tube by Constant Heat Flux Mode

The evacuated tube collector with U shape copper absorber tube is considered for the analysis. The experimental investigation is conducted on parabolic trough collector with U shape tube as absorber tube. The effect of the sudden fluctuations in the solar radiation on the performance of the collector is reduced by means of evacuated tube collector filled with thermic fluids. The analysis is performed with different thermic fluids such as dowtherm, therminol66, glycol water and ethylene glycol, are filled in the annular space between inner glass tube and U shape copper absorber tube. The experimentation is carried out at various mass flow rates from 20 to 100 LPH with the step-up flow rate of 20 LPH. A comparative study is carried out on various parameters such as effect of mass flow rate over instantaneous efficiency, useful heat gain and work input, etc. The characteristic curve of cylindrical parabolic trough collector (PTC) is also discussed. Experimental results show that, ethylene glycol gives better efficiency over mass flow rate and therminol66 gives best power heat ratio. Heat transfer mediums and its properties [specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity and dynamic viscosity] for all specified heat transfer fluids are also discussed. The results obtained with various specified heat transfer fluids filled in the annulus space of evacuated tube are compared with plain evacuated tube. It is observed that there is significant enhancement of overall instantaneous collection efficiency of the parabolic trough collector.     

Theoretical and experimental study of efficiency factor,heat transfer and thermal heat loss coefficients in solar air collectors with selective and nonselective absorbers

The thermal heat performance of a solar air collector depends strongly on the thermal heat loss and the efficiency factor. In order to increase these performances, it is necessary to use a solar air collector which is well insulated and where the fluid flow is fully developed turbulent flow. It needs a high heat transfer between the absorber plate and the fluid to decrease the absorber‐plate temperature and hence the heat loss by radiation from the absorber to the ambient. This increases the efficiency factor. In the present paper, the heat loss and efficiency factor are treated for solar air collectors with selective and nonselective absorber plate. It is shown that the selectivity of the absorber plate cannot play an important role in a well‐insulated solar collector with a fanned system which permits a fully developed turbulent flow and, in consequence, high heat transfer. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

V型多通道平板太阳能集热器的热性能研究

提出一种V型多通道平板太阳能集热器,对其建立稳态传热模型,利用Matlab软件编程进行求解,并进行实验测试验证模型的准确性.利用已验证的传热模型,模拟分析V型多通道平板太阳能集热器的结构和物性参数对其热性能的影响,结果表明当透明盖板和吸热体发射率变大时,集热器的集热效率会呈下降趋势;当V型槽顶角、吸热体长度及空气夹层厚...     

Three-dimensional numerical study of heat transfer characteristics in the receiver tube of parabolic trough solar collector

The solar energy flux distribution on the outer wall of the inner absorber tube of a parabolic solar collector receiver is calculated successfully by adopting the Monte Carlo Ray-Trace Method (MCRT Method). It is revealed that the non-uniformity of the solar energy flux distribution is very large. Three-dimensional numerical simulation of coupled heat transfer characteristics in the receiver tube is calculated and analyzed by combining the MCRT Method and the FLUENT software, in which the heat transfer fluid and physical model are Syltherm 800 liquid oil and LS2 parabolic solar collector from the testing experiment of Dudley et al., respectively. Temperature-dependent properties of the oil and thermal radiation between the inner absorber tube and the outer glass cover tube are also taken into account. Comparing with test results from three typical testing conditions, the average difference is within 2%. And then the mechanism of the coupled heat transfer in the receiver tube is further studied.     

Performance analysis of a double-pass thermoelectric solar air collector

The thermoelectric (TE) solar air collector, sometimes known as the hybrid solar collector, generates both thermal and electrical energies simultaneously. A double-pass TE solar air collector has been developed and tested. The TE solar collector was composed of transparent glass, air gap, an absorber plate, thermoelectric modules and rectangular fin heat sink. The incident solar radiation heats up the absorber plate so that a temperature difference is created between the thermoelectric modules that generates a direct current. Only a small part of the absorbed solar radiation is converted to electricity, while the rest increases the temperature of the absorber plate. The ambient air flows through the heat sink located in the lower channel to gain heat. The heated air then flows to the upper channel where it receives additional heating from the absorber plate. Improvements to the thermal and overall efficiencies of the system can be achieved by the use of the double-pass collector system and TE technology. Results show that the thermal efficiency increases as the air flow rate increases. Meanwhile, the electrical power output and the conversion efficiency depend on the temperature difference between the hot and cold side of the TE modules. At a temperature difference of 22.8 °C, the unit achieved a power output of 2.13 W and the conversion efficiency of 6.17%. Therefore, the proposed TE solar collector concept is anticipated to contribute to wider applications of the TE hybrid systems due to the increased overall efficiency.     

Heat transfer analysis of solar-driven high-temperature thermochemical reactor using NiFe-Aluminate RPCs

Converting solar energy efficiently into hydrogen is a promising way for renewable fuels technology. However, high-temperature heat transfer enhancement of solar thermochemical process is still a pertinent challenge for solar energy conversion into fuels. In this paper, high-temperature heat transfer enhancement accounting for radiation, conduction, and convection heat transfer in porous-medium reactor filled with application in hydrogen generation has been investigated. NiFe-Aluminate porous media is synthesized and used as solar radiant absorber and redox material. Experiments combined with numerical models are performed for analyzing thermal characteristics and chemical changes in solar receiver. The reacting medium is most heated by radiation heat transfer and higher temperature distribution is observed in the region exposed to high radiation heat flux. Heat distribution, O₂ and H₂ yield in the reacting medium are facilitated by convective reactive gas moving through the medium's pores. The temperature gradient caused by thermal transition at fluid-solid interface could be more decreased as much as the reaction chamber can store the transferred high-temperature heat flux. However, thermal losses due to radiation flux lost at the quartz glass are obviously inevitable.     

Impact of different internal convection control strategies in a non-evacuated CPC collector performance

Over the last decade the technological advances observed in solar collector materials, namely better spectrally selective absorber coatings and ultra clear glass covers, contribute to performance improvements and translate into higher operational temperature ranges with higher efficiency values.While the use of Evacuated Tube Collectors (ETCs) is becoming widespread in the thermal conversion of solar energy, non-evacuated solar collectors still hold advantages at manufacturing, reliability and/or cost levels, making them interesting and competitive for a large range of applications, in particularly, in temperature ranges up to 80 °C. However, these advantages have not prevented the major drawback of these collectors when compared to ETCs: thermal losses due to internal convection which prevent their general use in the range of operating temperatures up to 150 °C.Insulation, double glazing or selective coatings can be used in non-evacuated collectors to reduce heat losses. To prevent internal convection losses in these solar collectors, different control strategies have been studied, such as the adoption of different inert gases within the collector cavity, physical barriers reducing air flow velocities over the absorber or cover surfaces or the use of concentration.In the present article, an assessment of adopting such internal convection control strategies in a CPC collector is presented. Each of the presented strategies is assessed in terms of the resulting collector optical and thermal characterization parameters and yearly collector yield. For this purpose, an integrated tool allowing the design, optical and thermal characterization of CPC collectors was developed. The results obtained provide valuable guidelines for anyone wishing to implement any of these strategies in a new collector design.     

Analysis of wind flow around a parabolic collector (2) heat transfer from receiver tube

Parabolic collectors of commercial solar thermal power plants are subject to variable convection heat transfer from the receiver tube. In the present study heat transfer from a receiver tube of the parabolic trough collector of the 250 kW solar power plants in Shiraz, Iran, is studied taking into account the effects of variation of collector angel of attack, wind velocity and its distribution with respect to height from the ground.The governing equations for the two-dimensional steady state wind flow include continuity, momentum and energy equations and RNG-based k–ε model for turbulence scheme. Finite volume discretization method is used to solve the governing equations with wall function boundary condition and the SIMPLE approach is employed to iterate for the pressure correction and convergence of the velocity field. The momentum equation contains buoyancy force when the buoyancy effect is high and force convection effect is low.Computation is carried out for various wind velocities and different collector orientations with respect to wind direction. For solution of the energy equation, temperature of the receiver tube is taken as 350 K and ambient temperature is assumed to be 300 K. Various recirculation and temperature fields were observed around the receiver tube for different flow conditions. Effect of collector orientation on the average Nu number for the receiver tube was found negligible when the wind speed is low (Re⩽4.5×10⁵ based on the collector aperture). But when the wind velocity is high (Re>4.5×10⁵), the collector effect on the variation of Nu around the glass cover of the absorber tube is considerable.     

Comparison of long-term flat-plate solar collector performance calculations based on averaged meteorological data

The use of averaged meterological data for collector performance calculations is studied. To this end, a steady state, two-dimensional, nodal, heat transfer analysis is developed for a flat-plate solar collector. The analysis accounts for the temperature gradients in the fluid flow and vertical directions in the collector, the physical and thermodynamic properties of the materials in the collector, the collector location, the orientation and dimensions of the collector, the number of cover plates and any thin film selective coatings on the cover plates or absorber. Also accounted for are the time dependent variations in the meteorological conditions, insolation, and collimated and diffuse solar irradiation. The spectral nature of radiation heat transfer in the collector is modeled by two spectral bands, solar and thermal, with 3.0 μm as the cutoff frequency between the solar and thermal bands of radiation. The results indicate that long term collector performance calculations based on averaged meteorological data will not correlate with calculations based on hourly data if the weather is highly variable. When the weather variations are mild, averaged data can give results very close to those based on hourly data.