Unglazed Transpired Solar Collectors: Heat Loss Theory

1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Kutscher ◽  
C. B. Christensen ◽  
G. M. Barker
Keyword(s):  
Heat Loss ◽  
Convective Heat ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Solar Collectors ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Suction Velocity ◽  
Radiation Heat Loss ◽  
Equivalent Length ◽  
Collector Efficiency

Unglazed transpired solar collectors offer a potentially low cost, high-efficiency option for once-through applications such as preheating air for ventilation, crop drying, and desiccant regeneration. This paper examines the major heat loss mechanisms associated with this concept. Radiation heat loss is determined by considering losses to both the sky and the ground. Convective heat losses are obtained by integrating the product of the temperature and velocity profiles in the boundary layer at the downwind edge of the collector. This convective heat loss is then expressed in terms of the thermal equivalent length of irradiated absorber, and analysis shows that this loss can be very low for large collectors even under windy conditions. These results are incorporated into a simple computer model which predicts collector efficiency as a function of suction velocity, wind speed, ambient temperature, and radiation. Remaining research issues are discussed.

scholarly journals Natural Convection and Radiation Heat Loss from Open Cavities of Different Shapes and Sizes Used with Dish Concentrator

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Jilte ◽  
S. B. Kedare ◽  
J. K. Nayak
Keyword(s):  
Natural Convection ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Convective Heat ◽  
Cylindrical Shape ◽  
Radiative Loss ◽  
Radiation Heat ◽  
Effective Emissivity ◽  
Convective Heat Loss ◽  
Radiation Heat Loss ◽  
Different Shapes

Numerical three dimensional studies of the combined natural convection and radiation heat loss from downward facing open cavity receiver of different shapes is carried out in this paper. The investigation is undertaken in two categories: same inner heat transfer area and aperture area (case I) and same aspect ratio and aperture area (case II). These studies are carried out for five isothermal wall temperatures (523 to 923 K in steps of 100K). The effect of inclination is studied for seven inclinations from 0° (cavity aperture facing sideways) to 90° (cavity aperture facing down), in steps of 15°. The cavity shapes used are: cylindrical, conical (frustum of a cone), cone-cylindrical (combination of frustum of cone and cylindrical shape), dome-cylindrical (combination of hemispherical and cylindrical shape), hetro-conical, reverse-conical (frustum of a cone in the reverse orientation) and spherical. For both cases, conical cavity yields the lowest convective loss among the cavities investigated whereas spherical cavity results in the highest convective loss. Convective heat loss from cavities of different shapes and sizes are characterized by using different internal zone areas of the cavity (Acw, Acz, Acb and Aw). Acb is found to be better parameter for characterization of the convective heat loss. Nusselt number correlation is developed using convective zone area (Acb). It correlates 91% of data within ±11% deviation, 99% of data within ±16% deviation. Radiative losses (Qrad) have been determined numerically from cavities of both cases. The ratio of Qrad/Aap is found to be more or less constant (variation within 5%) for all types of cavities and for 0 ? epsilon ? 1. Thus radiative loss is dependent on aperture area and effective emissivity of cavity rather than the shape of the cavity. Further, it also matches well with the analytical formula based on effective emissivity.

Heat Loss Experiments on a Non-Evacuated Parabolic Trough Receiver Employing a Thermally Insulating Layer in the Annular Gap

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hany Al-Ansary ◽  
Obida Zeitoun
Keyword(s):  
Heat Loss ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Power Level ◽  
Power Input ◽  
Parabolic Trough ◽  
Insulating Layer ◽  
Direct Normal Irradiance ◽  
Annular Gap ◽  
Collector Efficiency ◽  
Performance Results

Parabolic trough collectors are economically and technically attractive options for process heat applications that require temperatures in excess of 200 °C. One of the reasons is that low-cost non-evacuated receivers are used in this type of application. However, at higher temperatures, the performance of non-evacuated receivers deteriorates considerably due to excessive radiation and natural convection losses. A new idea had been preliminarily investigated by the authors both numerically and experimentally. The idea was to introduce a thermally insulating layer to the part of the receiver’s annular gap that does not receive concentrated sunlight from the parabolic mirrors, and the results had been quite promising. This paper presents additional, more extensive experiments on this concept. In these experiments, a cartridge heater is inserted along the axis of the receiver tube of a non-evacuated receiver. The heater is surrounded by a conductive material to ensure uniform heating of the receiver tube. A number of thermocouples are affixed near the inner surface of the receiver as well as on the outer surface of the glass envelope to monitor temperature uniformity. Two sets of experiments are then conducted, one with the insulating layer, and the other without. In each set, the power input is set to a certain level and the receiver temperature is measured once steady state conditions are attained. The power level is then increased, and the measurements are repeated. The heat loss values from each set are compared to determine whether adding the insulating layer enhances receiver performance. Results show that a reduction in heat loss of as much as 15% can be achieved using this design, and collector efficiency can increase by up to about 6%. However, it was also found that the extent of improvement in collector efficiency depends on the operating temperature and direct normal irradiance, with the improvement being more significant at higher temperature applications and at low direct normal irradiance.

Experimental and numerical assessments of the effects of vacuum and solar film on the performance of low concentration eccentric solar collector

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Mavd P. R. Teles ◽  
K.A.R. Ismail
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Performance ◽  
Solar Collector ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Numerical Code ◽  
Working Fluid ◽  
Solar Collectors ◽  
Low Concentration ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Collector Efficiency ◽  
Volume Method

Abstract Low concentration collectors are usually recommended for water heating and refrigeration systems. The literature reveals lack of information on numerical modeling, experimental data, and thermal performance of eccentric evacuated double tube solar collectors. This study is focused on eccentric solar collectors since this arrangement allows adequate concentration for achieving relatively high temperatures while having small size and occupying less space. The effects of the vacuum in the annular space and reflective film on the enhancement of working fluid heating and overall thermal performance were also assessed. An in-house numerical code using finite volume method was used to discretize the conservation equations and the predictions were validated by experimental results obtained from an experimental rig that was constructed and instrumented for outdoor tests. The experiments were performed in the city of Campinas-Brazil during the autumn season. The investigated versions of the eccentric double tube solar collector include a version with a reflective film and vacuum, a second version with a reflective film but without vacuum, a third arrangement without a reflective film but with vacuum and finally a version without both a reflective film and vacuum. The results showed that the version with reflective film and vacuum demonstrated high efficiency achieving 89%. The lowest efficiency of 42% was achieved by the version without both reflective film and vacuum. The comparative analysis of the four versions shows that the incorporation of reflective film increases the collector efficiency by 28%, while the vacuum increases the efficiency by about 1.3%.

Influence of MBE Growth Conditions on Dislocation Densities of GaAs/Ge Epilayers Grown on Silicon Substrates

1985 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 364-365
Author(s):  
K.M. Hones ◽  
P. Sheldon ◽  
B.G. Yacobi ◽  
A. Mason
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Lattice Mismatch ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Nonradiative Recombination ◽  
Device Structure ◽  
Si Substrates ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Dislocation Densities ◽  
Dislocation Type

There is increasing interest in growing epitaxial GaAs on Si substrates. Such a device structure would allow low-cost substrates to be used for high-efficiency cascade- junction solar cells. However, high-defect densities may result from the large lattice mismatch (∼4%) between the GaAs epilayer and the silicon substrate. These defects can act as nonradiative recombination centers that can degrade the optical and electrical properties of the epitaxially grown GaAs. For this reason, it is important to optimize epilayer growth conditions in order to minimize resulting dislocation densities. The purpose of this paper is to provide an indication of the quality of the epitaxially grown GaAs layers by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to examine dislocation type and density as a function of various growth conditions. In this study an intermediate Ge layer was used to avoid nucleation difficulties observed for GaAs growth directly on Si substrates. GaAs/Ge epilayers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si substrates in a manner similar to that described previously.

Improvement of Ti/RuO2–IrO2 Anode Lifetime and Electrocatalytical Properties by Using an Eco-Friendly Thermal Decomposition Method Using Polyvinyl Alcohol as Solvent

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlys Bezerra ◽  
Géssica Santos ◽  
Marilia Pupo ◽  
Maria Gomes ◽  
Ronaldo Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Decomposition ◽  
Polyvinyl Alcohol ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Electrochemical Impedance ◽  
Pechini Method ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Charge Transfer Resistance ◽  
Transfer Resistance ◽  
Calcination Temperatures ◽  
Service Lifetime

<p>Electrochemical oxidation processes are promising solutions for wastewater treatment due to their high efficiency, easy control and versatility. Mixed metal oxides (MMO) anodes are particularly attractive due to their low cost and specific catalytic properties. Here, we propose an innovative thermal decomposition methodology using <a>polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)</a> as a solvent to prepare Ti/RuO<sub>2</sub>–IrO<sub>2</sub> anodes. Comparative anodes were prepared by conventional method employing a polymeric precursor solvent (Pechini method). The calcination temperatures studied were 300, 400 and 500 °C. The physical characterisation of all materials was performed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy, while electrochemical characterisation was done by cyclic voltammetry, accelerated service lifetime and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Both RuO<sub>2</sub> and IrO<sub>2</sub> have rutile-type structures for all anodes. Rougher and more compact surfaces are formed for the anodes prepared using PVA. Amongst temperatures studied, 300 °C using PVA as solvent is the most suitable one to produce anodes with expressive increase in voltammetric charge (250%) and accelerated service lifetime (4.3 times longer) besides reducing charge-transfer resistance (8 times lower). Moreover, the electrocatalytic activity of the anodes synthesised with PVA toward the Reactive Blue 21 dye removal in chloride medium (100 % in 30 min) is higher than that prepared by Pechini method (60 min). Additionally, the removal total organic carbon point out improved mineralisation potential of PVA anodes. Finally, this study reports a novel methodology using PVA as solvent to synthesise Ti/RuO<sub>2</sub>–IrO<sub>2</sub> anodes with improved properties that can be further extended to synthesise other MMO compositions.</p>

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