M.Sc.

Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department

Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

CHAPTER FOUR
Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

4.1 INTRODUCTION
A solar thermal energy collector is an equipment in which solar energy is
collected by absorbing radiation in an absorber and then transferring to a fluid.
In general, there are two main types of collectors:

solar thermal
collectors

None concentrated solar

concentrated solar thermal collectors
thermal collectors

Evacuated Plane fixed, circular

Flat Plate Tube receiver with concentrator
plane
concentrator

Fresnel lens
Compound
Parabolic

Parabolic
Dish
Cylindrical
Parabolic
Central
receiver with
heliostat

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

4.2 FLAT PLATE COLLECTOR

Flat-plate solar collector: It has no optical concentrator. Here, the collector
area and the absorber area are numerically the same, the efficiency is low, and
temperatures of the working fluid can be raised only up to 100oC.
A schematic cross-section of a flat-plate collector is shown in Figure 4.1. It
consists of five major parts as mentioned below:
1. A metallic flat absorber plate of high thermal conductivity made of
copper, steel, or aluminum having black surface and thickness from 0.5
mm to 1 mm.
2. Tubes or channels are soldered to the absorber plate. Water flowing
through these tubes takes away the heat from the absorber plate.

Figure 4.1 Schematic cross section of a flat plate collector.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

3. A transparent glass cover of 5 mm thickness. It reduces convection

losses through air layer between the absorber plate and the glass, and it
reduces Radiation losses because it is transparent to short wave
radiation and nearly opaque to long wave thermal radiation emitted by
interior collector walls and absorbing plate.
4. Fiber glass insulation of thickness 2.5 cm to 8 cm is provided at the
bottom and on the sides in order to minimize heat loss.
5. A container encloses the whole assembly in a box made of metallic
sheet or fiber glass.
 The commercially available collectors have a face area of 2 m2.
 The fixed flat-plate collector is installed in a tilted position at a suitable
angle facing south in the northern hemisphere.
 For the whole year, the optimum tilt angle of collectors is equal to the
latitude of its location.
 During winter, the tilt angle is kept 10-15o more than the latitude of the
location while in summer it should be 10-15o less than the latitude.

4.3 EFFECT OF DESIGN PARAMETERS ON FPSC PERFORMANCE

There are many parameters that affect the performance of a flat-plate
collector. However, four important parameters are discussed below:
4.3.1 HEAT TRANSPORT SYSTEM
Heat from the absorber plate is removed by continuous flow of a heat
transport medium. When water is used, Cold water enters the bottom header
and flows out through the top header. When air is used as the heat transfer
fluid, an air stream flows at the rear side of the collector plate as shown in
Figure 4.2. Fins welded to the plate increase the contact surface area. Solar air
heaters are utilized for drying agricultural products, space heating.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

Figure 4.2 Solar collector with air as the heat transfer fluid.

4.3.2 SELECTIVE SURFACES

selective surface is an absorber plate surface which provide high absorptivity
for incoming solar radiation (short wavelength band up to 3 µm) and low
emissivity for outgoing radiation are termed (long wave radiation with a
maximum at 8.3 µm). A successful selective surface can be developed with a
black chrome coating.
4.3.3 NUMBER OF COVERS
The glass sheet cover reduces the heat loss coefficient to 10 W/m2.K.
Experiments show that with two glass covers, the heat loss coefficient further
reduces to 4 W/m2.K.
4.3.4 SPACING
The operating performance varies with the spacing between the absorber plate
and the cover or between two covers. However, researchers have suggested a
spacing of 4 cm to 8 cm for improved performance. It is also observed that a
large spacing reduces the collector area requirements.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

4.4 LOWS OF THERMAL RADIATION

Solar radiation is electromagnetic energy propagating through space at the
speed of light. The sun emits radiation like a 'blackbody' whose surface
temperature is 6000 K. 'Planck's law' gives the relation of spectral emissive
power with wavelength distribution of radiation and temperature as:

(4-1)

where (C1=3.7405 x 10-16 w.m2) and (C2= 0.07439 m.K) are the Planck's first
and second radiation constants respectively, λ is the wavelength and T is the
temperature in kelvin.
Figure 4.3 which gives spectral radiation distribution of blackbody from a
source at 6000 K, 1000 K and 400 K.

Figure 4.3 Thermal radiation graph against wavelength from a source at

different temperatures
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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

The highest temperature 6000 K represents nearly the surface temperature of

the sun (5762 K). The other two temperatures, i.e., 1000 K represents the high
temperature solar heated surface while 400 K depicts the low temperature
solar heated surface. Energy emitted by a blackbody at temperature T over the
wavelengths is expressed by

(4-2)
where σ = 5.6697 x 10-8 W/m .K and is called the Stefan-Boltzmann
2 4

constant. The wavelength corresponding to maximum intensity of blackbody

radiation at temperature T is expressed by Wien's Displacement law as

(4-3)
It shows that an increase in temperature shifts the maximum towards the
shorter wavelength.
4.5 RADIATION HEAT TRANSFER BETWEEN REAL BODIES
The net radiation to a body of surface area A with emittance ε and temperature
T from the sky is calculated from

(4-4)
Where Tsky is called the sky temperature and it is the temperature of the
equivalent blackbody. To estimate Tsky for clear skies Whiller (1967)
proposed simple relation:

(4-5)
4.6 RADIATION OPTICS
When radiation strikes a body, a part is reflected, another is absorbed, and the
remainder is transmitted through if the body is transparent. The law of
conservation of energy dictates that the total sum of radiation components
must be equal to incident radiation, i.e.:

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

(4-6)
Where , ρ and τ are absorptivity, reflectivity and transmissivity of the light-
impinged body. I , I ρ , and I τ , are radiation components that are absorbed,
reflected and transmitted respectively. The values of , ρ and τ are always
positive within the limits of 0 and 1.

 For an opaque surface, τ = 0, so

 For a white surface which reflects all radiation, α= τ = 0 and so ρ= 1.
 For a blackbody, ρ and τ are zero and α = 1 making it a body that
absorbs all the energy incident on it.
4.7 TRANSMISSTVITY OF THE COVER SYSTEM
When a light beam strikes a glass surface there are two losses, one is reflection
loss from the top surface and the other is absorption loss as the beam passes
through the glass material.
 Transmittance as if there is reflection loss only
When a beam of light having intensity I1 travelling in a transparent
medium 1 strikes another transparent medium 2, a part of it is reflected
and the major part is refracted (Figure 4.4).

Figure 4.4 Reflection and refraction at the interface of two transparent media

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

In order to calculate the polarization state along the rays being traced through
an optical system, we must calculate the effect on the electric field upon
passing through an interface between media of different refractive indices.
When a plane wave is incident upon the interface, part of the wave is refracted
and part is reflected. We assume the media are non-absorbing, for simplicity,
the relations which describing the ratio of the transmitted and reflected fields
to the incident field are called the Fresnel‫ۥ‬s equations. A beam is refracted
into the second medium at an angle given by Snell‫ۥ‬s law. The plane defined by
the propagation vectors of the incident, reflected and refracted beams and the
normal vector to the surface is called plane of incidence, which is the plane
illustrated in figure 4.5.

Figure (4.5) The plane of incidence which defined by the incident, reflected,
refracted beams (i.e., the rays) and the normal vector to the surface

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

There are two cases of polarization of the incident electromagnetic

wave on an interface between two media. The first case, when the electric
field component that is parallel to the plane of incidence which called TM
(transverse magnetic polarization) as shown in figure 4.6 (where B is the
magnetic field vector),

Figure (4.6) Fresnel’s formulas for the case where the electrical field
vectors are parallel to the plane of incidence
In this case the reflection and the transmission coefficient r P and tP
which are defined as the ratios of the amplitudes of the reflected and
transmitted waves to that of the incident waves which can be represented in
the following equations:
 
  Er   n cos  n cos
2 1 1 2
(4-7)
r P  
 Ei  P n cos  n cos
2 1 1 2

E
  t

  2n cos
2 1
(4-8)
t P
 Ei P n cos  n cos
2 1 1 2

Where n1 is the refractive index of the first medium and n 2 for the second
medium, θ1 and θ2 are the angle of incidence and refractive, respectively.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

By using snell’s low:

n1 sinθ1 = n2 sinθ2 (4-9)
sinθ1
n2 = n1
sinθ2
sinθ1
n1 cosθ1 − n1 cosθ2
sinθ2
rp =
sinθ1
n1 cosθ1 + n1 cosθ2
sinθ2
sinθ1 cosθ1 − sinθ2 cosθ2
rp =
sinθ1 cosθ1 + sinθ2 cosθ2
tan(θ2 − θ1 )
rp = (4 − 10)
tan(θ2 + θ1 )
Then, the reflection and the transmission intensity of p-polarized light are
subjected as below:
tan2 (θ2 − θ1 )
Rp = = rp2 (4 − 11)
tan2 (θ2 + θ1 )
The second case, when the electric field component E is perpendicular to the
plane of incidence (see figure 4.7).

Figure (4.7) Fresnel’s formulas for the case where the electrical field
vectors are perpendicular to the plane of incidence

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

In this case the reflection and transmission coefficients r S and tS are given by:
 
  Er   n cos  n cos
1 1 2 2
(4-12)
r S  
 Ei  S n cos  n cos
1 1 2 2

 
  Et   2n cos 1 1
(4-13)
t S  
 Ei  S n cos  n cos
1 1 2 2

By using snell’s low:

n1 sinθ1 = n2 sinθ2
sinθ1
n2 = n1
sinθ2
sinθ1
n1 cosθ1 − n1 cosθ2
sinθ2
rs =
sinθ1
n1 cosθ1 + n1 cosθ2
sinθ2
sinθ2 cosθ1 − sinθ1 cosθ2
rs =
sinθ2 cosθ1 + sinθ1 cosθ2
sin(θ2 − θ1 )
rs = (4 − 14)
sin(θ2 + θ1 )
Then, the reflection of p-polarized light are subjected as below:
sin2 (θ2 − θ1 )
Rs = rs2 = (4 − 15)
sin2 (θ2 + θ1 )
The reflectance of solar radiation can be evaluated by using the average of
two components of polarization as below:
R = (RS + RP)/2 (4-16)
For a system of N covers and of the same material the transmittance is given
by:

1−Rp
Tp = (4-17)
1+(2N−1)Rs

1−Rs
Ts = (4-18)
1+(2N−1)Rp

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

The transmittance considering reflection only is given by:

Tp +Ts
Tρ = (4-19)
2

The glass is considered the material which is partially polarized when the light
travels through it with oblique incidence but at Brewster‫ۥ‬s angle the reflected
light becomes completely polarized, the Brewster angle dependent on the
refractive index of the two media as shown in the following equation:

tan   n2B
(4-20)
n1
For normal incidence the magnitude of the reflection and transmission
coefficients are independent of polarization as below:
n n
r  r  r  2 1
(4-21)
n  n1
P S
2

2n1
t t t  (4-22)
n1 n2
P S

The reflectance (R) and transmittance (T) are then:

2
 n2  n1 
R  r  
2
(4-24)
 n2  n1 
T = (n2 / n1) t2 = 4 n1 n2 /(n1+n2)2 (4-25)
 Transmittance Considering Absorption Only
Transmissivity, based on absorption, in a transparent material sheet, can
be explained by the Bouger's law, i.e.,
dI = - KIdx (4-15)
where dI is the decrease in radiation intensity, I is the initial value of
intensity, K is 'extinction coefficient', x is the distance travelled by
radiation. Assuming that K is a constant in the solar spectrum range,
then integrating the expression for dI, we get
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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

(4-16)
where τα is the transmittance considering only absorption and L is distance
travelled by radiation through the medium.
When the beam is incident at an angle θ1 , the path length through the cover
would be (L/cosθ2 ) thus the transmittance considering absorption only is
modified as:
τα = e−KL⁄cosθ2 (4-17)
The transmissivity of the system allowing for both absorption and reflection
is given by:
τ = Tρ τα (4-18)
Example: Estimate τα , Tρ and τ for a glass cover system with the given data
: angle of incidence = 10o , number of covers =4, thickness of each
cover=3mm, refractive index of glass relative to air=1.52, extinction
coefficient of glass=15m-1.
Solution:
θ1 =10o , using snell’s law:
n1 sinθ1 = n2 sinθ2
Sin (10o) = 1.52 sinθ2

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors
sin 10o
θ2 = sin−1 ( )= 6.55
1.52

tan2 (θ2 − θ1 ) tan2 (6.55 − 10)

Rp = rp2 = = = 0.041
tan2 (θ2 + θ1 ) tan2 (6.55 + 10)
sin2 (θ2 − θ1 ) sin2 (6.55 − 10)
Rs = rs2 = = = 0.044
sin2 (θ2 + θ1 ) sin2 (6.55 + 10)
1 − Rp 1 − 0.041
Tp = = = 0.742
1 + (2N − 1)R s 1 + (7 × 0.044)

1 − Rs 1 − 0.044
Ts = = = 0.733
1 + (2N − 1)R p 1 + (7 × 0.041)

Tp + Ts 0.742 + 0.733
Tρ = = = 0.737
2 2
−3 ⁄cos(6.55)
τα = e−KL⁄cosθ2 = e−15×4×3×10 = 0.836
τ = Tρ τα = 0.737 × 0.836 = 0.616
4.8 PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF FLAT PLATE COLLECTOR
The performance of solar collector can be improved by enhancing the useful
energy gain from incident solar radiation with minimum losses.

Figure (4.8) Typical solar energy collection system

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

If I is the intensity of solar radiation, in W/m2, incident on the aperture plane

of the solar collector having a collector surface area of A, m2, then the amount
of solar radiation received by the collector is:

(4-19)
As the collector absorbs heat its temperature is getting higher than that of the
surrounding and heat is lost to the atmosphere by convection and radiation.
The rate of heat loss (Qo) depends on the collector overall heat transfer
coefficient (UL) and the collector temperature.

(4-20)
Thus, the rate of useful energy extracted by the collector (Qu) is expressed as
follows:

(4-21)
Q u = useful heat delivered by the collector (watts.), I = solar heat energy
absorbed by the absorber plate (W/m2), A = area of the absorber Plate (m2),
Q o =rate of heat loss by convection and reradiation from the top, by conduction
and convection from the bottom and sides (watts)
The actual useful energy gain (Qu), is found by multiplying the collector heat
removal factor (FR) by the maximum possible useful energy gain. This allows
the rewriting of equation (4-21):

(4-22)
The collector efficiency (η) defined as the ratio of the useful energy gain (Qu)
to the incident solar energy over a particular time period:

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

The instantaneous thermal efficiency of the collector is:

(4-23)
If it is assumed that FR, τ, α, UL are constants for a given collector, then the
efficiency is a linear function of the three parameters defining the operating
condition: Solar irradiance (I), Fluid inlet temperature (Ti) and ambient air
temperature (Ta).
Example: calculate the useful heat gain Qu and thermal efficiency of flat plat
solar thermal collector when (τ=0.616, α=0.95, A=2m2, FR=0.8, I=500 W/m2,
UL=7 W/m2.oC, Ti=25 oC, Ta=20 oC).
Solution:

Qu=0.8x2(500x0.616x0.95-7(25-20))=412.16 W

Qu 412.16
η= = = 0.41 = 41%
IA 500 × 2

4.9 EVACUATED TUBE SOLAR THERMAL COLLECTOR

 An evacuated tube collector is slightly more efficient than a flat plate
system due to the vacuum air layer in the evacuated tubes which leads
to lower heat losses by convection at lower ambient air temperatures
 evacuated tube collectors are less expensive.
 Require a smaller roof area than comparable flat plate collectors.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

 For low temperature applications, flat plate collectors are more

efficient compared to evacuated tube collectors. But, for the purpose
of high temperature applications like steam generation, evacuated tube
collectors are best suited.
 Each evacuated tube consists of two glass tubes. The outer tube is made
of extremely strong transparent glass.The inner tube is also made of
glass, but coated with a special selective coating which features
excellent solar heat absorption and minimal heat reflection properties.
The air is evacuated from the space between the two glass tubes to
form a vacuum.
 Evacuated Tube have efficiency (50-60%), while Flat Plat Solar
Collectors have efficiency (35-40%).

Figure (4.7) evacuated tube solar thermal collector

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

Thermal Capture and Loss Mechanisms of Evacuated Tube Collector

The useful energy output of an evacuated tube Q̇ u is the difference between
the absorbed solar radiation and the thermal loss Q̇ thermal−loss :
Q̇ u = Q̇ abs − Q̇ thermal−loss = ṁCp (To − Ti ) (4-24)
Where:
Q̇ abs The solar radiation absorbed by the tube (Q̇ abs = Aa ηopt I )
I incident solar radiation,
Aa aperture area of the absorber
ηopt the optical efficiency
Q̇ thermal−loss The thermal loss from the tube to the surroundings
is mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid (kg/s),
cp is specific heat of heat transfer fluid (J/kg.K)
To is temperature of heat transfer fluid leaving the absorber (K)
Ti is temperature of heat transfer fluid entering the absorber (K).
Design Calculations of Solar Water Heating system
The primary calculations can be summarized into the following steps:
 Calculate the volume of daily required hot water (Middle use that the
human can use about 30-50 liter every day).
 Calculate the required energy to heat the water (kWh). (Qhw = mhw Cpw
∆T (Wh/day), Where mhw is the quantity of required hot water (kg),
Cw is the specific heat capacity of water (4200 J/kg.K or 1.16 Wh/kg.K)
and ∆T is the difference between required water temperature and tap
water temperature.
 Guess the losses of energy resulted from store the hot water (kWh).
 Guess the expected losses from installation (inclination)

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

 Calculate the required area of solar collector (Asc = Qyrq/Qsc Where Asc
is the required solar collector area, Qyrq is the yearly required energy
to heat the water and Qsc is the yearly energy gain by solar collector
for each square meter which depends on the collector type).

Example: calculate the required energy to heat 200 liter tap water from 10 oC
to 60 oC when Cpw =1.16 Wh/kg.K, and then calculate the required area of flat
plate collector (its efficiency 40% , Qsc=540kWh/m2/270day) and evacuated
tube collector (its efficiency 60%, 800kWh/m2/270 day) for 270 day from
year.

Solution:

Qhw = mhw Cpw ∆T (Wh/day) = 200 x 1.16 x (60-10) = 11.6 kWh/day

For 270 day Qhw = 11.6 x 270 = 3132 kWh/270 day

Asc = Qyrq/Qsc

 Area of Flat Plate: Asc = 3132/540 = 5.8 m2

 Evacuated Tube: Asc = 3132/800 = 3.9 m2
Electrical Energy Saving

 the cost of electrical energy production by classical methods (use of

fossil fuels) is about 10 cent/kWh (0.1$/kWh)

 Cost Saving = Displaced energy x cost per Unit.

 Electricity = 3132 kWh/year x 0.1$/kWh = 313.2$ per year.
 3.9m2 cost approx. 500$ installed.
 Annual Saving: 313.2$/year.
 Payback: 1.6 Years.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

4.10 Solar Concentrating Collectors

Concentrating-type solar collector: Here the area receiving the solar
radiation is several times greater than the absorber area and the efficiency is
high. Mirrors and lenses are used to concentrate the sun's rays on the absorber,
and the fluid temperature can be raised up to 500 oC. For better performance,
the collector is mounted on a tracking equipment to face the sun always with
its changing position. Some new terms that will be encountered in the text
hereinafter are defined now tor greater clarity. These are:
(i) 'Concentrator' is for the optical subsystem (Mirrors and lenses)
that projects solar radiation on to the absorber.
(ii) 'Receiver' shall be used to represent the sub-system that includes
the absorber, its cover and accessories.
(iii) 'Aperture' (W) is the opening of the concentrator through which
solar radiation passes.
(iv) 'Acceptance angle' (2θa ) is the angle across which beam radiation
may deviate from the normal to the aperture plane and then reach
the absorber.
(v) 'Concentration ratio' (CR) is the ratio of the effective area of the
aperture to the surface area of the absorber. The value of CR may
change from unity (for flat-plate collectors) to a thousand (for
parabolic dish collectors). The CR is used to classify collectors by
their operating temperature range.
4.11 Types of Concentrating Collectors
4.11.1 Plane receiver with plane collectors
It is a simple concentrating collector, having up to four adjustable reflectors
all around, with a single collector as shown in Figure 4.8. The CR varies from
1 to 4 and the operating temperature can go up to 140 oC.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

Figure 4.8 Plane receiver with plane reflectors

4.11.2 Compound Parabolic Collector with Plane Receiver
Reflectors are curved segments that are parts of two parabolas (Figure 4.9).
The CR varies from 3 to 10. For a CR of 10, the acceptance angle is 11.5o and
tracking adjustment is required after a few days to ensure collection of 8 hours
a day.

Figure 4.9 Compound parabolic collector with a plane receiver.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

A two-dimensional CPC is shown in Figure 4.10. It has two segments BE and

CF which are parts of parabolas 2 and 1 respectively. BC is the aperture of
width W while EF is the absorber surface of width b. Both parabolas are
positioned in such a way that the focus of parabola 1 lies at E while that of
parabola 2 at F. Also, the tangents drawn at points B and C to the parabolas
are parallel to the axis of CPC.

Figure 4.10 Geometry of a CPC collector

(4-25)

(4-26)

The surface area of the concentrator can be calculated by integrating along the
parabolic arc. However, for a concentration ratio of more than 3, a simple
equation provides a nearly correct value as

(4-27)

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

4.11.3 Cylindrical parabolic collector

The reflector is in the form of trough with a parabolic cross section in which
the image is formed on the focus of the parabola along a line as shown in
Figure 4.11. The basic parts are: (i) an absorber tube with a selective coating
located at the focal axis through which the liquid to be heated flows, (ii) a
parabolic concentrator, and (iii) a concentric transparent cover. The aperture
area ranges from 1 m2 to 6 m2, where the length is more than the aperture
width. The CR range is from 10 to 30.

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Figure 4.11 Cross section of a cylindrical parabolic collector.

Performance Analysis of Cylindrical Parabolic Concentrator
To analyze the performance of a cylindrical parabolic collector as shown in
Figure 4.12, let its aperture be W, length L and rim angle ∅rim . The inner
diameter of the absorber tube is Di and the outer diameter Do. It has either a
concentric glass cover or a flat glass/plastic sheet covering the whole aperture
area that protects the reflecting surface from weather effects.

Figure 4.12 (a) Cylindrical parabolic collector, (b) cross section of the
cylindrical parabolic collector, and (c) cross section of the absorber tube.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

The concentration ratio' of the collector is expressed by

(4-28)
Now, the absorbed radiation flux S may be given as

(4-29)
The useful heat gain rate is

(4-30)
where FR is the heat removal factor and it is given as

(4-31)
The instantaneous collection efficiency considering beam radiation only,
ηib ,in percentage (neglecting ground reflected radiation) is given by

(4-28)
In general, the instantaneous collection efficiency, ηi , can be expressed as

(4-29)

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

4.11.4 Collector with a fixed, circular concentrator and moving receiver

The fixed circular concentrator consists of an array of long, narrow, flat mirror
strips fixed over a cylindrical surface as shown in Figure 4.13. The mirror
strips create a narrow line image that follows a circular path as the sun moves
across the sky. The CR varies from 10 to 100.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

Figure 4.13 Cross section of a collector with a fixed circular concentrator

and a moving receiver.
4.11.5 Fresnel lens collector
Fresnel lens refraction type focusing collector is made of an acrylic plastic
sheet, flat on one side, with fine longitudinal grooves on the other as shown
in Figure 4.14. The angles of grooves are designed to bring radiation to a line
focus. The CR ranges between 10 and 80 with temperature varying between
l50 oC and 400 oC.

Figure 4.14 Fresnel lens collector.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

4.11.6 Parabolic Dish Collector

To achieve high CRs and temperature, it is required to build a point-focusing
collector. A parabolic dish collector is of point-focusing type as the receiver
is placed at the focus of the parabolic reflector (Figure 4.15).

Figure 4.15 Parabolic dish collector.

The absorber has a cavity shape made of zirconium-copper alloy, with a
selective coating of black chrome. The CR ranges from 100 to a few thousands
with maximum temperature up to 2000 oC. For this, two-axis tracking is
required so that the sun may remain in line with the focus and vertex of the
parabolic.
4.11.7 Central receiver with heliostat
The Central Receiver is a field of heliostats (an array of minors) that reflect
solar radiation to a centrally located receiver on a tower (Figure 4.16).
Heliostats follow the sun to harness maximum solar heat. Water flowing
through the receiver absorbs heat to produce steam which operates a Rankine
cycle turbo generator to generate electrical energy.

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M.Sc. Course, Renewable Energy college of Education, Physics Department
Ass.Proff. Dr. Alaa H. Shneishil 2018-2019 Ch.(4) Solar Thermal Energy Collectors

Figure 4.16 Central receiver tower with a field of heliostats.

4.12 Solar Thermal Energy Storage

Solar energy is available only during the sunshine hours. Energy storage is a
must to meet the consumer requirement. There are three important methods
for storing solar thermal energy:
4.12.1 Sensible Heat Storage
Heating a liquid or a solid which does not change phase comes under this
category. The quantity of heat stored is proportional to the temperature rise of
the material. Water is used for temperature below 100"C whereas refractory
bricks can be used for temperature up to 1000"C.
4.12.2 Latent Heat Storage (Phase Change Heat Storage)
In this system, heat is stored in a material when it melts, and heat is extracted
from the material when it freezes. Heat can also be stored when a liquid
changes to gaseous state.
4.12.3 Thermochemical Storage
solar heat energy can start an endothermic chemical reaction and new products
of reactions remain intact. To extract energy, a reverse exothermic reaction is
allowed to take place. The thermochemical thermal energy is the binding
energy of reversible chemical reactions.
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