Renewable Energy Technologies

(ME6148)

Introduction to Solar Thermal Technologies

Dr. K. S. Reddy
Heat Transfer & Thermal Power Lab.
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Madras
CHENNAI-600 036
1
ksreddy@iitm.ac.in, Phone : 2257 4702(O), 2257 6702®
 Solar Thermal Systems

Radiation from SUN Thermal Energy

Storage system

Solar thermal
collector/ Hot working
fluid Heating/cooling
concentrator and application
receiver

Power
generation
Circulation of condensed working
fluid (Closed loop)
Fluid let off
(Open Cycle)
 Solar Energy Applications

Water Heating

Cooking

Distillation

Refrigeration

Drying of Food

Green Houses

Power Generation
 Classification of Solar Thermal Collectors

Solar Thermal Technologies

Stationary or Concentrating Collector

Non-Concentrating Collector

Flat Evacuated Pond

Plate Tube Refractive Type Reflective Type

Single Axis Tracking Two axis Tracking

Parabolic Linear Parabolic Heliostat

Compound Fresnel Refractor/ dish or
Parabolic Trough Fresenel
reflector Lens Central
Tower
 Flat Plate Collectors
 Most mechanically simpler, easy to erect and common type of collector
 Absorbs both beam and diffused radiation
 Generally of surface area 1.5 to 3 m2
 Concentration ratio: 1
 Temperature range: 30 - 80 C
Typical major applications:
- Solar water heating
- Building heating and cooling
- Industrial process heat
- Power Generation
- Drying crops
Passive Solar Water Design
 Solar Water Heaters
 Achievable Temperature : 60 – 80 C
 Installed on roof-tops, building terrace and open ground – no Shading – south facing
@ 15 orientation of collectors
 Only soft and potable water can be used
 Domestic applications ( 4 member family) : 100-300 litres
 Generally made of Stainless steel. Also, Mild steel with anti corrosive coatings inside
are used

Advantages
Non-tracking Option - Moving structure, motors, and tracking control systems are
eliminated - reduced the complexity of the system
Utilization of diffuse Solar Radiation
Costs less than concentrating collectors

Limitations
Low Efficiency – relatively more panel area for the given load
Non-tracking - Cosine effect
Applicable only for low and medium range temperatures
Flat Plate Collector (FPC) Configurations
 Evacuated Tube Collectors (ETC)
Air is removed, or evacuated, from the space between the two tubes to form a vacuum, which
eliminates conductive and convective heat loss.
 Concentration ratio : 1-3
 Temperature range : 50 – 250 C
Applications :
Lower temperature (50 to 150 C)
- Water heating,
- Steam generation cooking and refrigeration
 High temperature (up to 250 C)
- Power generation

Construction and working of ETC

 Construction and working of ETC

Solar Water Heater

Advantages
 Relatively higher Efficient- efficiency of over 90 %
 Smaller and lighter
 On breakage of tubes, only the replacement of
tube is required in contradictory to the case in
conventional FTC systems
 In colder-freezing climates, and high-temperature
demanding applications, evacuated tubes are
usually preferable than conventional FTCs

Limitations
 Expensive compared to conventional FTC
 Usage of thin glass in construction – frequent breakage
 Performance Analysis of Liquid Flat Plate Collector
An energy balance on absorber plate under steady
state conditions yields useful heat gain(Qu)
Qu = AcS - QL
Where
S – Solar flux absorbed by the collector
Ac – Aperture of the collector
QL – Heat loss from the collector Qu
The flux incident on the top cover is given as
IT = Ibrb + Idrd +(Ib+Id)rr

The flux absorbed in the collector (S) is given as

S = (ατ)eff .IT
S = Ibrb(ατ)b + Idrd (ατ)d +(Ib+Id)rr (ατ)d
Where
α – absorptivity of the absorber plate
τ – transmissivity of the glass cover
 Overall Heat Loss Coefficient
Heat loss from the collector (QL) is given as

QL = UL Ac (Tpm-Ta)

Where UL = overall loss coefficient Tpm = average temperature of the absorber plate
Ac = area of the collector Ta = temperature of the surrounding air
The heat loss from the collector (QL) is the sum of the heat loss from the top, the bottom and the
sides. Thus QL = QT + QB +QS

The heat loss from the top (QT) is given as QT = UT AC (Tpm-Ta)

The heat loss from the bottom(QB) is given as QB = UB AC (Tpm-Ta)

The heat loss from the sides (QS) is given as QS = US AC (Tpm-Ta)

The overall heat loss coefficient (UL) is given in terms of top, bottom & side loss coefficients
UL = UT + UB +US

It is noted that the definition of each of the coefficients is based on the area Ac and the
temperature difference (Tpm-Ta).

The overall loss coefficient is an important parameter since it is a measure of all the losses.
Typical values range from 2 to 10W/m2.K
 Top Heat Loss Coefficient
Heat loss from the collector (QT) is evaluated by considering convection and re-radiation losses
from the absorber plate in the upward direction.
In a steady state, the heat transferred by convection and
radiation between Tsky
- the absorber plate and the first cover
- the first cover and the second cover Ta
- the second cover and the surroundings Tc2
must be equal
Tc1
QT Tpm
Calculation of the top loss coefficient

hw = wind heat transfer coefficient

= 5.7+3.8Vw W/m2K
 Heat Transfer Coefficient between Inclined Parallel Plates
The natural convection heat transfer coefficient for the enclosed
space between the absorber plate and the first cover or between
two covers is calculated by using one of the following correlation
suggested by Buchberg et al

NuL = 1; RaL cosβ < 1708

NuL = 1+ 1.446(1-1708/ RaL cosβ); 1708< RaL cosβ < 5900

NuL = 0.229 (RaL cosβ)0.252; 5900< RaL cosβ < 9.23x104

NuL = 0.157 (RaL cosβ)0.285; 9.23x104< RaL cosβ < 106

 Transmissivity of the Cover
The transmissivity of the cover system of a collector can be obtained by considering reflection-
refraction and absorption separately
τ = τr τa
Where τr = transmissivity obtained by considering only reflection and refraction and
τa = transmissivity obtained by considering only absorption

Transmissivity Based on Reflection-Refraction

Incident beam Ibn Reflected beam Ir

Medium -1

Medium -2

Refracted beam

The reflectivity is related to the angle of incidence and refraction by

ρ = ½ (ρI + ρII)
ρI and ρII are the reflectivities of the two components of polarisation
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