Heat transfer analysis of an inflated cylindrical solar collector

Technical Report · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1978

OSTI ID:5626268

Yasuda, A K

To extend the applications of solar energy, concentrating collectors with higher outlet temperatures may be used. An inflated cylindrical concentrating collector which will not be required to track the sun is being developed. The concentrating reflector will be the lower portion of a large diameter metalized thin film plastic cylinder. The upper portion is clear to transmit the sunlight. At the focal region of the reflector is placed a receiver tube, which is jacketed with another thin film plastic sleeve to reduce thermal losses. A computer code has been written to study the optical properties of this collector. The thermal performance of the collector is studied. The thermal losses due to radiation, convection and conduction were studied, as well as the useful heat transferred into the working fluid. For a collector with a selective surface on the receiver tube (infrared emittance = 0.2) the collector will achieve a 44% thermal efficiency at a 170/sup 0/C fluid temperature. Studies were done to model collector performance over a six-hour day. For a fluid operating temperature of 170/sup 0/C, the collector efficiency is 20% for a six-hour day on the summer solstice at Livermore, California (latitude = 38/sup 0/).

• Research Organization: California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5626268
• Report Number(s): UCRL-13862; ON: DE82006784
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
141000* -- Solar Collectors & Concentrators
BOILING
CALIFORNIA
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CONCENTRATING COLLECTORS
COVERINGS
ECONOMICS
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY LOSSES
ENERGY TRANSFER
EQUIPMENT
FLUIDS
HEAT LOSSES
HEAT TRANSFER
INFLATABLE COLLECTORS
LOSSES
NORTH AMERICA
PERFORMANCE
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
S CODES
SIMULATION
SOLAR COLLECTORS
SOLAR CONCENTRATORS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR REFLECTORS
SPECTRALLY SELECTIVE SURFACES
SURFACES
THERMAL ANALYSIS
THERMAL EFFICIENCY
TUBES
USA
WESTERN REGION
WORKING FLUIDS