Jet impingement solar collector
A solar collector is described in which air passed through the collector is heated by exchanging heat with a plate which absorbs solar energy. The collector includes a lightweight frame of rectangular cross-section having an inlet and outlet for passage of air, with the top of the frame sealed by a light-transmissive cover such as a sheet of glass. Also included in the collector are an absorber plate mounted in the frame below the cover, and a jet plate spaced a prescribed distance below the absorber plate. One or both of the plates is corrugated, and holes are provided in the jet plate at locations where the gap between plates is a minimum so that during operation of the collector, jets of air are directed through the holes and impinge on the lower surface of the absorber plate to produce efficient heat transfer, while channels defined by the corrugations facilitate flow of the spent jets to the collector outlet with minimal interruption of downstream jets. The disclosed collector provides cost effective solar energy collection since it achieves high air heating efficiencies, is inexpensive to construct, easy to handle and install, long-lived, and is readily adaptable to multi-stage assemblies.
- Assignee:
- Thermo Electron Corp
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4201195
- OSTI ID:
- 5641538
- Resource Relation:
- Patent File Date: Filed date 25 Oct 1978; Other Information: PAT-APPL-954727
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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