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The progress of work on the evacuated receiver, lens design, lens die fabrication, and improvements on components, production techniques, and performance testing is discussed.
The finalization of designs, fabrication of the new lens, receiver, and tracking box and a review of the contract status are presented.
Information used in the certification and verification of the Calmac Flat Plate Collector is presented. Contained are such items as test procedures and results, information on materials used, installation, operation, and maintenance manuals, and other information pertaining to the verification and certification.
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Information used to evaluate the design of the Northrup concentrating collector is presented. Included are the system performance specifications, the applications manual, and the detailed design drawings of the collector. The collector is a water/glycol/working fluid type, with a dipped galvanized steel housing, transparent acrylic Fresnel lens cover, copper absorber tube, and fiber glass insulation. It weights 98 pounds. A collector assembly includes four collector units within a tracking mount array.
Thermal performance tests were conducted on the Libbey-Owens-Ford liquid collector, following long term exposure to natural weathering conditions. Visual inspection of the collector, prior to the retest, indicated noticeable clouding of the inner cover glass, probably resulting from outgassing of the insulation. The absorber plate also showed some discoloration. The test results indicated that performance degradation had occurred at inlet temperatures significantly above ambient. The change in the slope of the efficiency curve, from the original data, is a direct indicator of an increase in the collector heat loss coefficient.
It was found that if the upper and lower ends of a collector were opened, large free convention currents may be set up between the collector surface and the cover glass(es) which can result in appreciable heat rejection. If the collector is so designed that both plates surfaces are exposed to convection currents when the upper and lower ends of the collector enclosure are opened, the heat rejection rate is 300 watts sq m when the plate is 13 C above ambient. This is sufficient to permit a collector array designed to provide 100 percent of the heating needs of a home to reject the accumulated daily air conditioning load during the course of a summer night. This also permits the overall energy requirements for cooling to be reduced by at least 15 percent and shift the load on the utility entirely to the nighttime hours.
Structural analysis and certification of the collector system is presented. System verification against the interim performance criteria is presented and indicated by matrices. The verification discussion, analysis, and test results are also given.
Procedures used and results obtained during the evaluation test program on a flat plate collector which uses water as the working fluid are discussed. The absorber plate is copper tube soldered to copper fin coated with flat black paint. The glazing consists of two plates of Lo-Iron glass; the insulation is polyurethane foam. The collector weight is 242.5 pounds with overall external dimensions of approximately 48.8 in. x 120.8 in. x 4.1 in. The test program was conducted to obtain thermal performance data before and after 34 days of weather exposure test.
The Vee-Trough/Vacuum Tube Collector (VTVTC) aimed to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of collectors assembled from evacuated tube receivers. The VTVTC was analyzed rigorously and a mathematical model was developed to calculate the optical performance of the vee-trough concentrator and the thermal performance of the evacuated tube receiver. A test bed was constructed to verify the mathematical analyses and compare reflectors made out of glass, Alzak and aluminized GEB Teflon. Tests were run at temperatures ranging from 95 to 180 C during the months of April, May, June, July and August 1977. Vee-trough collector efficiencies of 35-40 per cent were observed at an operating temperature of about 175 C. Test results compared well with the calculated values. Test data covering a complete day are presented for selected dates throughout the test season. Predicted daily useful heat collection and efficiency values are presented for a year's duration at operation temperatures ranging from 65 to 230 C. Estimated collector costs and resulting thermal energy costs are presented. Analytical and experimental results are discussed along with an economic evaluation.
Report summarizes performance specifications of 72-element, concentric-tube collector. Chart shows minimum collector efficiency as function of operating conditions.
Commercial tracking collector that uses acrylic Fresnel lenses to focus Sunlight on copper absorber tubes was evaluated. Tests are documented in 16 page report.
An analytical method was developed for determining the minimum thickness for simply supported, rectangular glass plates subjected to uniform normal pressure environmental loads such as wind, earthquake, snow, and deadweight. The method consists of comparing an analytical prediction of the stress in the glass panel to a glass breakage stress determined from fracture mechanics considerations. Based on extensive analysis using the nonlinear finite element structural analysis program ARGUS, design curves for the structural analysis of simply supported rectangular plates were developed. These curves yield the center deflection, center stress and corner stress as a function of a dimensionless parameter describing the load intensity. A method of estimating the glass breakage stress as a function of a specified failure rate, degree of glass temper, design life, load duration time, and panel size is also presented.
The paper summarizes the mathematical analysis and presents the experimental results for a vee-trough/evacuated tube collector (VTETC). Test results reported represent the performance of the VTETC based on an aperture area. The effectiveness of vee-trough reflectors is demonstrated by comparing the useful heat collected by a receiver tube with and without concentrators.
Sliding barrel and shutter protect against overheating. Downward movement of shutter initiated by melting of fuse wire that suspends it. Shutter lowered or raised under operator's control by depressuring or pressurizing hydraulic cylinder.
Solar energy collector
Domestic hot water for single story home is heated by two 4 by 8 foot solar collectors. Solar energy saved 5.54 million Btu in six month period; savings with increased water consumption would be significantly higher.
Proposed solar-tracker collector assembly with boiler in fixed position, allows use of hard line connections, capable of withstanding optimum high temperature fluid flow. System thereby eliminates need for flexible or slip connection previously used with solar collector systems.