Fundamentals of Flat Plate Collectors

1
 Solar Collector
• Solar collector is a device to collect solar energy and
transform it into thermal energy by using heat
transfer fluid like water, air, ethylene glycol etc.
• Solar thermal system provides thermal energy for
various processes
For cold climates, low grade thermal energy is required to
heat air for comfort, hot water for washing, cleaning and
other domestic and industrial needs.
Even in high-temperature heating applications, a
significant amount of fuel can be saved by using solar
collector for preheating.
 Classification
Solar collectors

Non concentrating type Concentrating type

(Flat plate collector)
(a) Liquid flat plate collector
(b) Flat plate air heater

Non focus type

Focus type (a) Modified flat plate collector
(b) Compound parabolic concentrating
(CPC) type

Point focus (Two axis tracking)

Line focus (One tracking) (a) Parabolic dish collector
(a) Cylindrical parabolic concentrator (b) Hemispherical bowl mirror concentrator
(b) Fixed mirror solar concentrator (c) Circular Fresnel lens concentrator
(c) Linear Fresnel collector (d) Central tower receiver
Comparison of concentrating and
non-concentrating collectors
Concentrating collectors
 Solar radiation is converged from a large area into a small area using
optical means.
 Beam radiation (unique direction) and travels in a straight line, can be
converted by reflection or refraction techniques.
 Diffuse radiation has no unique direction and so does not obey optical
principles.
 Diffuse component cannot be concentrated.
 Make use of the beam radiation component and little diffuse
component coming directly over the absorber.
Main advantage: High temperature can be attained due to
concentration of radiation (yields high temperature thermal
energy).
Non-concentrating collectors
Utilizes both beam as well as diffuse radiation.
Flat Plate Collector
•A flat-plate collector is simple in construction and does
not require sun tracking.
•It can properly secured on a rigid platform and thus
becomes mechanically stronger than those requiring
flexibility for tracking purpose.
•The collectors are installed outdoors and exposed to
atmospheric disturbances.
Performance Indices
•Collector efficiency: ratio of energy actually absorbed and transferred to
the heat transfer fluid by the collector (useful energy) to the energy
incident on the collector.

•Concentration ratio: ratio of the area of aperture of the system to the

area of the receiver. The aperture area of the system is the projected area
of the collector facing the beam.
• CR for FPC = 1 (T<100oC), CR for line focus collectors up to 100 (T: 150-
400oC), CR for point focus collectors of the order of 1000 (T: 500-
1000oC).

•Temperature range: range of temperature to which the heat-transport

fluid is heated up by the collector.
 FPC construction
•The absorber
plate
•The tubes fixed
to the absorber
plate
•Transparent
cover
•Collector box

Advantages Disadvantages
 Utilizes both beam and diffuse • Collection efficiency is generally low
components of the solar radiation – due to absence of optical
 Little maintenance due to simple concentration (area from which heat
stationary design lost is large)
Absorber plate, tube and header Fluid
Solar radiation out
Header
Direct Diffuse
• Usually absorber plate is made from Glass
cover
a thin metal sheet – Copper,
(thickness 0.2 to 0.7 mm).
• Tubes are also made of metal
(diameter varies from 1 to 1.5 cm) Tubes carrying Insulation
Absorber Header
Fluid in
• Tubes are soldered, brazed or heat transfer fluid

pressure bonded to the bottom of Figure.Construction

Header pipes
which
of flat-plate collector
the absorber plate (pitch: 5 to 12 lead the liquid in and
cm). out of the collector and
• In some design tubes are bonded to distribute it to the tubes
the top or are in-line and integral are made of copper and
have slightly larger
with the absorber plate.
diameter (2-2.5 cm)
than tube.
 The role of absorber plate
• To absorb the maximum
possible solar radiation
incident on it through the
glazing.
• To minimize heat losses
from the absorber to the
atmosphere from the top,
bottom, and sides of the
FPC.
• To transfer maximum heat
to the fluid.
 Cover system
• The cover should be made of a material which is highly
transparent to incoming solar radiation and at the same
time, opaque to long wavelength re-radiation emitted by
the absorber plate.
• Cover Material: Toughened glass of 4 or 5 mm thickness.
• Glass is able to withstand thermal shock as well as the
impact o objects which may fall on the collector face.
• Normally a gap of 1.5 to 3 cm is maintained between
cover and absorber plate.
• Plastic transparent sheets are also used -
low cost, light weight
• Originating from fossil based material
 Insulation and collector box
• Bottom and sides are usually insulated by mineral wool, rock
wool or glass wool (with a covering of aluminum foil)
(Thickness: 2.5 to 8 cm)
• The whole assembly is contained within a box which is tilted at
a suitable angle.
• The collector box is usually made of Aluminum with a epoxy
coating on the outside for protection.
• The face areas of collectors are around 2m2 with the length
being larger than the width.
Positioning of Flat Plate Collector
Axis parallel
to line of
Flat plate longitude
collector
N

Axis
parallel to
latitude

W E

Horizontal
surface
S
Figure. Positioning of flat-plate collector
 Types of absorber plates
 Classified based on the extent of wetted area relative
to the absorbing surface area.

Pin-and-fin type
Liquid flows only in the pipe
comparatively low wetted area and liquid
capacity
Applications in domestic and industrial use (High (a) Pipe- and-fin type
temperature)
Rectangular or cylindrical full sandwich
Both the wetted area and water capacity are high
Application in warming of swimming pool (low (b) Water sandwich type
temperature)
Roll-bond or Semi-sandwich Type
Intermediate between pin-and –fin type and
rectangular full sandwich. (c) Semi-water-sandwich type

Figure. Cross- sections through collector pl

 Transmissivity based on reflection-
refraction
• Considering one components of polarization
of a beam incident on a single cover (Two
interfaces, multiple reflections and
refractions)

For N number of covers:

 Transmissivity based on Absorption

• Obtained by assuming that the attenuation

due to absorption is proportional to the
local intensity
When beam
• Bouger’s law: radiation is
falling
dI   KIdx normally
K = Constant of proportionality
called extinction coefficient
(independent of wavelength) By integrating over the length traversed
 c  Thickness of the transparent cover system by the beam
Ibn  Incident beam intensity in the transparent cover dI
Il  Intinsity going out of the transparent cover   Kdx
I
Extinction coefficient is Il
dI

c

property of the cover I I   K 0 dx  ln Il  ln Ibn   K c

material, value varies from: bn

Il
I   a  e Kc
4 to 25 m-1 for glass (low  ln l   K  c
value is desirable) I bn Ibn
 Expression for transmissivity when beam
radiation is inclined at certain angle
dI   KIdx
dI
When the solar beam is incident at an    Kdx
I
angle of 1 with the normal to the Taking integration both the sides
horizontal surface, the path traveled c c   1 a
cos 2 cos 2
through the cover would be  c cos  2  , 2
Il
dI   1     a 
    Kdx   K  dx
angle of refraction. Ibn
I 0 0 Transmissivity of the single cover of a FPC
 =   a
 ln I Il   K  x 0c
I  cos 2
Ib  bn
1
n   
A  ln Il  ln Ibn   K  c  0
2  cos  2 
AB cos  2   c
c I K
 ln l   c
 AB 
c Ibn cos  2
cos  2
Solar radiation transmitted through the glass cover is,
Il B Il  K 
 exp   c 
Ibn  cos  2 
 K c cos 2
a  e The above equation is nothing but representing the transmissivity due to absorption,
Il  K 
  a  exp   c 
Ibn  cos  2 
 Performance Analysis of FPC
An energy balance on the absorber plate under steady state condition
yields

The flux incident on the top cover of the collector is given by:

The flux absorbed in the absorber plate

= transmissivity-absorptivity product for beam radiation falling on the collector

= transmissivity-absorptivity product for diffuse radiation falling on the collector
Transmissivity of the cover system

   r a  r Transmissivity obtained by
considering only reflection and

 refraction
a Transmissivity obtained by
considering only absorption

• Transmissivity based on reflection-refraction (Snell’s

Law)
• Transmissivity based on Absorption (Bouguer’s Law)
• Transmissivity for diffused radiation
 Transmissivity based on reflection-
refraction
Reflectivity   I r I bn is
related to the angles of
(reduced incidence and refraction by
intensity) the equations:
sin 2  2  1 
1 I  2 Reflectivities of
   I   II  sin  2  1 
2 two components
tan 2  2  1  of polarization
 II  2
tan  2  1 

For normal
The directions of the incident incidence, 1  0o
and reflected beams are n  n 
2

related to each other by    I   II   1 2 

 n1  n2 
Snell’s law:
Transmissivity  r is
Transmissivities of two
expressed as:
1
 r   rI   rII 
 rI  rII components of
2 polarization
Propagation of solar radiation through
glass window
 Performance analysis of FPC
• Instantaneous efficiency and Stagnation temperature

Instantaneous collection efficiency:

15-20% more than

If In this case absorber plate attains a temperature such that , this temperature is the hig
plate can attain and is sometimes referred to as stagnation temperature.
Significance:
• Stagnation temperature is useful as an indicator for comparing different collector de
• Choosing proper materials for construction of the collector.
Thank you