PROBLEM 1.

70
KNOWN: Solar collector designed to heat water operating under prescribed solar irradiation and loss
conditions.
FIND: (a) Useful heat collected per unit area of the collector, q u , (b) Temperature rise of the water
flow, To Ti , and (c) Collector efficiency.
SCHEMATIC:

ASSUMPTIONS: (1) Steady-state conditions, (2) No heat losses out sides or back of collector, (3)
Collector area is small compared to sky surroundings.
PROPERTIES: Table A.6, Water (300K): cp = 4179 J/kgK.
ANALYSIS: (a) Defining the collector as the control volume and writing the conservation of energy
requirement on a per unit area basis, find that

E in E out + E gen = E st .

Identifying processes as per above right sketch,

q solar q rad q conv q u = 0

where q solar = 0.9 q s; that is, 90% of the solar flux is absorbed in the collector (Eq. 1.6). Using the
appropriate rate equations, the useful heat rate per unit area is

4 T4 h T T
qu = 0.9 qs Tcp
( s )
sky
W
W
W
qu = 0.9 700
3034 2634 K 4 10
0.94 5.67 108
( 30 25 )D C
2
2
4
2
m
m K
m K

q u = 630 W / m2 194 W / m2 50 W / m2 = 386 W / m2 .

<

(b) The total useful heat collected is q u A. Defining a control volume about the water tubing, the
useful heat causes an enthalpy change of the flowing water. That is,

 p ( Ti To )
qu A=mc

or

( Ti To ) = 386 W/m2 3m2 / 0.01kg/s 4179J/kg K=27.7DC.

)(

= 386 W/m 2 / 700 W/m 2 = 0.55 or 55%.

(c) The efficiency is = qu / qS

<
<

COMMENTS: Note how the sky has been treated as large surroundings at a uniform temperature

Tsky.

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