Solar Energy Vol, 32, No. 5, pp. 609~623, 1984 0038--092X/84 $3.

00 + ,00
Printed in Great Britain. Pergamon Press Ltd,

PROGRESS IN THE MATERIALS SCIENCE

OF ALL-GLASS EVACUATED COLLECTORS

B. WINDOW
CSIRO National Measurement Laboratory, Lindfibld.2070, Australia

and

G. L. HARDING
School of Physics, Universityof Sydney, Sydney. 2006, Australia
(Received 2 July 1982; accepted 21 January 1983)

Abstract--Materials problems in evacuated collectors are reviewed with emphasis on all-glass tubular systems.
Collector design, including selective surface, vacuum insulation and layers for transmission enhancement of the
glass envelope are examined in detail. In addition, design and materials aspects of reflectors and collector
manifoldingsystems are discussed.

1. INTRODUCTION ips have since produced other developmental models

As the operating temperature of a solar collector is
increased, the efficiency of the collector decreases due to
increased thermal losses, and the steps taken to reduce
these losses increase the complexity and hence the cost
of the collector. Good selective surfaces, antireflection
layers on the glass cover, convection suppression
devices and extra insulation are required to achieve
efficient operation at temperatures >80°C above ambient
temperature[I].
Alternative approaches to increasing collector
efficiencies at higher temperatures have been to use
concentrating systems, or to use evacuated collectors. In
the first case, the losses are reduced by concentrating the
radiation on to a smaller absorber, but there is also a loss
of some or all of the diffuse radiation. The second case
involves removing the air around the absorbing surface
and using a selective absorber or transmitter, to reduce
the thermal losses.
The first serious demonstration models of evacuated
collectors appeared in the middle seventies, with collec-
tors from Corning[2] and Owens-Illinois[3] in the
U.S.A., and Philips[4] in West Gerraany.
The design of Corning, similar to that studied by
Speyer[5], consists of a ~ 100-ram dia. envelope (of
various lengths 1.5-6 m), and a flat metal fin coated with
a selective absorber attached to a U-tube of copper pipe
which enters and leaves the envelope through glass-
metal seals (Fig. la). The design of Owens-Illinois uses
two concentric borosilicate glass tubes, with the inner
tube coated on its outside by a selective absorbing
surface (Fig. lb). To eliminate problems resulting from
the differential thermal expansion of the inner tube rela-
tive to the outer tube, the collectors are made single
ended. The original Philips collectors (Mark I) used a
glass U-tube as the absorber, coated by black enamel (a
non-selective surface) (Fig. lc). In this design radiative
heat loss from the absorber was reduced by the use of a
selective transmitter on the inside of the glass envelope.
This material is transparent to sunlight but strongly
reflects infrared radiation back to the hot absorber. Phil-
(Mark II-Mark V). Mark II and Mark IV (Fig. ld)
combine the benefits of all-glass evacuated tubes for low
thermal losses, and all-metal plate and tube for fluid
containment. Philips most recent design (Mark V) uses a
9-mm copper heat pipe (containing freon) clamped to a
selectively coated steel fin within an evacuated cylindri-
cal envelope (Fig. le)[6]. This design involves a single
glass-metal seal. A similar design is used by Philco
(Italy). A metal and glass collector has recently been
developed by Sanyo Electric Co. (Fig. lf)[7]. This design
is unique in that it contains a single copper pipe and
metal fin (coated with selective absorber), and incor-
porates glass-metal seals at each end of the envelope. A
metal bellows is incorporated in each seal to allow
differential expansion between copper pipe and glass
envelope.
All the collectors described above have worked well;
however there are serious (or potentially serious) prob-
lems with collectors which incorporate both metal and
glass. The combination of evacuated glass tubes and
metal flat plate collector technology (as in Philips M. IV)
leads inevitably to high cost. In the other designs, metal
components, including the glass-metal seal, result in high
costs, and are difficult to outgas effectively in manufac-
ture.
The most promising approach, which should yield a
very low cost collector in mass production is the all-glass
design (Fig. lb) used by Owens-Illinois (borosilicate
glass) and also General Electric U.S.A. (soda glass)J8].
The heat is extracted from the inside of the inner glass
tube either directly with a circulating fluid, as in the
Owens-Illinois collector, or via a metal fin to a circulat-
ing fluid contained in a metal pipe, as in the GE collector.
All-glass tubular collectors are currently under in-
vestigation in many additional laboratories[9--16].
In this article, we discuss various materials science
aspects of evacuated collector technology, dealing pri-
marily with the all-glass type of system. The sections
cover selective surfaces (Section 2), transmitting coat-
ings for the glass envelope (Section 3), vacuum insulation

609
610 B. WINDOWand G. I,. HARDING
(a)
©
CORNING
@
(b)
OWENS
ILLINOIS
Co)
@ /,1
/
PHILIPS
MI
Fig. I. Evacuated collector designs.
(Sectibn 4), optical design and materials (Section 5),
manifolding factors, and the influence of materials on
system design (Section 6).
2. SELECTIVE SURFACES
2.1 Introduction
Selective surfaces improve collector performance by
reducing the radiative loss from the absorbing surface
for a given absorber surface temperature. They have
been used for many years on flat plate collectors[17-
23], and improved air stable selective surfaces have been
developed in recent years for high performance flat plate
collectors and for concentrating trough systems[24--30].
However, the need in evacuated collector technology
is for high performance selective surfaces which are
vacuum stable at the stagnation (no load) temperature for
extended periods and at the process temperatures used
to outgas the collector prior to permanently sealing the
glass envelope.
2.2 Available selective surfaces
Few selective surfaces have been intensively studied
with the particular aim of their utilization in evacuated
collectors. A summary of a number of selective absorb-
ing surfaces which have been used in evacuated systems,
or have some potential for this application, is contained
in Table 1.
Most selective surfaces used in all-glass collectors in
mass production have been deposited by vacuum tech-
(,d)
PHILIPS
MIV
k e ,;
PHILIPS /
MY ,/ r , ~:, ,~
\
//
SANYO
~ 'I ....
_-Z22~_-22
niques. Such coatings which have been used extensively
in the U.S.A. are a chromium suboxide interference layer
on aluminium on the glass, and a SiOx-Cr-SiOx multi-
layer on aluminium or glass. These surfaces both have
solar absorptances of -0.8[46]. Nitto Kohki (Tokyo) are
using a sputtered metal-carbon graded interference layer
absorber on copper or glass, with a solar absorptance
>0.9.
All the selective surfaces of absorptance ~>0.9 listed in
Table 1 incorporate a low refractive index material, (e.g.
CrOx, SiO2, A1203, amorphous carbon) at the top of the
absorbing layer to maximize light transmission into the
surface. A major problem with most of the selective
surfaces summarised in Table 1 is the lack of essential
data such as the solar absorptance and thermal emittance
as functions of temperature, degradation modes and
degradation rates in realistic situations, the heat treat-
ment required to degas the surface, and general produc-
tion considerations. Some of this is possibly considered
proprietary and hence is not freely available.
The most extensively studied selective surface for
evacuated all-glass collectors is the metal carbon
surface[43, 47-51], and its properties are reviewed in the
next section.
2.3 Properties of metal-carbon surfaces
These surfaces are of the graded interference layer
type, applied using sputtering techniques. Advantages of
sputtering for the mass production of selective absorbers
 Progress in the materials science of ~dl-glass evacuated collectors 61 l

Table I. Fabrication process, selective properties and maximum operating temperature for a selection of selective
surfaces.
Absorbing Layer Metal Base Layer Deposition Process ~ £(T°C) Maxm. operating Reference
temp. °C in vacuum

Chrome black Bulk or thin Electrodeposition 0.94 0.I0-0.15(20) -400 [~,7,21]

(Cr-CrOx) Film Cu
Thin film Ni

Black Cobalt
(CoO S ) Thin film Electrodepcsition -0.95 <0.1(20) [6,31,32]
xy silver, copper

Black pigmented Bulk aluminium Anodizing 0.91 0.12(20) - [23,33]

anodized
aluralnium
Ni-AI203
SiO2-Ni-SiO 2 Thin film nickel Evaporation 0.88-0.94 0.06-0.1(20) - [34]

CrO x Thin film A1 Evaporation 0.75-0.85 ~0.06(20) - [3]

SiOx-Cr-SiO x Thin film al Evaporation 0.75-0.85 ~0.06(20) [8)

Pt/AI20 Thin film Cu Evaporation 0.89-0.94 0.12-0.19(150) .300 [27]

Ni/AI20 ~

Au/AI20 Thin film Cu Evaporation 0.90 0.04(20) ~300 [35]

Cu/A120~
AI203-Mo-AI203 Thin film Mo Evaporation -0,90 <0.07(20) >300 [36]

Black molybdenum Thin film Mo CVD ~0.8 0.08(500) 500 [37]

Cr/Cr203 Thin film Ni RF sputtering 0.92 0.08(20) >300 [38]

Zr C N Thin film Cu, Ag Reactive sputtering 0.94 0.05(300) 500 [39]

xy

Zr C x Thin film Zr RF sputtering 0.90 0.05(20) 800 [40]

Cr/AI 0 Thin film A1 Co-sputtering 0.92 0.09(20) [41]

(Grad~

AI203-Mo-AI203 Thin film Mo RF sputtering 0.94 0.07(20) 700 [42]

StainleSs steel Thin film Cu Reactive 0.94 0.05(100) 400 [43]

-carbon sputtering
Chromium
-carbon
(Graded)

Stainless steel Thin film Cu Reactive 0.94 0.05(100) 400 [44,45]

-silicon sputtering
(Graded)

are cleanliness (only gases), excellent adhesion, usage of dlnm)

distributed rather than point sources of material, and the
500~ - SS-C
ability to produce other phases by adding reactive gases
- - -" . .- . ".Absorb'rig
to the discharge [52]. A particular benefit from the use of
I

z, O0. " .................... Loyer

reactive gases is the ease with which a coating may be
graded in its composition.
The coating produced at Sydney University consists of
(a) 300 nm of copper metal on an adhesion layer on the
glass tubes, sputtered from a copper electrode in pure
argon. Careful measurements have shown that the emit-
lances of these copper films are the lowest measured for
copper metal[53]; (b) a solar absorbing layer which in-
creases the thermal emittance only slightly is produced
by sputtering a stainless steel electrode in an atmosphere
containing acetylene and argon. The film is a mixture of
(hydrogenated) carbon (from the acetylene) and the
constituents of stainless steel. The 150nm layer
produced is graded from pure stainless steel near the
copper base layer to almost pure (hydrogenated) carbon
near the top surface (Fig. 2)[49] by steadily increasing
L Cu ( B o s e L a y e r )
2co~
L
cl /
. -.-
7 ~./
- .:':-':':'~-7~Loy~
7 / - /
" - ..... . Gtos~" "
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the structure of a graded stainless
steel-carbon on copper selective surface. The density of dots in
the SS-C films indicates qualitatively the concentration of metal
atoms• The adhesion layer is deposited when the stainless
steel electrode (contaminated by carbon in the previous coating
run) is sputter cleaned. This layer grades from almost pure
(hydrogenated) carbon to pure stainless steel. The copper base
layer may be deposited as thin as 200 nm without affecting the
emittance of the surface. The absorbing layer is sputtered with
an increasing hydrocarbon riot to the sputter zone, resulting in a
grading profile from pure stainless steel to pure (hydrogenated)
carbon. Both absorptance and emittance depend on the thickness
and grading profile of the SS-C absorbing layer•
612 B. WTNOOWand G. L. HARBIN(;
f °+........
R "5f
o!- lo / 1s +o zs
Fig. 3. Specular reflectance versus wavelength for various
graded stainless steel-carbon selective surfaces.--, freshly
deposited selective surface of high solar absorptance (c~~ 0.94).
. . . . . , reflectance of a graded stainless steel-carbon selective
surface with thinner absorbinglayer, and lower solar absorptances
(~ = 0.88).
the aceylene flow while sputtering the stainless steel
cathode.
The adhesion layer consists of stainless steei and
hydrogenated carbon sputtered onto the glass from the
stainless steel electrode prior to depositing the selective
surface. This sputtering also serves to clean the stainless
steel electrode of carbon deposited during the previous
batch coating[43].
The excellent solar absorptance of this selective sur-
face is due to the gradation of properties from almost
pure amorphous hydrogenated carbon[49] at the top to
metal-rich at the base. Such a design minimises the
impedance mismatches at the two major interfaces, air to
layer and layer to metal, and accordingly reduces
reflection losses. Computer calculations have shown that
the details of the grading profile are not critical[54, 55],
and experiments have verified high absorptances for
various profiles [50, 56].
Figure 3 shows the spectral reflectance data at near
normal incidence for this selective surface. This surface
has a high solar absorptance of a = 0.94. The position of
the reflectance minimum can be readily adjusted to
achieve the optimum combination of solar absorptance
and thermal emittance for a particular application[51].
Figure 3 also shows the reflectance of a selective surface
with the minimum at A = 1.0 gin, which has a lower solar
absorptance (~ = 0.88) and lower emittance. Other metal
base layers such as stainless steel, nickel or aluminium
can be produced by using cathodes made of these
metals [50]. The metal base layer has little influence on
the solar absorptance, but strongly affects the emittance.
The solar absorptance is, to a good approximation, tem-
perature independent[47]. However, the emittance is
strongly dependent on temperature. Figure 4 shows the
emittances obtained using a calorimetric technique[51]
for collectors with two different stainless steel-carbon
coatings, designated low and high thermal emittance,
corresponding to the two selective surfaces with low and
high solar absorptance discussed above. The increase in
emittance with increasing temperature is due to the in-
creased resistivity of the copper base layer, the shifting
of the thermal spectrum to shorter wavelengths, and
contributions from the absorbing layer material. This
increase in emittance has the beneficial effect of sup-
pressing the no-load or stagnation temperature.
//1
E
-o4 ~ i
•02 Cu
--'+-''-- i
1
/
0 __t i I t J
100 200 300
T('C)
Fig. 4. Emittance vs temperature for selective surfaces of high
and low absorptance (see Fig. 3), after manufacture (lower cur-
ves) and after bakeout for -1 hr at 500°C in a continuously
pumped furnace (the arrows illustrate the changes). The emit-
tance of the sputtered copper base layer within the selective
surface, is also shown[53].
2.3.1 Degradation of metal-carbon surfaces. The
lifetime at elevated temperatures of the selective surface
is extremely important. Firstly, the surface has to with-
stand a short period at a very high temperature to outgas
the constituents prior to permanently sealing the collec-
tor, and secondly the surface must withstand long
periods at the operating and stagnation temperatures.
The metal-carbon surface when baked under vacuum
at 500°C for 1 hr suffers a small decrease in absorptance
(-0.01-0.02), and an increase of emittance (0.015) (Fig.
4). Modelling of the reflectance of the graded surface
using measured refractive indices for metal-carbon
films has shown that deterioration is due to changes in
the carbon-rich layers of the film[57]. Of greater
significance is the increase in emittance, particularly for
operation above 100°C. It has been proposed that this
degradation in emittance is primarily due to changes in
bonding arrangements of the metal atoms within the
amorphous hydrogenated carbon matrix of the absorbing
layer[57]. Deterioration at lower temperatures after the
bakeout at 500°C should be minimal.
A recent series of experiments where sealed collectors
were aged at elevated temperatures 300-375°C showed
no observable change in solar absorptance or thermal
emittance after operation for 5000hr[58]. These tem-
peratures (and the total time exposure) represent ab-
normally severe operating conditions, and it was con-
cluded that after the initial bakeout of the selective
surface at 500°C (during collector assembly) the metal-
carbon selective surface was extremely stable.
2.3.2 Improvements to the metal-carbon surface. The
low value of refractive index n = 1.9 for the amorphous
hydrogenated carbon is an important factor in achieving
high solar absorptance[59, 60] but if this interface were
graded in some way, even higher absorptances would be
achieved. Deposition of particulate carbon from smoky
acetylene flames has been investigated[48], but the gain
 Progress in the materials science of all-glass evacuated collectors
in absorptance (-0.02) was offset by an increase in
emittance and also by the increased fragility of the film.
A second possibility is to sputter the uppermost layer
of the selective surface in high argon pressures (>3Pa).
This approach results in films of lower density and
consequently lower refractive index[61]. The refractive
index (n) of amorphous hydrogenated carbon was
reduced by -0.1 (from -1.9 to 1.8) over the solar
wavelength range by increasing sputtering pressure from
0.2 to 40 Pa[62]. This small change does not justify
sputtering at such high pressures, which result in con-
siderably lower deposition rates.
An alternative approach is to texture the copper base
layer with structure of dimensions ~<1 ~m[63]. This in-
creases the absorptance of the copper, and consequently
the absorptance of the complete selective surface. This
approach has been studied by Golomb[64],
Thornton[52,65], and by Harding and Craig using both
planar and cylindrical magnetrons[50,66-68]. Textured
copper may be produced by sputtering in relatively high
sputtering gas pressures (>3Pa). The absorptance of
as-deposited graded stainless steel-carbon selective sur-
faces may be enhanced by 0.01-0.02 by lightly texturing
the copper base layer by depositing 700 nm thick copper
in argon pressure >3Pa. There is an associated small
increase in emittance[50]. However, after heat treatment
at 500°C (required during the final evacuation of the
collector), the texture anneals out to a considerable
degree, and the selective surface exhibits absorptance
and emittance typical of that incorporating smooth
copper.
2.4 PrOduction
Designs of chambers for batch production have been
carried through the pilot stage. Figure 5 shows a mag-
F envelope has a reasonable probability of being absorbed
Fig. 5. Experimental magnetron sputtering facility for coating
batches of 1.5 m long tubes. (a) Vertical section; (b) cross sec-
tion. A, Pumps; B, glass (or metal) tubes; C, carousel; D,
carousel rotation drive; E, tube rotation drive; F, magnetic field
coil; G, water jacket inlet; H, water jacket outlet; I, cathodes
(copper and stainless steell; J, guard rings; K, high voltage
connections and water cooling for electrodes; L, water cooled
screen; M, argon inlet; N, reactive gas inlet.
SE Vol. 32, No. 5 D
613
netron sputtering system for producing the graded stain-
less steel-carbon surface and related surfaces[48,69].
Twenty glass tubes supported on a carousel execute
planetary motion about two post cathodes during sput-
tering.
This coating system has produced metal-carbon selec-
tive coatings (typically a -0.92 and e - 0.04) at rates of
1 tube/rain actual coating time. The grading profile was
controlled by variation of the reactive gas injection rate
during deposition. The cost of the selective surface mass
produced by a similar system has been independently
estimated by Thornton[52] as $3/m 2. A larger version of
this system has been made by Nitto Kohki (Japan) under
licence to Sydney University. It has a horizontal cham-
ber, and is producing -1000 tubes/day on a one-shift
basis.
Continuous coating which involves translation of glass
tubes either sideways or lengthways through sputtering
sources of appropriate design is also pbssible. Tube
storage and feeding mechanisms are required at both
ends of the coating chamber.
Prototype continuous coaters where the tubes are fed
lengthways through in line hollow cathode magnetrons
have been constructed at Sydney University[70] and
CENG, Grenoble, France[71]. A single glass tube was
fed through a copper magnetron to deposit the low
emittance copper base layer, followed by a stainless steel
magnetron in which a graded film of stainless steel-
carbon cermet was deposited. Grading of the metal car-
bon film was achieved by introducing hydrocarbon gas at
the end of the stainless steel magnetron at which the
coated tube exiied, producing a variation of hydrocarbon
partial pressure along the length of the hollow cathode. It
was possible to make surfaces comparable to the batch
production surfaces, buth high rates were not achieved.
3. TRANSMITTANCE COATINGS
The glass envelope of the collector reflects away radi-
ation which would have otherwise reached the absorbing
surface. The total reflectance for the air-borosilicate
glass-vacuum interfaces is 0.08 at normal incidence, and
increases with increasing angles of incidence. For some
collector arrays, such as those with planar diffuse
reflectors, some of the radiation reflected by the
by the same or another absorber after one or more
reflections from the collector components. However, for
concentrating collectors with specular mirrors, the
majority of such reflected radiation ultimately leaves the
collector aperture and is lost.
The application of antireflection layers to both sur-
faces of the glass therefore acts to increase the collector
efficiency. The maximum increase which can be expected
is of order 8 per cent of the optical collection efficiency
rio so it is clear that the method of application of the
antireflection layer to the outer envelope must be cheap
to justify using it. This rules out vacuum deposition
techniques, and most acceptable processes are based on
a solution dip of the tube.
Antireflection films on soda lime glass may be
produced by liquid phase etching[72], and vapour phase
 614 B. WINDOWand G. L. HARDING
04 ! 4.1 Sources of gas
R
-5 1.0 1.5 20 2.5
×(~m)
Fig. 6. Reflectancevs wavelength for borosilicate glass with and
without antireflection layers. - - × - - . Reflectance of normal
borosilicate glass sheet (no surface treatment); . . . . . O. . . . . ,
borosilicate sheet after heat treatment at -630°C followed by
chemical etching. - - O - - . borosilicate sheet after withdraw-
ing from an aqueous suspension of silica particles and firing in air
at 500°C.
etching[7~ 73]. The process is one of removing the more
soluble oxide components which are naturally segregated
in this glass, leaving behind a porous low refractive index
film. The single surface solar reflection loss is reduced
from 0.04 to -0.01. Selective etching of soluble oxides
within a surface layer of borosilicate glass is also
possible[74]. First the oxides were separated by heating
the glass to 630°C for several hours, one component
being deficient and the other rich in silica, followed by
dipping in the etching solution. The porous layer of silica
reduced the reflectance per surface from 4 to 1.5 per
cent[75]. Figure 6 shows the behaviour of borosilicate
sheet with and without this layer. Unfortunately, the long
heat treatment at 630°C does make this process un-
attractive for mass production.
A promising process is the deposition of thin films of
particulate silica on the surface of the glass by with-
drawing from an aqueous suspension of discrete silica
spheres (10-20nm dia.), followed by firing at 500°C for
about l hr[76]. The layer of close packed spheres
behaved like a porous film with refractive index n - 1.3,
intermediate between those of air and glass, reducing the
solar reflectances to 0.01-0.015 per surface (Fig. 6)
[72, 77]. The surface was stable out of doors, but could
be damaged with vigorous abrasion. It is suited to the
mass production of evacuated collectors, as the bake
needed to promote adhesion of the surface could be the
same heat treatment required during evacuation of col-
lectors.
4. VACUUM INSULATION
The vacuum surrounding the absorbing element is
essential to the good performance of evacuated collec-
tors. Its major function is to reduce heat loss from the
absorbing surface, but it also provides a stable environ-
ment for the selective surface. It also acts to increase the
strength of the outer envelope by placing it in com-
pression.
It is necessary to maintain the gas pressure below
-0.1 Pa to effectively eliminate the conducted heat loss.
This can be achieved by reducing the sources of gas by
correct processing and usage and by including systems to
capture released gases.
Besides direct leaks, the supply of gas from various
sources depends on thermally activated processes in or
on the vacuum walls, such as desorption and diffusion,
and is strongly temperature dependent.
4.l.l Permeation. Permeation is the process where
gases present in the atmosphere or in the heat extraction
system, pass through the glass walls and the selective
surface into the vacuum space. For glass systems, per-
meation is significant only for helium atoms.
The permeation rates for helium through various glas-
ses have been measured by Norton[78]. His published
figures indicate that helium permeation through a soda-
lime glass (Corning 0080) should be so low that it would
take many years of operation at 300°C before an ap-
preciable fraction of the -0.5 Pa of helium normally
present in the atmosphere would build up in the vacuum
space. In contrast, the permeation rates for helium
through borosilicate glasses (Corning 7740), with their
much more open network structure, are such that a
collector operating at 300°C absorber temperature for
only 6 months would accumulate nearly the full 0.5 Pa
pressure. These figures depend on actual collector
geometry, but do show that significant helium permeation
will occur for borosilicate glasses but' not for soda lime
glasses.
The ultimate pressure built up inside a collector will
not necessarily be the full 0.5 Pa, and wiii depend on
details of the thermal history and operation[79]. Typic-
ally, the increase in heat loss at 100°C from a collector
tube will amount to 15 W/m 2 of selective absorber area,
which will have a small but noticeable effect on thermal
performance. It is not removed by getters and must be
tolerated in borosilicate systems.
4.1.20utgassing from glass. The principal con-
taminant of glass is water vapour, adsorbed on the
surface and incorporated in the bulk of the material
during manufacture[80, 81]. The surface adsorbed water
is evolved on heating to modest temperatures (-150°C),
while the interior water which has to diffuse to the
surface of the glass is more difficult to remove.
Todd[81] studied the evolution of water from both
borosilicate and soda lime glasses. From this work cer-
tain general conclusions can be drawn. First, there is
typically about 100 times as much water adsorbed on the
surface than is necessary to raise the pressure in a
collector to a significant 0.5 Pa. Second, a prolonged
bakeout (>1 hr) at high temperatures (e.g. 600°C) is
necessary to significantly reduce the subsequent bulk
outgassing at lower temperatures, e.g. 300°C. Third, col-
lector degradation rate due to bulk outgassing is drama-
tically increased with operation at higher temperatures;
for example, the same pressure of gas will accumulate in
105 hr at 300°C, 3000 hr at 350°C and 300 hr at 400°C.
The procedure adopted at Sydney University is to
bake the inner glass tubes at 400°C in dry air prior to
coating. This removes mainly surface water, promoting
adhesion in the later selective surface deposition (bub-
bling has been observed on heating coatings deposited on
unbaked tubes). After fabrication, the entire collector is
baked.
 Progress in the materials science of all-glass evacuated collectors
itO0
R they leave the vicinity of the wall, and adopt a Max-
4OO
. . . .
200 400 600 800
T('C)
Fig. 7. Outgassing rate R(nmHg/mg°C) vs temperature for sam-
ples of graded metal-carbon copper selective surface outgassing
into a volume of 151)cm'. The rate of pressure rise is effectively
measured for the gas at room temperature as the sample is
heated at 15°C/min. . Sample of as-deposited selective sur-
face. - . . . . . sample of selective surface after bakeout at 500°C
in a continuously pumped vacuum furnace.
4.1.3 Outgassing from selective surfaces. The outgass-
ing behaviour of the selective surface used in an evacu-
ated collector is important for production, and sub-
sequent operation. Information is only available for the
metal carbon selective surface[82,83] and its behaviour
is discussed below.
Samples of the selective absorber heated in a silica
tube gave off predominantly hydrogen and carbon
monoxide, with small amounts of CO> H20 and hydro-
carbons of the form C,,H_,, +2(n = 1 to 7 at least)[82]. The
hydrogen and the hydrocarbons came from the acetylene
decomposition and polymerisation in the discharge. The
oxygen came from the decomposition of water during the
deposilion [60,831. Small amounts of argon, buried in the
coating during sputter deposition were observed to evolve
at temperatures above 500°C [83, 84].
The rate of gas evolution from samples of selective
surface was studied as a function of sample temperature,
for samples heated at a constant rate[83]. These
experiments showed that although gas was evolved over
the temperature range 200-900°C, the bulk of the gas was
evolved near 480°C. Figure 7 shows the outgassing rate
for a sample of selective surface scraped from a freshly
coated tube, and the outgassing rate for a sample of
selective surface which had been baked at 500°C for a
few minutes. The 500°C bakeout removed 60 per cent of
the volatile material, and the subsequent gas evolution
rate was negligible for temperatures less than 430°C.
These results indicate that the collector should be sealed
at a lower temperature than the bakeout temperature to
reduce vacuum deterioration during the cooling of the
surface [83].
4.2 Gaseous heat loss studies
4.2.1 Theory. The heat loss due to gas in the vacuum
space becomes appreciable compared with the solar flux
at pressures (-0.1 Pa) where the mean free path of the
gas molecules is much greater than the gap between the
inner and outer tube walls. This type of heat conduction
is described as Knudsen or free molecule gas
conduction[85]. Heat conduction depends on the tem-
perature difference, but unlike the behaviour at high
615
pressures, it depends on the pressure linearly and on the
gas molecule-surface interactions. At high pressures, the
gas molecules suffer many collisions with the wall before
wellian distribution of velocities characteristic of the
temperature of the wall. In the free molecule regime, a
gas molecule suffers only the one collision with the wall,
and the nature of this interaction determines how much
energy is transferred to or from the gas molecule. This
process is described by a thermal accomodation
coefficient.
c~ = (E(reflected)- E(incident))/(E(wall)- E(incident))
where E is the energy of a reflected, an incident or a wall
molecule.
Another factor which must be included is the ad-
sorption and desorption of gas molecules from the ab-
sorber surface as it is heated, resulting in a change in the
number of molecules contributing to conduction[82]. A
range of behaviour from a temperature independent to a
highly temperature dependent conductivity is expected
as the molecule-wall interaction becomes stronger.
4.2.2 Experimental studies of conduction losses.
Thermal conduction losses have beeff determined for a
concentric tubular collector containing air at pressures
0.5-130 kPa, by measuring the power input required to
maintain a static temperature rise for a circulating fluid
through the absorber tube[86]. Heat losses at these high
pressures were large for operating temperatures more
than 100°C above ambient, and measurements at lower
pressures would be more relevant to typical non-con-
centrating systems. Ortabasi (1975) has studied heat los-
ses at the low pressures 10 s-10SPa, but only for air in a
metal tube-and-fin evacuated collector[87].
More recently, the accommodation coefficients in the
free molecule conduction regime were measured for an
assortment Of gases in the concentric cylinder system by
calorimetry (balancing the heat losses with electrical
heating[88]. These accommodation coefficients for Ar, H2,
He, CO, N2 and H20 for a glass surface in the temperature
range of 20-150°C, and for a metal-carbon selective
surface in the range 100-300°C are shown in Figs. 8 and 9
respectively. The decreasing accommodation coefficients
were attributed to smaller interaction times at higher
temperatures.
The behaviour of collectors sealed with various gases
inside were also studied[82]. For most gases, it was
found that the expected increase in conductivity due to
an increase in pressure on heating one surface was offset
by the decrease in accommodation coefficient on that
surface, and the overall thermal conductivity was close
to being temperature independent over the temperature
range 100-300°C. Such behaviour was observed in some
collectors which had been deliberately degraded (Fig.
10).
However, for water vapour, a temperature dependent
conductivity was reported, due to the releasing of the
absorbed gas as the inner surface was heated. Such
behaviour was also observed in collectors which had
been sealed without getters and deliberately degraded
616 B. WINDOWand G. L. HARDING

1"0
t
1

oc
~ ~ Ar
0
~2
100I
0.4
o
0 100 203 300
L He
02 ~ ~ H 2 TENPERATURE (*C)

Fig. 10. Graphs of conducted power per unit area of absorber

3O0 4OO 500 tube (Q(,), vs absorber tube temperature (envelope temperature
TEMPERATURE ( K )
-22°C) for degraded collectors containing the stainless steel-
Fig. 8. Accommodation coefficients ~ vs temperature T for carbon selective surface. O, Collector incorporating an alu-
various gases on a glass surface. minium-bariumgetter; 0, collector not incorporating a getter.

with some small degradation in solar absorptance and

thermal emittance. This is close to the softening limit for

~
SELECTIVE SURFACE
1"0
OCo~
i ~I--- N~
06
~H2
0~ ~ H e
~o 500 " -660
TEMPERATURE ( K )
Fig. 9. Accommodation coefficients u vs temperature T for
various gases on a graded stainless steel-carbon selective surface
on glass.
(Fig. 10). It has been pointed out that this behaviour may
be desirable in a collector as it acts to limit stagnation
temperatures [82].
4.3 Production considerations
During evacuation the maximum amount of gas must
be removed from the collector in the minimum time. The
collector should be heated and cooled at the maximum
rates, and it should be held at the high temperature for
the minimum time. Estimates of the heating and cooling
rates for borosilicate glass heated and cooled from one
side and 1.5 mm thick are 500 and 100°C/min[89]. The
maximum temperatures are set by the tolerance of the
selective surface and/or the softening of the glass.
The metal carbon selective surface can tolerate
exposure to temperatures -500°C for periods of 30 rain,
borosilicate. Using this surface, the theoretical minimum
processing time (heat to 500°C, cool to ambient) would
HzO be about 5 rain. In practice, longer times would be
required. Soda glass, because of its lower tolerance to
thermal shock would require processing times at least
twice as long..
-CO Methods of heating the collector vary in effectiveness.
The low emittance and hence high reflectance of the
selective surface for IR radiation causes heating of the
inner tube by heating the outer glass tube to be very slow
(-30rain)[58]. It was shown to be better to heat the
inner glass tube directly with electrical elements[58].
Total process times of about 10 rain were reported for
systems which incorporated aluminium-barium getters
fired in the collector for a final clean-up.
4.4 Gettering methods
Collectors manufactured around the world invariably
include getters, usually of the aluminium-barium type, so
that the overall process time can be reduced. The getter
is fired by RF heating after finally sealing off the
envelope.
Little work has been done on other gas absorbing
systems. The barium getters maintain a level of gas far
below that required for negligible conducted thermal
losses, and other simpler methods may give satisfactory
results. There are getters based on zirconium and
titanium which are bulk getters operating at 300°C[90].
Collectors could be regenerated by heating included
chips of alloy, or the material could be applied to the
absorber tube as part of the selective surface, where
stagnation operation would promote the gettering action.
Another large surface area within the collector which
could play an important role is the inner surface of the
collector envelope. This surface would strongly adsorb
most molecules, and if coated with a porous
 Progress in the materials science of all-glass evacuated collectors
antireflectionlayer could adsorb large quantities of gas.
Unfortunately, such an antireflection layer would in-
crease the accommodation coefficients for most gases to
unity, leading to increased thermal losses with gases
present.
5. REFLECTORMATWALS
A major difference between the all-glass collector and
the flat plate collector is the tubular nature of the collec-
tor surface in the former. This leads to the use of
reflectors to utilise the entire collecting area of the tube,
and introduces a set of materials problems not usually
encountered in flat plate technology, but which have
been investigated in part in connection with concentrat-
ing systems.
The most efficient array in terms of capturing the
maximum solar radiation is one in which the tubes are
placed side by side, with a simple reflector behind.
Spacing the tubes apart lowers the collector efficiency,
but the benefits are fewer tubes per unit area, simplified
manifolding of the tubes, and a reduction in the thermal
losses per unit collecting area. At higher temperatures or
low fluxes, the loss in optical collection efficiency can be
more than offset by the decreased thermal losses.
Two different approaches have been used; diffuse (or
white) reflectors, and specular (or mirror) reflectors. The
first all-glass evacuated collector of Owens-Illinois[3]
used a planar white reflector, but the trend is to use
specular reflectors, usually of the compound parabolic
twP11.
5.1 Computer studies of design
It is expensive to fabricate complex reflector shapes
for actual testing of panels to give comparative per-
formance data. A more efficient approach is to measure
the properties of small samples of the reflector and
combine these properties in a ray tracing program to
predict collector performance.
Computer programs have been used to study the per-
formance of evacuated collectors with different types of
reflector[92-941. Figure 11 shows some results obtained
for the optical collection efficiencies at normal incidence
as a function .of collector spacing with planar diffuse
white reflectors and specular reflectors of the involute
type[92,93]. The common parameters in all calculations
were a solar absorptance of 0.875 for the surface, and an
envelope absorptance of 0.02. For the planar white
reflector spaced 1.5 absorber tube diameters behind the
absorber centres, the reflectance was assumed perfectly
diffuse and of magnitude 0.85; for the specular reflector,
a truncated involute, the reflectance was taken as that of
aluminium as a function of angle, but set to be 0.85 at
normal incidence. These curves show how the specular
reflector outperforms the white reflector, with the
differences being small at spacings less then two ab-
sorber tube diameters.
Changes in collector geometry, such as truncation of
the reflector to cut production costs[94] or inclusion of
gap loss removal features, and changes in collector sur-
faces, such as would occur with design improvements or
degradation of the surfaces can be readily tested.
617
3w- A 30
Collector Spacing (Diameters)
Fig. Il. Collector efficiencies 70 for normally incident sunlight as
a function of collector spacing (in absorber diameters) for specu-
lar and diffusely reflecting mirrors. The selective surface is
assumed to have an absorptance (at normal incidence) of 0.875,
and both the specular and diffuse mirrors are assumed to have
reflectance 0.85.
5.2 Reflector materials and lifetimes
The methods of production of the specular and diffuse
reflectors are quite different, but their lifetime problems
are very similar. The mirror surface must be protected
from the environment, and the protection should not
markedly affect the performance of the collector ap-
preciably during its life.
The simplest protection method is to have a surface
which continually renews itself. Self chalking white
paints are available and make good reflectors of long life
if applied sufficiently thickly initially. Plastic films can be
used to protect the reflector, such as in conventional
white paints or plastic sandwich reflector films with
adhesive backing.
Glass is undoubtedly the best protective layer, and can
be used in the form of a glaze on enamelled white
reflectors, in the form of a shaped concentrator with
back surface silvering and aluminising[95], or in the form
of a separate protective sheet, covering either the
reflector alone or the whole collector.
5.2.1 Practical systems. The first collector produced by
Owens-Illinois used a planar white reflector, but recent
trends are to specular reflectors because of the improved
performance at larger tube spacings.
Specular reflectors of the compound parabolic type are
currently in use in evacuated collectors in panels mar-
keted by General Electric and Sunmaster in the U.S.A.
Specular reflectors have been tested under accelerated
ageing by Sandia Laboratories [96]. A simulation of 12 yr
operation for anodised aluminium mirrors resulted in
severe corrosion. Aluminised acrylic film with a protec-
tive polymer film on the aluminium[97] exhibited poor
abrasion resistance, and tended to delaminate from the
support structure. However. this material is used exten-
sively in collector panels, and has shown minimal
degradation after 5 yr actual operation[98]. Silvered glass
618 B. WtNDOWand G. L. HARDING
exhibits superior reflectivity--up to 0.95 compared with
0.75 for anodised aluminium and 0.85 for polymer-alu-
minium films, and better durability. To produce the
required shapes, the glass may be thermally formed, or
the silvered sheet can be laminated on to sheet steel and
mechanically deformed into the required shape. Produc-
tion costs in all these processes are high, and the long-
term durability is still questionable. A problem with thin
film silver is its susceptibility to oxidation by 02 or H20,
at the edges of the mirror or due to permeation of these
gases through protective plastic films. Sputtered alu-
minium silver alloys[99] have higher corrosion resistance
but lower reflectances.
6. MANIFOLDING AND SYSTEM DESIGN
The interconnection of the collector tubes into a panel
contributes substantially to the cost of the completed
panel, and there is a need to develop simpler manifolds
using, cheaper materials and lower cost construction
techniques. Materials considerations are most important
with factors such as corrosion by heat transfer fluids,
breakage by thermal or physical shocks and deterioration
of insulation with exposure to air, rain or humidity, all
being relevant. It is instructive to list some features
which are considered desirable in any completed collec-
tor panel.
(a) Low cost.
(b) Low thermal losses.
(c) Low heat capacity of collectors.
(d) Low average absorbing surface temperature rela-
tive to the fluid temperature.
(e) Low internal and external corrosion.
(f) Ability to withstand stagnation operation for leng-
thy periods,
(g) High thermal shock resistance.
(h) Low pumping power requirements.
(i) Constant impedance to flow.
Many of these features should be essential; the lack of
others can be tolerated or designed around in system
construction. In general, it would be more cost effective'
in large arrays to use a very simple manifold with ad-
ditional control gear than to use an expensive but in-
trinsically more reliable manifold.
6.1 Manifolding systems
Three types of manifold scheme for all-glass collectors
have been used commercially in the U.S.A. These are the
original Owens-Illinois collector[3], the General Electric
collector[8] and the Sunmaster collector[10].
The more complex manifold scheme as used by
General Electric is shown in Fig. 12(a). The heat transfer
fluid flowed through a copper metal U-tube within a
collector tube. The heat was transferred from the inner
surface of the inner glass absorber tube to one arm of the
copper U-tube by means of a split cylindrical copper fin.
The individual collectors were mounted with the open
end down and were connected in series.
A disadvantage of manifolds of this type is the
presence of an appreciable temperature penalty [100] due
to thermal impedances from the glass surface to the
copper tube. The glass-fin gap must be small, and cor-
F
I !! E
(a~ (b)
Fig. 12. Schematic diagrams of all-metal manifolds. (a) General
Electric (U.S.A.) with series connection of tubes. (b) Sydney
University with parallel connection of tubes. A, Fluid inlet
(copper pipe); B, fluid outlet (copper pipe); C, copper U-tube
( ~ 6 mm dia.); D, copper fin welded to outlet side of copper
U-tube (GE); E, rolled aluminium fin, snug fitting around
outlet side of copper U-tube (Sydney University); F, heat
transfer compound between aluminium fin and U-tube; G,
absorber tube; H, collector envelope.
rosion in this region could adversely affect performance
by increasing the temperature penalty. Another bad
aspect of this design is the scratching of the internal
surface of the inner glass tube when the metal fin is
inserted. This markedly reduces the ability of the glass
tube to withstand thermal shock in operation, parti-
cularly for soda glass as used in the GE collector. The fin
could be coated before insertion to minimise this
scratching.
A similar manifolding scheme has been developed at
the University of Sydney. The copper fin has been
replaced by an aluminium fin, which is shaped so as to
clip on to the copper tube (Fig. 12b). The individual tubes
are connected in parallel rather than in series to reduce
the panel impedance to pumping, and the tubes are
mounted with the open end up. A penalty in the parallel
arrangement is the tendency for the flows through the
tubes to be unbalanced because of frictional losses and
Bernoulli pressure changes along the inlet and outlet
headers[101-105]. These effects favour Maximum flows
through the first and the last tubes where the inlet and
outlet are on opposite sides of the panel. The effects can
be reduced by making the cross-sectional area of the top
pipes considerably greater than that of the feed U-tubes,
by tapering these pipes or by inserting an impedance in
each U-tube. However, there is a natural thermosiphon-
ing within each tube acting to balance flows, and this
should be adequate in most situations. Such a collector
will operate well in a thermosiphoning hot water
system[106].
 Progress in the materials science of all-glass evacuated collectors
E University of Sydney and used in some experimental
Fig. 13. All-glass evacuated collector showing a manifold of the
fluid-in-glass type developed by Owens-Illinois. Collector tubes
are connected to both sides of the manifold. A, evacuated
collector tube envelope; B, absorber tube (coated on its outside
by a selective surface); C, glass feeder tube; D, retaining clip
(stainless steel) and getter ring; E, manifold connection with O
ring seals onto the collector and feeder tube.
Corrosion of the aluminium fin, particularly at the
copper aluminium interface (Fig. 12b) could present
problems, and for this and heat transfer reasons a sili-
cone paste is included at this point. Similar technology
has been used for years in the flat plate collector industry
in Australia apparently with no problems[107].
However considerably lower stagnation temperatures
occur in flat plate collectors, and the behaviour of this
junction and of the fin in general will have to be monitored
over some years to confirm the suitability of this design.
Lower cost manifold schemes rely on containing the
heat transfer fluid directly in the glass absorber tube. The
Owens-Illinois collector was the first one of this type,
and although difficulties were encountered in the initial
stages, there are many large installations which are
operating satisfactorily today.
The principle features of this scheme are shown in Fig.
13. The manifold was double sided, with a single feed
tube running into opposing collector tubes. The fluid
entered at the open end of one tube, flowed through the
annulus to the bottom, through the feed tube into the
opposing tube, and back through the annulus to the
open end of the opposing tube. From there it flowed to
the next pair and so on. Thus the tubes were all in series.
Problems encountered in such systems include leaks at
the O-ring seals, and breakage as a result of thermal
shock[108]. The high heat capacity of the system due to
the contained water is also a minor disadvantage, and it
can not be readily drained.
Figure 14 shows a manifold system constructed at the
Fig. 14. Schematic diagram of a section of a fluid-in-glass mani-
folding system developed by the authors. A, collector tube: B,
manifold box: D, division of 1" manifold pipe: 1, polyurethane
insulation segments; O, O ring seal onto absorber tube; P, metal
foil partition in absorber tube (this is absent in the "partitionless"
design).
619
installations. Unlike the Owens-Illinois design, it is sin-
gle sided, with the open end up to assist in gas removal
and the individual tubes are connected in parallel rather
than serially to minimise the impedance to the flow. The
two flow paths were provided within the glass tube by a
metal partition. The entire cross-section of the absorber
tube makes up the flow channel, and is comparable to the
header pipe diameter, leading to widely different flows in
different absorber tubes because of Bernoulli effects.
However, it has been shown that bouyancy forces within
each tube act to balance the flows in such an array[109].
Problems in liquid-in-glass systems are the high heat
capacity, the seals, and the possibility of breakage if
thermally shocked. This last problem is magnified by
scratching the inner surface of the absorber tube while
inserting the partitions, and tubular feeds as used in the
Owens-Illinois collector could be more satisfactory.
However, it has been shown[109] that no flow dividers
are required, as buoyancy forces resulting from the
heating of the fluid set up circulation within the absorber
tube, leading to effective heat transfer along the long
narrow absorber tube to the header pipe. In a complete
panel, a parallel or serial connection of tubes could be
used, with the latter (Fig. 15) maximising and balancing
the flows into the top of each tube. This approach leads
to low cost manifolds which are easy to assemble and
maintain, and which have extremely low impedance.
Another fluid-in-glass scheme is that used by Sun-
master, U.S.A.[10]. The tubes are mounted with their
open end down, and are connected in parallel (Fig. 16).
Water flows into the annulus between the absorber tube
and a glass return flow tube through an impedance to
balance the flow, rises to the end of the inner tube and
falls down the return tube to leave the absorber tube.
When the circulating pump is switched off, the fluid can
drain from the collector under gravity, usually intt~ an
insulated holding tank.
The advantages of this system are the retention of
some of the energy retained in the fluid in the panel, and
the ease of shutdown in the case of electricity or pump
failure. However, the extra holding tank increases cost,
and can not be mounted far below the panels because of
the difficulty in providing large heads with inexpensive
t" '~
fY
_/
Fig. 15. Schematic diagram of a fluid-in-glass series manifolding
system involving no fluid feed within the absorber tubes. A,
Absorber tube: B, metal plugs with O ring seals onto the glass: C.
copper tubes: D. fluid inlet to absorber tube; E, fluid exit from
absorber tube.
620 B. WINDOWand G. L. HARDING
\
Fig. 16. Schematic diagram of a section of a drainable water in
glass manifold developed by Sunmaster Corp., U.S.A. A, Copper
inlet/outlet pipes (-25 mm dia.) and copper cup; B, O ring seals;
C, small diameter tube functioning as an impedance for flow
equalization, and as the drain tube; D, glass tube for fluid outlet:
E, water; F, evacuated collector tube; G, insulation within mani-
fold box.
pumps. Also, after draindown, the circulating fluid can
not be reintroduced into the collector until the absorbing
surface cools to about 100°C.
The principal problems associated with materials in
evacuated all:-glass systems lie in corrosion and
mechanical breakage due to thermal shock. Corrosion of
metal components exposed to the atmosphere can in-
crease the surface temperature of the absorber tube in
metal systems. Corrosion of glass by water limits the
temperature of operation of all-glass systems with water
at about I10°C. Thermal shocking is less of a problem
with borosilicale tubes than soda glass tubes, and can be
greatly reduced by minimising scratching of the inner
tube.
6.2 Systems design
Careful system design can help to eliminate problems.
Here we concentrate on the thermal shock problem in
collectors of the non-drainable fluid-in-glass type.
i i !
Fig. 17. System design for a demonstration project at the Solar Energy Advisory Centre, Sydney. A, water mains;
B, filter; C, header tank; D, overflow and steam relief pipe; E, pump; F, electromagnetic valves (open in no power
situation); G, heat exchanger: H, collector panels (utilizing manifold described in Fig. 23); I, airbleeds; J, drain
valve: K, globe valves (for flow adjustment): L, isolation valves.
If the pump fails, the water in the collectors will
ultimately 6oil. With adequate means of venting, the
collectors will tolerate the physical shock associated
with boiling, but can be subjected to thermal shock as a
result of this boiling action. Two mechanisms which give
thermal shock are the expulsion of water from one tube
into another stagnating tube, and the forcing of water
into the panel by atmospheric pressure as steam pockets
contract with decreasing insolation and absorber tem-
perature.
The simplest protection method involving use of a
header tank to replace water, reduces the chance of
breakage due to the first mechanism, but leaves the
second mechanism likely. A more positive approach is to
use the header tank to provide a flow of water through
the collectors.
Figure 17 shows a schematic of an installation of
collectors of the fluid-in-glass type (Fig. 14) installed on
the Solar Energy Advisory Centre of the NSW
Government in Sydney. If the pump fails, an elec-
tromagnetic valve on the outlet side of the array opens,
and water flows from the mains via the header tank
through the panels and then to waste. Thus the array is
fully protected, and when the pump begins to function,
the system immediately starts collecting energy. In the
case of load removal, the water boils in the collector
tubes, and water and steam are ejected through a relief
pipe, with the water returning to the header tank. A
similar protection scheme guards the Owens-Illinois col-
lector installation on the Irvine School, Calif. [110].
There is clearly a need for much more' experimentation
on low cost solutions to the manifold design, and for a
close examination of materials problems which arise with
existing designs.
7. CONCLUSIONS
We have reviewed the progress which has been made
in the materials side of evacuated collector technology in
the past ten years, highlighting where possible the most
H l(
 Progress in the materials science of all-glass evacuated collectors
important problems which remain. We conclude that
although most manufacturers currently use selective
surfaces of qualities below the best that can be achieved,
surfaces with higher performance can be mass produced
and will be utilized as the market develops. Suitable
evacuation processes can produce collectors of long life,
but more streamlined industrial processes are required.
The most important problems at present are the need for
reflectors of higher reflectivity and larger lifetime, and
the need for more developmental work and testing of
manifolding schemes.
Acknowledgements--The authors gratefully acknowledge the
contributions of many others at the University of Sydney to the
progress of the Solar Energy Group there, and thank the University
of Sydney for supporting the Group in the early
stages, and the Government of New South Wales for funding the
work later at a level which has resulted in successful develop-
ment of an evacuated collector. Financial support was also
received from His Royal Highness Prince Nawaf Bin Abdul Aziz
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Science Foundation
for Physics within the University of Sydney.
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621
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622 B. WINDOWand G. L. HARDIN(3
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