Physical Principles of Conversion of Solar

Radiation into Heat : Green House Effects

• The name comes from its first use in green houses, in

which it is possible to grow exotic plats in cold climates
through better utilization of of available sunlight

• Most of the energy received from the sun – in the form of

light – a shortwave radiation, not all of which is visible
to human eye.

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A : Long-wavelength infrared light is C: Short-wavelength
reflected by the glass infrared light is
absorbed and re-
B: Visible and short-wavelength
emitted as long-
infrared pass through the glass
wavelength infrared
(heat)

D: Visible light is
reflected.

E: Reflected visible
light passes through
the glass.

F: Long-wavelength
infrared light is
reflected by glass
and is trapped inside EE 705/3, SP 2
the greenhouse.
 Solar Thermal Collectors:
• It is an equipment in which solar energy is collected by
absorbing radiation in an absorber and then transferring
it to a fluid.

• Two Types:
• 1) Flat Plate Solar Collector:
• 2) Concentrating type Solar Collector:

1) Flat Plate Solar Collector:

• No optical Concentrator
• The collector area i.e., the area receiving the solar
radiation and the absorber area are numerically same
• The efficiency is low
• The temperature of the working fluid can be raised only
up to 100oC

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 2) Concentrating type Solar Collector:

• Mirrors and lenses are used to concentrate the sun rays

of the absorber
• The area receiving the radiation is several times larger
than absorber area.
• The efficiency is high
• The fluid temperature can be raised up to 500oC
• For better performance, the collector is mounted on a
tracking equipment to always face the sun with its
changing position.

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 Flat-Plate Collector

Five major parts:

(1) Metallic Flat Absorber Plate, 2) Tubes or Channels,
(3) Transparent Toughened Glass Sheet, 4) Fibre Glass Insulation, (5)
Container

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 Flat-Plate Collector

• Five major parts:

1) Metallic Flat Absorber Plate:
• Made of high thermal conductivity material like copper, steel
or alumnium and having black surface.
• Thickness ranges from 0.5 to 1 mm

2) Tubes or Channels: These are soldered to the absorber plate.

• Water flowing through these tube takes away the heat from
the absorber.
• The diameter of tubes ≈ 1.25 cm
• The diameter of the header pipe that leads water in and out of
the collector and distributes it to absorber ≈ 2.5 cm

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3) Transparent Toughened Glass Sheet:
• Used as a cover plate
• Thickness 5 mm
• It reduces heat loss due to convection through a stagnant air layer
between the absorber plate and the glass
• Radiation losses are also reduced as it is transparent to short
wave radiation and nearly opaque to long wave radiation emitted
by interior collector walls and absorbing plate.

4) Fibre Glass Insulation

• Provided at the bottom and on the sides to minimize heat loss
• Thickness 2.5 to 8 cm

5) Container:
A container encloses the whole assembly in a box made of metallic
sheet or fibre glass

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• As the heat transfer fluid is liquid this type of Flat Plate Collector is
also known as Liquid Flat Plate Collector

• Air may also be used as heat transfer fluid

• The whole assembly is fixed on a supporting structure that is

installed in a tilted position at a suitable angle facing south in
northern hemisphere.

• For the whole year, the optimum tilt angle of collectors is equal to
the lattitude of its location

• During winter, the tilt angle is kept 10-15o more than the latitude of
the location while in summer it should be 10-15o less than the
latitude of the location

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Flat Plate Collector

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 Concentrating Collectors
• Solar radiation is concentrated to a smaller area of the absorber
plate or receiver by an optical system either from the reflecting
mirrors or from refracting lenses and the temperature can be
increased up to 500oC.

• For higher collection efficiency, concentrating collectors are

supported by a tracking arrangement that tracks sun all the time, so
that beam radiation is on to the absorber surface.

Some Definitions regarding Collector:

i) Concentrator: The optical subsystem that projects solar radiation on
to the absorber
ii) Receiver : It includes the absorber, its cover and accessories.
iii) Aperture: Opening of the concentrator through which solar radiation
passes.
iv) Concentration Ratio (CR): It is the ratio of the effective area of the
aperture to the surface area of the absorber.
Value of CR : range from unity (for flat plate collectors) to a
thousand (parabolic dish collector).
CR is used to classify collectors by their operating temperature
range EE 705/3, SP 10
 Types of Concentrating Collectors
• Non-focusing Type:
1) Plane Receiver with Plane Collectors
2) Compound Parabolic Collector with plane Receiver or Compound
parabolic Concentrator (CPC) or Winston Collector

Focusing Type:
1) Line Focusing
(a) Cylindrical Parabolic Collector or Parabolic Trough Reflector
(b) Mirror Strip Reflector
(c) Frensel Lens Collector

2) Point Focusing Type:

(a) Paraboloid Dish Collector
(b) Central Receiver with Heliostat
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Non-focusing Type

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 Plane Receiver with Plane Collectors

•Simple concentrating collector, having up to four adjustable reflectors

all around, with a single collector
If the mirrors are set at proper angle, they reflect solar radiation in addition
to that normally falling on to it
CR varies from 1 to 4
Operating temperature can go up to 140oC
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 Compound Parabolic Collector with plane Receiver or
Compound parabolic Concentrator (CPC)
•Reflectors are curved segments
that are parts of two parabolas
•Solar radiations from many
directions is reflected towards
the bottom.
Because of this characteristics a
large proportion of the solar
radiation, including diffuse
radiation entering through
opening is collected

CR varies from 3 to 10

Tracking adjustment is required after a few days to ensure collection of

8 hours a day
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Compound Parabolic Collector (CPC)

15
Focusing Type : Line Focusing Type

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 Cylindrical Parabolic Collector or Parabolic Trough Reflector

•The reflector is in the form of a trough with a parabolic cross section in

which the image is formed on the focus of the parabola along a line.
The basic parts are:
(i) An Absorber tube with a selective coating located at the focal axis
through which the liquid to be heated flows
(ii) A parabolic concentrator
(iii) A concentric transparent cover
CR ranges from 10 to 30 EE 705/3, SP 17
Parabolic Trough Reflector

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 Mirror Strip Reflector

•A number of plane or slightly curved

(concave) mirror strips are mounted on
a flat base.

•The angles of the individual mirrors

are such that they reflect solar
radiation from a specific direction on to
the same focal line.
The angles of the mirrors must be adjusted to allow for
changes in the Sun’s elevation, while the focal
line (for collector pipe) remains in a fixed position

•Alternatively, as mentioned for parabolic trough collectors, the mirror

strips may be fixed and the collector pipe moved continuously so as to
remain on the focal line

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 Frensel Lens Collector

It is made of an acrylic plastic sheet,

flat on one side, with fine longitudinal
grooves on the other side.

The angle of grooves are designed to

bring radiation to a line focus.

To be fully effective, the Frensel lens

must be continuously aligned with the
sun in two directions, namely, both
along and perpendicular to its length
by orienting it in the north-south
direction with rotation about the length
wise axis).

CR ranges between 10 and 80 with temperature varying from 150oC and 400oC

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Frensel Lens Collector

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Focusing Type : Point Focusing Type

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 Paraboloid Dish Collector

To achieve high CR and

temperature, it is required to build
a point focusing type collector.

As a typical case a dish of 6.6m

in diameter has been made from
about 200 curved mirror
segments forming a paraboloidal
surface.

The absorber located at the focus, is a cavity made of a zirconium-copper

alloy with a black chrome selective coating

The heat-transport fluid flows into and out of the absorber cavity through
pipes bonded to the interior
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 Paraboloid Dish Collector : Point Focusing type (contd.)

The dish can be automatically turned about two axes (up-down and left
right) so that the sun is always kept in a line with the focus and
the base (vertex) of the paraboloidal dish so the Sun can be fully
tracked all times

• The CR ranges from 100 to a few thousands and maximum

temperature up to 2000oC.

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Paraboloid Dish Collector

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 Central Receiver with Heliostat

•This concept is used to collect large amounts of heat energy at one

point

•This system is equivalent to a very large paraboloidal reflector

•It consists of a considerable number of mirrors, each mirror is called a

heliostat, and can be steered independently about two axes so that the
reflected solar radiation is always directed towards a centrally located
absorber mounted on a tower.
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 Central Receiver with Heliostat (contd.)

• Mostly used in tower power plants for producing

electrical energy.

• Heliostats follow the Sun to harness maximum solar

heat.

• Water flowing through the receiver absorbs heat to

produce steam which operates a turbo generator to
produce electricity

• A curvature is provided to the mirrors so as to focus the

sunlight in addition to directing it to the tower.

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