Student Name: ……………………………………….

ID: ……………………………………

American University of Beirut

Faculty of Engineering Architecture, Department of Mechanical Engineering

MECH 412 Heat Transfer – May 17, 2021

K. Ghali and N. Ghaddar

Problem (3) (35 points)

Solar radiation can be harvested and transferred to thermal energy that can be used for different heating
applications. This is achieved using solar collectors that act as a clean alternative for boilers operated
using fossil fuels. There exist different types of solar collectors, mainly the flat plate and evacuated
tube solar collectors. The flat plate type suffers from excessive heat losses to the ambient by
convection. However, evacuated tubes are formed of an outer glass tube and an inner copper tube
separated by vacuum (check figure). This vacuum acts as an insulation layer that considerably reduces
the heat losses to the ambient. However, they increase the mass of the collectors and require a larger
supporting frame.
External convection can be promoted using a fan that creates a velocity ranging between 1 m/s – 5 m/s.
The objective is then to determine the optimal glass tube diameter and fan velocity that yields the
minimal total cost given by: 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡 10 ∗ 𝐷 5∗𝑉 .
Assume that the solar radiation is fully transmitted to the copper tube (no solar radiation is absorbed
by the glass); leading to a surface temperature of 110 °C of the inner tube.