Solar Radiation

Outside Earth’s
Surface
FACTS
• Measurements indicate that the energy flux received from the sun outside the earth’s
atmosphere is essentially constant.
• The solar constant Esc is the rate at which energy is received from the sun on a unit area
perpendicular to the rays of the sun, at the mean distance of the earth from the sun.
• The mean distance between the Sun and Earth is 1.496 x 108 km.
• The value of the solar constant has been the subject of many experimental
investigations. Based on measurements made up to 1970, a standard value of 1353
W/m2 was adopted in 1971 . However, based on subsequent measurements, a revised
value of 1367 W/m2 has been recommended . The difference between the two values
is only 1 per cent.
Extraterrestrial Radiation
• Extraterrestrial radiation is the intensity of the sun at the top of the Earth’s atmosphere.
• It is usually expressed in irradiance units (W/m2) on a plane normal to the sun.
• It varies throughout the year because of the Earth’s elliptical orbit, which results in the Earth-Sun
distance varying during the year in a predictable way.
where

DOY is the Day of the Year (integer)

Rav is the average distance between Sun and Earth
R is the actual distance between Sun and Earth depending on DOY
Esc is solar constant (1367W/m2)
Cont…

• where n is the day of the year.

• Since the cosine function varies from +1 to -1, the extraterrestrial
radiation flux varies by ±3.3per cent over a year.
Annual Variation of Extraterrestrial
Radiation
Direct and Diffuse Radiation
Air Mass (AM)
• Defined as the ratio of the mass of the
atmosphere through which the beam
radiation passes to the mass it would pass
through if the sun is directly overhead (i.e.
at its zenith).

• Used as a measure of the distance travelled by

beam radiation through the atmosphere before
it reaches a location on the earth’s surface.
Cont…
• The zenith angle is the angle made by the sun’s rays with the normal
to a horizontal surface.
• It can be shown approximately that for locations at sea level and
zenith angles from 0 to 70°, the air mass is equal to the secant of the
zenith angle.
• Air mass zero (AM0) corresponds to extraterrestrial
radiation,
• Air mass one (AM1) corresponds to the case of the sun
at its zenith,
• Air mass two (AM2) corresponds to the case of a zenith
angle of 60°.
Solar Radiation on Tilted Surface
•Beam Radiation:
The ratio of the beam radiation flux falling on a tilted sur-face to that falling on a horizontal surface
is called the tilt factor for beam radiation. It is denoted by the symbol

Diffuse Radiation:
The tilt factor for diffuse radiation is the ratio of the diffuse
radiation flux falling on the tilted surface to that falling on a
horizontal surface.

Reflected Radiation:

Flux on Tilted Surface

Solar Thermal System
Solar Collectors

Non Concentrating
Concentrating type
type

Liquid flat plat Flat plat air heating

Focus type Non Focus type
collector collector

Compound
Cylindrical parabolic Fixed mirror solar Modified flat plate
parabolic
concentrator concentrator collector
Concentrating type

Linear Fresnel lens

collector

Point Focus

Paraboloidal dish Hemispherical bowl Circular Fresnel lens Central Tower

collector mirror collector collector receiver
Concentrating Type
• Solar radiation converged
from a larger area into
smaller area using optical
means.
• Absorbs beam radiation
• High temperature is
obtained due to
concentration of radiation
Non Concentrating type
• Simple in construction and
does not require sun
tracking
• Absorbs both beam and
diffused radiation
• High temperatures cannot
be obtained as area from
which the heat lost is large.
• No optical concentration
Performance Indices
• The major solar thermal performance indices are:
• Collector efficiency
• Concentration ratio
• Temperature ratio
• In flat plate collectors, no optical system is utilized to concentrate the solar
radiation and hence the concentration ratio is only 1.
• The temperature range is less than 100⁰C.
• In concentrating type (line focus collectors) the CR goes up to 100 and a
temperature range of the order 150⁰C to 300⁰C.
• A concentration ratio of the order of thousands and temperature range of 500 ⁰C
to 100 ⁰C can be obtained by using point focus collectors.
Liquid Flat Plate Collector
• Parts:
• Transparent cover
• Blackened absorber plate
• Tubes, channels or passages
• Weather tight insulated container to contain the above parts
• Usually the heat transport medium used is water and
sometimes a mixture of ethylene glycol with water is used
when the ambient temperature is below 0⁰C.
• The solar radiation hits the specially treated absorber
plate and raises the plate temperature.
• This heat is transferred to the heat transfer liquid
circulating in the tubes.
• The glass cover is transparent to short wavelengths but
opaque to longer infrared radiation. The glass cover also
prevents heat loss due o convection by keeping air
stagnant.
Cont…
• Absorber Plate Design:
• Pipe and fin type
• Rectangular or cylindrical full sandwich
• Roll bond or semi sandwich type
Advantages
• Compact, simple and requires little maintenance
• Air is used directly as working fluid
• No corrosion
• Less leakage of air from duct
• No possibility of freezing of the working fluid
• Pressure inside collector is not very high
Disadvantages
• Large volume of fluid need to be handled due to low density as a
result of which electrical power required to blow the air can be
significant if pressure drop is not kept within subscribed limits
• Heat transfer between absorber plate and air is poor
• There is less storage of thermal energy due to low heat capacity
Evacuated Tube Collector
• The Evacuated tube collector consists of a number
of rows of parallel transparent glass tubes
connected to a header pipe and which are used in
place of the blackened heat absorbing plate we saw
in the previous flat plate collector.
• These glass tubes are cylindrical in shape.
Therefore, the angle of the sunlight is always
perpendicular to the heat absorbing tubes which
enables these collectors to perform well even when
sunlight is low such as when it is early in the
morning or late in the afternoon, or when shaded
by clouds.
• Evacuated tube collectors are particularly useful in
areas with cold, cloudy wintry weathers.
Cont…
• The common size of evacuated glass tube varies in diameter from
• between 1" (25mm) to 3" (75mm)
• between 5′ (1500mm) to 8′ (2400mm)
length depending upon the manufacturer.
• Each tube consists of a thick glass outer tube and a thinner glass inner tube,
(called a “twin-glass tube”) or a “thermos-flask tube” which is covered with
a special coating that absorbs solar energy but inhibits heat loss.
• The tubes are made of borosilicate or soda lime glass, which is strong,
resistant to high temperatures and has a high transmittance for solar
irradiation.
Applications
• Solar Industrial Heating System