Abstract:
Abstract— In the solar-energy industry great emphasis has
been placed on the development of "active" solar energy
systems which involve the integration of several
subsystems: solar energy collectors, heat-storage
containers, heat exchangers, fluid transport and
distribution systems, and control systems. The major
component unique in active systems is the solar collector.
This device absorbs the incoming solar radiation,
converting it into heat at the absorbing surface, and
transfers this heat to a fluid (usually air or water) flowing
through the collector. The warmed fluid carries the heat
either directly to the hot water or space conditioning
equipment or to a storage subsystem from which it can be
drawn for use at night and on cloudy days.
The thermal analysis of a solar flat plate collector is quite
complicated because of the many factors involved. Efforts
have been made to combine a number of the most
important factors into a single equation and thus
formulate a mathematical model which will describe the
thermal performance of the collector in a computationally
efficient manner.
