Applied Energy 14 (1983) 143-159

Heat Loss Optimisation of a Concentric Cylindrical Solar Collector Employing a Cobalt Oxide Selective Absorber

C. C h o u d h u r y , N. K. Bansal a n d H. K. Sehgal Department of Physics, Centre of Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi--110016, India

S UMMA R Y Experimental and theoretical investigations to optimise the geometrical design parameters o f a tubular collector under atmospheric and evacuated ( ~ 10- a torr) conditions are reported. The results indicate that a maximum stagnation temperature, which corresponds to the minimum heat loss, is obtained for a gap width of .,. 12mm. An absorber tube of 35 mm diameter concentric with a cover glass tube of 59 mm diameter was observed to be the best combination. An improvement in the collector performance was observed by increasing the illuminated area of the absorber tube and by evacuating the annular gap in the collector.

NOMENCLATURE C Ca Heat loss coefficient for the heat transfer between the absorber tube and the glass cover (W/m 2 C). Specific heat at constant air pressure (Ws/kg/C). Specific heat at constant pressure of the glass tube (Ws/kg/C). Specific heat at constant pressure of the absorber pipe

c~ c~ d~o d~o

(Ws/kg/C).
Outer diameter of the absorber pipe (m). Outer diameter of the glass tube (m). 143 Applied Energy 0306-2619/83/0014-0143/$03'00 Applied Science Publishers Ltd, England, 1983. Printed in Great Britain

144
gi

C. Choudhury, N. K. Bansal, H. K. Sehgal

Gr g hoc
hot

hvc, hvc (atm)

hpr t hp,,(P)

t! hp~(P)

K k.
Mp

Mo
Nu P

Patna
Pr So S1 $2
s

T~mb

T~o

V.o

Inner diameter of the glass tube (m). Grashof number. Acceleration due to gravity (m/s2). Convective heat loss coefficient for heat transfers from the glass cover to the ambient surroundings (W/m z C). Radiative heat loss coefficient for heat transfers from the glass tube to the surroundings (W/m 2 C). Conductive-convective heat loss coefficient for heat transfer between the absorber tube and the glass cover at atmospheric pressure (W/m 2 C). Radiative heat loss coefficient for heat transfer between the absorber tube and the glass cover (W/m 2 C). Convective heat loss coefficient for heat transfersbetween the absorber tube and the glass cover at pressure, P (W/m 2 C). Conductive heat loss coefficient for heat transfers between the absorber tube and the glass cover at pressure, P (W/m 2 C). Correction factor. Thermal conductivity of air (W/m C). Mass of absorber tube (kg). Mass of glass tube (kg). Nusselt number. Pressure (torr). Atmospheric pressure (torr). Prandtl number. Intensity of incident flux (W/m2). Surface area of the absorber tube (m2). Surface area of the glass tube (m2). Laplace variable. Ambient temperature of the surrounding air (C) (K in eqn. (22)). Temperature of the glass tube at time t (C) (K in eqns (12) and (22)). Temperature of the glass tube at time t = 0 (C). Temperature of the absorber tube at time t (C) (K in eqn. (12)). Temperature of absorber tube at time t = 0 (C) (K in eqn. (12)).

Heat loss optimisation o f a concentric cylindrical solar collector

145

L
t

~g ~p

2 # P
o" ~g

Steady-state temperature of absorber tube (C). Time (s). Heat loss coefficient of heat transfer between the glass cover and the ambient surroundings (W/m 2 C). Annular spacing (m). Absorptivity of absorber tube. Volumetric coefficient of thermal expansion of air (/C). Emissivity of glass cover. Emissivity of absorber tube. Mean free path of the air (m). Dynamic viscosity of the air (kg/ms). Density of air (kg/m3). Stefan Boltzmann constant (W/m 2 K4). Transmissivity of glass.

INTRODUCTION Performance efficiencies of solar collectors are governed by the radiative, conductive and convective losses. These can be greatly reduced by using selective absorber surfaces and by reducing the surface area of the absorber. This concept is utilised in evacuated and non-evacuated tubular collector configurations 1-3 by operating these under concentrated solar flux. Earlier work 4 on fiat plate collectors has indicated that optimum performance is achieved for a critical gap width between the absorber and the cover glass plate. Therefore, further improvement in the performance of the tubular collector configuration can be achieved if the spacing between the absorber tube and the glass envelope is optimised. In this paper, we investigate the tubular collector configuration with the specific purpose of optimising the geometrical parameters for heat loss minimisation under normal and rotary pump evacuated conditions. A comparative experimental photo-thermal analysis of the collector assembly (employing a selective cobalt oxide absorber coating: ~ = 0.88, el00oc= 0-1 5) with different design parameters has been carried out under identical conditions of optical illumination. A theoretical analysis of the heat loss has been undertaken in order to arrive at the transient and stagnation temperatures of the absorber tube for different experimental conditions. Experimental results are found to be in close agreement with the theoretical predictions.

146

C. Choudhury, N. K. Bansal, H. K. Sehgal

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS Figure 1 shows schematically the collector configuration used. It consists of a cylindrical absorber (an aluminium tube with a cobalt oxide selective surface) and a concentric glass cover tube. In this geometry, the steadystate energy balance equation of the absorber pipe illuminated from above can be expressed as:

MpCpdTp= z~S~ - S,C(Tp To) dt

O)

Half of the surface area (S 1/2) of the absorber tube has been considered in the first term of the right-hand side of eqn. (1) since it is illuminated on the upper half only.
Cobalt Oxide Coating ;loss Absorber rGla Pipe / Tul Tube r
r

Vacuum Valve ToVacuum Aluminum End Cap L~I_ / _ J

L

Th5
Th3 (Thermocouples) Th 1 -Insulation Th z "rh4 lh 6

I Fig. 1.

r, Scheme of collector assembly.

Similarly, the energy balance equation of the glass cover would be:
MgCg dTe = S , C ( T p - To) - S 2 U ( T g dt

Tamb)

(2)

C and U in the above expressions define the thermal losses from the absorber tube and the glass cover, respectively. Equations (1) and (2) can be rewritten as:

dr.
di = "' - "2(G T.)

(3)

and"
d T g = b l ( T p _ Tg) - b2Tg -~- b 3 dt

(4)

Heat loss optimisation of a concentric cylindrical solar collector

147

where:
aSoS1 al = z 2MpCp

S1C
a2 -- MpCp

b 1 - SxC MgCg
b2---

SzU

M9C9
S 2 UTam b

and: b3 MgCg (5)

Solving eqns (3) and (4) for Tp by using the Laplace Transform technique, we obtain: sTp o ]'p(S) - s2 + s(a2 + bl + b2 ) + a2bz b,Tpo + b2Tpo + a , +a2Too
+ S 2 + s(a 2 + bt + b2) + a2b 2

albl + a l b 2 + a 2 b 3 + s[s2 + s(a2 + bx + b2 ) + aEb2 ] where:

(6)

= LIr.(t)]
The absorber tube temperature at any instant can be obtained from the inverse Laplace Transform of eqn. (6) as: T.(t) =
- az)-'[aae'"-

a2

+(blT.o + b2Tpo + a , + azT.o)

(~1-a2)-1[ e'''-

e'er] + (albx +alb2 +a2b3)

(7)

X [(a262) - 1 + (oq -- ~ 2 ) - l(o~l e ' ' t - 0~2e'~2t)]

where at and ~2 are the roots of the quadratic equation: s 2 + s(a 2 + b I + b2) + a2b 2 = 0 (8)

148

C. Choudhury, N. K. Bansal, H. K. Sehgal

As t ---,oo, the absorber tube temperature would reach a steady value at which the input energy is completely dissipated by the radiative, convection and conductive losses. This limiting temperature, commonly termed the stagnation temperature, is defined as: lim [Tp(t)] = lim [Tp(s)] = T~
t-*oO S--+O

(9)

In the limiting case, eqn. (7), by substituting values from eqn. (5), reduces to:

~tSo(S 1 1) T s = ' C o T S ~ - k - ~ +Tam b

(10)

The total heat loss from the absorber tube to the glass cover can be written as:

Qp = S 1 C ( T p - To) = Sl(hpr + hpc)(Tp - To)

where: (11) (12)

hp r = a._p(T + T2)(Tp + To) 2 --+

e,p

-1

dol

and:

hpc = Nu k~ X

(13)

In the presence of air in the annular space between the concentric tubes, the Nusselt number is expressed 5 as: Nu = 0-317(Pr. Gr)X/4K where: (d ~3/5 + (do~)3/5 ,--no,Pr =/~C, ka and: (14)

(15)

(16)

Gr = flg(Tp - T o ) X 3 p 2
kt2

(17)

Heat loss optimisation of a concentric cylindrical solar collector

149

On evacuating the annular space between the absorber tube and the glass envelope, the convective heat transfer is suppressed, and:
hpc(P ) = h~(atm)

(18)

Under conditions of suppressed convection at low air pressures in the annular space, the heat transfer is by gaseous conduction and radiation only. When the mean free path of the air molecules, 2, is less than the heat transfer path length, A",thermal conduction for most gases is independent of pressure. At still lower pressures (when 2 > X) the conduction heat transfer coefficient6 can be expressed as:
tt

hpc(P)

ka X+22

(19)

The rate of heat loss from the glass cover to the surroundings is:
Qo = $2 U(To - T~mb) = S2(ho~ + ho,)(T . - Tamb)

(20)

where:
__ Tamb 1/4.

(21)

for natural convection under 'no-wind' conditions and:

hgv -~- 17~,g(T2 + T2amb)(To oF T a m b )

(22)

EXPERIMENTAL Optimisation of the design parameters of the tubular collector was accompanied through a comparative study of opto-thermal performances of different collector assemblies under identical conditions of optical illumination. The experimental set up used for the purpose is shown schematically in Fig. 2. The tubular collector assembly (schematically shown in Fig. 1) is essentially a leak-proof cell in which the absorber tube is held concentric with the outer glass cover tube. The absorber tube is made of aluminium (1 mm thick) and is coated with a highly stable (up to 500 C) selective surface of cobalt oxide ~ by the method of spray

150

C. Choudhury, N. K. Bansal, H. K. Sehgal

Phillips . , NV51(2x2 30) Reflectors A.C.Stabilised ~ ~ - Tungsten

Thermocouples.!.............I Collector Thermocouples! . . . . . . . . . . Ii

/
Fig. 2.

Assembly

Scheme of experimental set up for comparative photo-thermal analysis of the collector systems.

pyrolysis. 8 Different collector assemblies employing different combinations of the absorber tube (dpo = 19 mm, 25 m m or 35 mm) and the cover glass (dgi = 36mm, 49 mm, 59 mm, 69 mm or 79 mm) were studied for their opto-thermal performances. The absorber tube, concentric with the cover glass, is illuminated uniformly along its length by the overlapping radiations from two cylindrical 1000 W tungsten-halogen lamps mounted in Philips NV 51 (2 x 2030 ') reflectors. The intensity of illumination could be varied by changing the tilt of the reflectors and the distance of the absorber surface from the source. The intensity was measured by the short circuit current of a calibrated (2 2 c m 2) silicon solar cell. Calibrated copper--constantan thermocouples (reference temperature, 0 C) were used to measure the temperature of the upper and lower sides of the absorber tube and the inner and outer surfaces of both the upper and lower sides of the glass tube. The rates of rise of temperature from these sensors were recorded by a multipen strip chart recorder. The performance of the optimised collector assembly was also studied for the condition of partially evacuated annular space between the absorber tube and the glass cover. A vacuum of the order of 10-3torr was maintained using a rotary oil pump. This collector was also studied under the condition in which the absorber tube was illuminated from the top and also from the bottom by using a parabolic reflector.

Heat loss optimisation of a concentric cylindrical solar collector RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

151

Heat losses from the absorber tube by radiation, convection and conduction increase the temperature (Tg,) on the inner face of the cover glass tube. Part of this heat energy gained by the glass tube is lost to the surroundings by radiation and convection. The total rate of heat loss from the cover glass depends on the surface area and therefore would be proportional to the diameter of the tube. Hence, for a fixed dimension absorber tube Tg, would be small for the larger diameter cover glass tubes. Therefore, the radiative flux from the absorber tube, which depends on (T~p - T~) would increase with the cover tube diameter. The convective losses from the absorber tube are directly proportional to ( T p - Tgi) 5/4 whereas the conductive losses are proportional to (Tp - Tg,); these losses,
220

-.OIO* ~ ~

20O
oU

< u.,I 13,.. U.I t,Z O

180

160 z ~9

140

120

I0
GAP WIDTH

15
(ram)

20

25

Fig. 3. Experimental ( ) and theoretical ( - - - ) values of stagnation temperature [T~(t ~ 2 h)] as a function of gap width for a 1500 W/m 2 (3000 W/m 2) incident insolation with the absorber tubes of different diameters; II(r-1): 19 mm, &(A): 25 mm or 0 ( 0 ) : 35 mm.

500
~ ~ _ .4~, ~-,~, ~ .,O'

&00
"-O" t,m

E
f) O .J

300

500 400 3O0 2O0

| i i i I

ILl CE

10 15 GAP WIDTH (ram)

20

25

Fig. 4. Heat loss (at 100 C) per unit area as a function of gap width for ! 500 W/m 2 ( ) and 3000W/m z () insolations, the absorber tubes having different diameters, R : 19mm, A : 25mm or Q: 35mm.

150

~100

u'l rn

I0 15 dTp / dt (*C/rain)

20

25

Fig. 5. Absorber tube temperature as a function of dTp/dt for different geometrical parameters (: dpo=35mm, d o = 6 9 m m ; ~r: dpo=35mm, d01=59mm; O: dpo=35mm, d o = n 9 m m ; ~ : dpo=25mm, dgi=59mm; ll: dpo=25mm, do =49mm; &: dpo=25mm, d 0 = 3 6 m m ; I-I: dpo=19mm, dg,=59mm; 0 : dpo=19mm, dg, = 4 9 m m and /k: dpo = 19mm, dgi = 36mm) all for 1500W/m 2 incident insolation.

Heat loss optimisation of a concentric cylindrical solar collector

153

in addition, are inversely proportional to the gap width X between the absorber tube and the glass cover. Hence, the convective and conductive losses would be determined by the combined effects of these two factors. A consideration of all these loss mechanisms suggests the existence of an optimum gap width which would correspond to minimum heat loss. The time dependence of the rate of increase in temperature of the absorber tube under constant uniform illumination is defined by the dynamic conditions of thermal losses. The ultimate temperature reached under these conditions corresponds to a state where the input energy is completely compensated by radiative and conductive-convective losses. The slope (d Tp/dt) of each of these curves at a particular temperature is a direct measure of the rate of heat gain by the absorber tube at that temperature.

1000f 800[-

,., 600 E
crl

q
400
hi "I"

200

75

100 125 ABSORBERTEMPERATURE (C)

150

Fig. 6. Heat loss per unit area as a function of dTp/dt for different geometrical parameters ( : dpo = 35 ram, dg, = 69 mm; : dpo = 35 mm, do, = 59 ram; O : dpo= 35 mm, dgi=49mm; V: dpo=25mm, dg=59mm; II: dpo=25mm, dg,=49mm; &: dpo = 25 mm, do, = 3 6 m m ; I-q: dpo = 19ram, dgt = 59ram; O : dpo= 19mm, dg, = 4 9 r a m and ~ : dpo = 19 ram, dg, = 36 mm) all for 3000 W/m E incident insolation.

154

C. Choudhury, N. K. Bansal, H. K. Sehgal

The ultimate temperature, defined as the stagnation temperature, corresponds to zero slope of the curves. A comparison of these parameters (dTp/dt and Tp(~Tp/dt~O)under identical measurement conditions, therefore, provides a useful technique for comparative analysis of collector geometry and configuration. Figure 3 shows the experimental and theoretical values of the steadystate absorber tube temperature, Tp(t ---,2 h), for non-evacuated collectors as a function of gap width for different absorber tube diameters under different fixed intensities of incident flux. Numerically computed values of heat loss (for the absorber tube at 100C) per unit area of the absorber tube, based on the experimentally measured temperatures for these collector assemblies, are shown in Fig. 4 as a function of gap width (X). It is quite apparent from the above results that the best performance of the collector configuration is obtained for a gap width of ,-~ 12 mm. Figure 5 shows the variation of the absorber tube temperature as a function of
1600

},
/
1200
/

/ / / / I

/ /

?
~n
tO 0 _J

800

//

;'
///,'
t.O0

LU -r

U"
0 0 i I 100 , I 200 l t 300 ABSORBER TEMPERATURE( * C )

Fig. 7. Heat loss per unit area as a function of absorber tube temperature of the nonevacuated (O) and evacuated (Q) collectors without ( ) and with ( - - ) the reflector for 1500 W/m 2 of incident flux.

Heat loss optimisation of a concentric cylindrical solar collector

T

155

250G

T
I

,
I

t
I
2100

I
I

/ t / /
/

i / /

1700

,/,
/

d i / i

!
E

/
1300

/ / /

if} U3 0 .J I-,<{: UJ "1"

/1" ,/
900

/i x
I

500

100 0

I 100 ABSORBER

, I 20O

i 300

TEMPERATURE ( C )

Fig. 8.

Heat loss per unit area as a function of absorber tube temperature of the nonevacuated (O) and evacuated (O) collectors without ( ) and with ( - - - ) the reflector for 3000 W/m 2 incident flux.

d T~,/dt for the collectors with different geometrical parameters studied

under identical conditions of incident flux. The numerically computed values of heat loss per unit area as a function of absorber tube temperature are shown in Fig. 6. The results indicate that the best performance is obtained for a collector employing a 35 mm diameter absorber tube concentric with a 59 mm diameter glass tube envelope.

156

C. Choudhury, N. K. Bansal, H. K. Sehgal

Under normal operational conditions, a tubular collector has the disadvantage of being illuminated only from one side whereas the heat loss occurs from the total surface area. We have investigated the performance of the optimised collector by illuminating it from both sides. In this condition, a substantial increase in the stagnation temperature was observed, as expected. The optimised geometry is also investigated with a 10- 3 torr vacuum in the annular space. The experimental and theoretical values of stagnation temperatures of the collector under different operational conditions are summarised in Table 1. The variation of the rate of heat loss per unit area as a function of absorber tube temperature for the optimised non-evacuated and partially evacuated collectors with and without the reflector are shown in Fig. 7 for an incident insolation of 1500W/m 2. Corresponding results for a 3000 W/m 2 incident flux are shown in Fig. 8. The variations of absorber tube temperature as a function of d Tp/dt for the optimised collector with different experimental conditions for 1500 W/m 2 and 3000 W/m 2 of

250I\ \\\ \
200~\

t \

\~.

15o

0 100

50t 0

I 5

I 10

I 15

I 20

I 25

J 30

dT~/~t I C/~i, )
Fig. 9. Absorber tube temperatureas a function of dTJdt for non-evacuated(O) and ) and with (---) the reflector for 1500W/m2 evacuated (0) collectors without ( incident flux.

TABLE 1 Steady-state Absorber Tube Temperature Under Different Experimental Conditions

P = 760 torr Theoretical Experimental P = 1 0 - 3 torr Theoretical
g~ 5

Intensity ( W / m 2)

Condition

Experimental

Tp(t = 2 h ) (C)

Tp(t =2h) (C)

Tp(t~@) (C)

Tp(t =2h) (oC)

T o (tC)= h) ( 2

Tp ((tc)~ oo)

1 500

3 000

Without reflector With reflector Without reflector With reflector

149 212 205 261

156 222 211 272

179 247 235 296

186 245 247 302

221 267 268 318

254 283 293 341

~t

158
|

C. Choudhury, N. K. Bansal, H. K. Sehgal

3 0 0 "r\ \ \ \ N
\

zsc

\\

x\

1 5 0 --

lo

1s

20

2s

30

drp/dt C'C/min~
Fig. 10. Absorber tube temperature as a function of dTp/dt for non-evacuated (O) and evacuated ( 0 ) collectors without ( ) and with ( - - - ) the reflector for 3000W/m 2

incident flux. incident intensities are shown respectively in Figs. 9 and 10. An improvement in the performance of the collector is observed by evacuating the annular space and also by illuminating the absorber tube over a larger area.

CONCLUSIONS Heat losses from the non-evacuated tubular collector have been observed to be a minimum for a gap width of about 12 mm. Of all the combinations studied, the best opto-thermal performance is obtained for the absorber tube of 35 m m diameter concentric with a cover tube of 59 m m diameter. Illuminating the absorber tube over a larger area results in higher operational temperatures. Evacuating the annular gap to 10-3 torr gives

Heat loss optimisation of a concentric cylindrical solar collector

159

better performance of the collector because of the reduced convective losses.

REFERENCES 1. M. Collares-Pereira, J. O'Gallagher, A. Rabl, R. Winston, R. Cole, W. W. Mclntire, K. Reed and W. Schertz, Sun II, Proc. Int. Solar Energy Soc. Cong. Atlanta, Vol. 2, 1979, p. 1295. 2. A. Rabl, J. O'Gallagher and R. Winston, Solar Energy, 25 (1980), p. 335. 3. Anon., Sandia Laboratory Report, SAND-78-0815, 1978. 4. M. Madhusudan, C. Choudhury, G. N. Tiwari and H.K. Sehgal, Proc. National Solar Energy Convention, Annamalainagar, 1981, p. 177. 5. H. Y. Wong, Heat transfer for engineers, Longman, London, 1977. 6. S. Dushman, Scientific foundations of vacuum technology (2nd edn) (J. M. Lafferty (Ed.)), John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1962. 7. C. Choudhury and H. K. Sehgal, Applied Energy, 10 (1982), p. 313. 8. C. Choudhury and H. K. Sehgal, Solar Energy, 28 (1982), p. 25.