TRANSIENT ANALYSIS OF EVACUATED TUBULAR SOLAR COLLECTOR WITH FINITE-DIFFERENCE TECHNIQUE

This paper presents transient analysis of an evacuated tubular solar c ollector. Basic energy balance equations for the glass envelope, the a bsorber and the fluid are solved using the finite difference technique to predict the various component temperatures as a function of time. Four versions of the evacuated tubular collector are considered for ty pical winter and summer conditions. It is found that an evacuated tubu lar collector with a lower vacuum and a selective coating can yield re ceiver temperature and outlet water temperature of 360 and 180 C, resp ectively, for a typical set of ordinary parameters and summer conditio ns.