A water-trickle solar collector

Abstract

A trapezoidally corrugated aluminium water-trickle solar collector was constructed and tested under the climatic conditions of Ankara, Turkey (39° 57'N, 32° 53'E). Experimental thermal efficiency curves were constructed for both closed- and open-hole cases. For the open-hole case, a theoretical performance model was developed, which calculates iteratively the energy flows and temperature distributions. Effects of mass flow rate, ambient temperature, solar radiation intensity, and wind velocity on the calculated efficiency of the collector were studied. The major findings were discussed and the problems associated with the design and operation of the system were pointed out.