The theoretical performance of a solar heating system with a flat plate single glazing collector depends strongly on how the glass cover is analyzed. Accurate data of the optical constants of a clear and low-iron glass materials in the solar range used commonly as covers for solar collector are necessary to achieve a good prediction of thermal performance of such system. Therefore, the real and the imaginary parts of the complex refractive index of the glass materials (clear and low-iron) have been used. The single low iron glass flat plate solar collector provided by THERMO DYNAMICS LTD (G series) used in Japan has been considered in the present study. The G series consists on the absorber with arrangement of parallel riser fins connected to top and bottom headers. A numerical program has been built to predict the thermal behavior of the solar collector. The program has been validated using the test result provided by the supplier. The solar collector combined with a mixed storage tank has been also simulated in five different climates in Japan, using the measured data of solar irradiation, ambient temperature and wind speed of the year 1995 published by Japan Meteorological Agency. The effect of some parameters such as glass cover material, mass flow, inlet fluid temperature and type of absorber surface on the performance of the whole system has been examined. |
