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Mekelle University

Faculty of science and technology

Department of mechanical engineering

Final year project report on

Design, manufacturing and testing of normal solar collector
for house hold use

Advisor: - Mulu Bayray (PhD)

By:-Bekri Musema and
Bruck Alemu

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June 15, 2007

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Table of contents

Acknowledgement..........................................................................................................- 2 -
Abstract...........................................................................................................................- 3 -
Objective.........................................................................................................................- 4 -
Limitation........................................................................................................................- 5 -
1. Literature review.........................................................................................................- 6 -
2. Introduction.................................................................................................................- 7 -
3. Design of components...............................................................................................- 12 -
3.1. Design inputs:....................................................................................................- 12 -
3.2. Design considerations:.......................................................................................- 13 -
3.3. Sizing the collector.............................................................................................- 13 -
3.4. Design of fin.......................................................................................................- 15 -
3.5. Calculation for losses and use full energy..........................................................- 19 -
3.5.1. Top loss.......................................................................................................- 19 -
3.5.2. Bottom loss.................................................................................................- 21 -
3.5.3. Edge loss ....................................................................................................- 22 -
3.5.4. The total loss coefficient.............................................................................- 22 -
3.6. Design of insulation...........................................................................................- 23 -
3.7. Summary of results............................................................................................- 25 -
4. Manufacturing process..............................................................................................- 26 -
5. Economic analysis.....................................................................................................- 28 -
Conclusion....................................................................................................................- 30 -
Recommendation..........................................................................................................- 31 -
Bibliography..................................................................................................................- 32 -
Appendix.......................................................................................................................- 33 -

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Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge our advisor Dr. Mulu Bayray for his overall support and
advice throughout the project. We would also like to thank Ato Michael for his huge
cooperation. At last our appreciation goes to DIF for the financial support.

Bekri M.
Bruck A.

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Abstract

This report contains mainly a design of flat plat collector for house hold uses. It contains
a literature review about the experience solar water heating in the world and in our
country. The introduction part tries to discus briefly about different kinds of solar water
heating systems. The main part of the report which is the design of flat plate collector for
water heating contains the design of the major parts of the collector that is the design of
collector area, the fin and the calculation for the different losses. The collector is
designed to heat 150 liters of water per day assuming that it is used around Mekelle. The
report also contains manufacturing process, taking that the collector is manufactured in
Mekelle University mechanical engineering department workshop. Economic analysis is
done to show the advantage of solar water heating over water heating using electricity.
The main components of the flat plat collector are clearly shown in the assembly and
detail drawings which are included in the report.

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Objective

The objective of this project is to design, manufacture and test a flat plate collector (passive,
direct type).The collector is assumed to work around Mekelle. The basic things to consider are
the cost of the collector, which has to be minimum and able to be manufactured in Mekelle
University mechanical engineering workshop.

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Limitation

 The lack of reference materials on solar energy or solar heating systems was a
huge problem.
 The unavailability and delaines of materials like insulation (urethane foam),
copper pipe etc.
 The lack of cooperation from the workshop, like not willing to give required
tools.
 At last due to the above reasons the manufacturing process was not completed
because of shortage of time.

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1. Literature review

The most common use of the suns energy is to provide light and warmth. How ever, there is
significant potential for providing hot water as well. Solar water heating systems have many
benefits including providing reliable hot water in times of electricity shortage, lower electricity
costs and increasing awareness of a renewable energy resource.

Solar radiation is free, non-polluting and renewable; it has significant environmental benefits
like carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation would be reduced and as well if we are
using a biomass fuel smoke emission would be reduced.

In developed countries like USA so many researches are conducted to increase the efficiency of
SWH and to minimize the cost. Countries like Israel produce and use SWH for domestic
applications.

In our country Ethiopia “thirteen months of sun shine” solar water heaters can function well all
around the country through out the year in which the country can save its biomass wastage in
great amount. How ever, due to lack of awareness and their high costs solar water heaters are not
widely in use; but in recent years different importers involved in the business(importing SWH)
are increasing in number.

In Mekelle University project works have been conducted on solar collectors especially on solar
water heaters. Two project works have been done on solar water heaters employing heat pipes in
the past two years (2005, 2006) by graduating students, in which the last one was manufactured
and tested but failed due to some manufacturing errors.

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2. Introduction

Solar water heating systems consist of three main components:

1. A collector panel to absorb the sun’s energy,
2. A transfer mechanism to move heated water (or a heat transfer fluid) from the solar collector to
a storage cylinder, and
3. A storage cylinder to store heated water (sometimes the cylinder includes a heat exchanger to
transfer heat from the transfer fluid to the usable water).

Open and closed loop systems (direct and indirect): In an ‘open loop’ system, water from the
storage cylinder is circulated through the collector panel and heated directly. In a ‘closed loop’
system, water from the storage cylinder is circulated through a heat exchanger and heated by a
primary heat transfer fluid, which has been heated in the collector panel.

Transfer mechanism: Water or transfer fluid is circulated through the collector panel by one of
two methods:

Natural circulation (passive system): by thermo siphon heated fluid in the collector creates a
natural convection. The cool water (or transfer fluid) moves down from the storage cylinder to
the panel and the more buoyant heated fluid moves up again. With a thermo siphon system, the
storage cylinder must be positioned higher than the collector panel with the connecting pipes
sloping at a specified angle to ensure proper performance. The cylinder is normally positioned
horizontally and immediately above the collector on the roof, or concealed within the roof space.

Using a pump (forced circulation or active system): to move the water or transfer fluid
through the collector panels to the cylinder. The main advantage of a pump is that the cylinder
can be below the collectors, which is suitable for a system where a storage cylinder already
exists at floor level. The pump is used in conjunction with a control unit which ensures that the
pump runs only when the water in the collector panel is hotter than in the cylinder.

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Solar collectors: The heart of a solar energy system is the solar collector a device that absorbs
the sun’s light energy and changes it into heat energy.

General Classification and Application of Solar Collectors

solar collectors (panels) can be classified into two major categories based on the working fluid
used to cool them. These two are "liquid" and "air". Each of these two categories can then be
sub-classified according to average temperature range over which they are intended to be used,
and can be used effectively. These classifications are: "low temperature", "medium temperature"
and "high temperature", with some overlap among the classifications depending on the
construction of the individual collector model.

Low Temperature Collectors

Low temperature solar collectors are typically unglazed flat plate collectors, intended to operate
at temperatures only 5 to 30 degrees above ambient temperature. Low temperature liquid
collectors are used for swimming pool heating. With light glazing and enclosure, they are used as
air collectors for agricultural low-temperature applications such as crop drying.

Medium Temperature Collectors

Medium temperature collectors typically are flat-plate collectors, enclosed in an insulated case,
with one or two glazing. The intended temperature range of operation is from about 15 to 200
degrees F above ambient temperature. For the lower end of this range, single-glazed collectors
with non-selective absorber plates are most cost effective. In the middle and high end of the
range, selective collectors with one or two glazing become more cost effective. Typical
applications include water heating, space heating and some medium temperature industrial
heating uses.

High Temperature Collectors

High temperature collectors include some overlap from flat plate collectors in the medium
temperature range, with selective absorber plates and heavy insulation, and may have
temperature capabilities enhanced in installation by being mounted in a sun-tracking system.
Many other variations of high temperature collectors include evacuated-tube flat plate types,

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parabolic dish reflector types, and parabolic trough types and modified parabola types. Most high
temperature collectors depend on some type of sun tracking, in one or two axes, for effective
operation. Tracking collectors are used to a small extent for domestic water heating and space
heating, but are limited in cost effectiveness and reliability by the complexities of the tracking
mechanisms, where used.

The most common type of solar collector is the flat plate (fig. 1.1) panel. This consists of a flat
sheet absorber or envelope of specially blackened metal. It absorbs the sunlight and transfers the
heat produced into the water, or the transfer fluid, flowing through the collector. The absorber is
enclosed within an insulated housing with a transparent cover. The whole enclosure, or
‘collector’, acts as a greenhouse. It reduces heat loss, enabling the collector to work at elevated
temperatures and ensures that a high percentage of the solar energy goes into the water. Another
increasingly common collector is the type which can reach very high temperatures and works
well in colder and low-sun climates. This collector typically includes heat exchanger at its higher
end and a transfer fluid, which rises in the tubes and heats the water in the heat exchanger.
Ideally a solar collector should face true north and be tilted from the horizontal at an angle
greater than 10°(some times up to-60°) . An ideal angle is equal to the latitude of where the house
is located. The collector on typical domestic solar water heating systems is between 3 and 8
square meters the actual size is related to the size of the cylinder, working to a ratio of about one
square meter of collector per 40 - 70 (some times up to 90) litters of cylinder volume.

Liquid Flat Plate Collector Design and Construction

Liquid flat plate collectors can be further classified into two major sub-classifications, these
classifications are: unglazed and glazed

Unglazed Flat Plate Liquid Collectors

Unglazed liquid flat plate collectors are used almost exclusively for swimming pool heating. The
only major components of a liquid flat plate unglazed collector are the absorber plate and the
water passages. Since no insulation or glazing is needed there is no need for an enclosure.

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Desirable Design and Construction Features of Glazed Collectors

A. Glazing material. For longest life and maintained transmissivity, the most appropriate
glazing material is tempered plate glass. Of the various grades of tempered plate glass, low-iron
glass has the highest transmission and lowest reflection of sunlight. These properties result in
significant increases in collector efficiency. The cost premium for low-iron glass is smaller than
the increase in efficiency, so it is worthwhile.
B. Use of Plastics. Plastic glazing of various types is still used on some solar collectors to reduce
weight and cost, but may reduce performance and lifetime. Plastics inside a well sealed collector
may deteriorate rapidly and will outgas, depositing a haze of condensed oily liquid on the inside
surface of the glazing. Such haze will seriously reduce the collector efficiency. Plastic used in a
collector may also result in limitations or restrictions of collector use in high fire-risk residential
zones by local building and safety departments.
C. Insulation. Urethane or polyisocyanurate case insulation has become popular for solar
collectors because it has a higher insulation value ("R") per inch of thickness than does any other
practical insulation material and is very easy to handle. However, it must be used in solar
collectors with great care. Case insulation is not the only important thermal insulation in a
quality collector. The absorber plate and connecting tubing penetrating the enclosure must be
thermally insulated from the case at all points of support. Heat losses can be severe if either the
absorber or tubing touches the case or is supported through heat-conducting materials to the case.
D. Desiccants. Insulation must be kept dry or it loses all or most of its insulating value. When
the collector is assembled, the air trapped inside will contain moisture which eventually will
condense and become soaked into the insulation. To prevent this, quality collectors contain
porous bags of silica gel desiccant to absorb the moisture. If the collector is properly sealed, it is
not necessary to have access to the desiccant, as it does not require renewal. Desiccant is also
required for the space between the glazing when two covers are used. Typically, the desiccant is
contained in the hollow spacers separating the two glazing panes, and small holes on the surface
of the spacers facing the space between the panes permit the trapped air to contact the desiccant.
If desiccant is not used in either single-glazed or double-glazed collectors, it will become
apparent through condensation of drops of water on the inner surface of the glass.

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E. Enclosure. The enclosure is used to contain insulation, provide support for the absorber and
glazing, and to protect the collector from heat loss due to wind, plus the important function of
keeping moisture out of the insulation from rain and dew. Enclosures are made of an almost
endless variety of materials and designs, including wood cases, aluminum extrusions with sheet
aluminum back, galvanized steel, welded or formed, and even collectors without back covers.
Whatever the case material and construction, it must be weather resistant, fireproof, durable,
dimensionally stable, strong and completely and permanently sealed against moisture intrusion.
As a general rule, the number of joints and seams should be minimized and completely sealed.
Steel should be both galvanized and primed before painting and baking and paint should be
tough and scratch-resistant. Aluminum should be used with caution in areas exposed to salt air or
industrial pollution.
F. Absorber coating. The absorber coating on both unglazed and glazed solar collector absorber
plates must be stable and durable to withstand the weather exposure of unglazed collectors and
the stagnation temperatures of glazed collectors without out gassing. Selective coatings are
particularly cost-effective for large installations for water heating. 1

Fig.1.1 flat plate collector

1
WWW.solarexpert.com

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3. Design of components
3.1. Design inputs:
Since this collector is assumed to work around Mekelle some environmental data of Mekelle are
taken as inputs for the design.

Temperature:
From the metrological data of Mekelle University of 2003, the following data are obtained.
Minimum mean monthly temperature

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
10.3 12.5 14.5 14.97 14.9 14.75 14.35 13.6 12.9 12.36 12.3 9.65

Minimum mean monthly temperature

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
25.5 27.56 27.77 27.63 27.9 28.32 23.56 24.34 26.08 24.773 24.3 23.92

Wind speed
Monthly mean wind speed in m/sec

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
3.27 4.59 4.29 4.94 3.45 2.56 1.83 1.47 1.88 3.63 4.38 4.59

Average wind speed equals 3.61 m/sec but for design purpose therefore we take
5m/sec.

Solar intensity
Since there is no data available about solar intensity of Mekelle University we have taken a
measurement by using a pyranometera on May 6/2007, we have found the average value to be
940 W/m². Note that the solar intensity is expected to be higher in May.
From the above data the following values are taken for the design purpose.

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 Ambient air temperature= 23 ºc
 Minimum ambient air temperature=10 ºc
 Average wind speed= 5m/sec.
 Average hourly solar intensity= 800W/m²
 Average daily sun shine hour= 8 hours.

3.2. Design considerations:

The main aim of this project is to design, manufacture and taste a flat plate solar collar collector
for domestic house hold uses using easily available materials in MU mechanical engineering
department workshop.

So as discussed above in the introduction part among the different solar water heating systems
the one chosen for this design is passive and direct system.

This is because:
 Passive system is cheaper since it does not employ pumps.
 Since the minimum ambient temperature of Mekelle is not less than 5°c, there is no
danger of freezing, so we can use direct system.

Note:-the very first thing that has to be considered through-out this design is the cost of the
collector which has to be as minimum as possible.

3.3. Sizing the collector:

Numerous factors must be considered in sizing a flat-plate solar collector such as the available
solar energy, the efficiency of the collector, local energy costs and the heating needs of the
building. Collector efficiency, in turn, depends on location, orientation and collector surface tilt
angle as well as the workmanship and insulation on all parts of the system.

A) For determining the capacity of or the volume of the cold water cylinder, for a family of
five (taking average family number in Ethiopia) the following estimation is taken.

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Purpose Liters per day
Showering 60
Dish washing 50
Cloth washing 20 (average)
Extra purpose 20
Total 150

B) For determining the over all size of the collector different parameters are considered.
The collector is assumed to work around Mekelle zone and deferent input parameters are
considered from metrological data for Mekelle. i.e.

I=800W/m2
Ta=23°c
Assumptions:
Water inlet temperature, Twi =20°c.
Water outlet temperature, Twi =60°c.
Efficiency of the collector,  =30%
 In different literatures and manufacturers catalogue the efficiency of a flat plate collector
lies between 45 and 60% and considering the manufacturing ability of our workshop it is
assumed to be 30 %.
Solar availability=100%
Assuming that there is an 8 hour solar availability (in average per day) the solar insolation per
day is going to be:
I=7200W/m2
The equation for determining the collector area is:
A = (load \  .I ).(% solaravailability )
Where:
A=collector area in square feet
Load=the energy per day (in Btu/day) to heat needed water to the service temperature.
h=the measure of collector’s efficiency.
I=the average solar insolation in Btu/ft2/day.

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% solar availability = the percent of daily insolation available.
Load= (volume/day) (specific heat of water*density of water) (temperature rise, T in °F)
C p  r =8.34 lb/gal………………………………… (Values are taken from table)

T =60°c-20°c = (140°F-68°F) =72°F

Load = 40*8.34*72
=24019Btu/day
=25324.43265kJ
� A=35 ft2 =3.2m2
Since cost minimization is the main concern it is a must to fit the collector area with the available
material.
The available material is aluminum sheet with:
Thickness= 1mm
Length = 2m
Width = 1m
 And the area is decided to be 2m by1.6m
 The collector tilt angle is assumed to be 14° which is equal to the latitude of Mekelle.

3.4. Design of fin

In the design of the fin the main thing that is to be tackled on is the distance between the centers
of two tubes that is optimum for effective heat transfer. Normally in solar collectors fins are used
for transferring heat to the tube, but in our case we will consider the fin in the reverse way. That
is the heat is transferred from the tube to the fin.

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Note: - to get sense of the proper length of a fin, we compare heat transferred from a fin of finite
length to heat transfer from an infinitely long fin under the same conditions. The ratio of this heat
transfer is:-
.
Q fin hpkAc  Tb  T  tanh al
= = tanh al 2 …………………… (1)
hpkAc  Tb  T 
.
Qlongfin

Where:
hp
a=
kAc
l = length
t b = temprature  of  fin
t  = temprature  of  surroundin g
h = heat  transfer  coeficient
Ac = area  of  collector
p = perimeter
k = conductivity  of  fin

To determine the heat transfer h combined

4T 3
hr =
A) 1 1 ……. Radiative heat transfer coefficient
      1
 1    2 

Where,  =Stefan batsman constant= 5.67  10 8 W / m 2 K

 1 = Emissivity of plate=  2 =0.97
 hr = 7.2 W/m2K

B) Since it is difficult to determine the convective heat transfer coefficient ( hc ), we have taken a
recommended value i.e. for free convection it is recommended to take in the range of 2-
25W/m²◦c and for convection of hot surface it is desirable to take hc =10W/m²◦c.Thus-

2
YUNUS A. CENGLE, “Heat Transfer a Practical Approach”, Tata McGraw-Hill Edition, NEWDELHI,
2002

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hcombined =hr+hc7.2+10=17.2≈18W/m²◦c

Using equation (1)

.
Q fin
i.e. tanh al = .
Qlongfin

hp
Where, a=
kAc

P=perimeter of the over all fin

K=conductivity of fin

Ac =area of the fin (cross-sections) =t*w

Thus: - p=3.252 Ac =1.625*10e-3m²

K= 211W/m²◦c h=18W/m²◦c
a=13.1/m
Using some calculations, the values of tanh al are evaluated for some values of l and the
results are given in the table bellow. We observed from the table that heat transfer from the fin
increases with l almost linearly first but the transfer rate starts to be constant (very small
increase) after some value of l .
L(m) tanh al
0.01 0.129
0.02 0.254
0.03 0.372
0.04 0.478
0.05 0.572
0.06 0.653
0.07 0.722
0.08 0.788
0.09 0.824
0.10 0.862
0.11 0.892

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0.12 0.915
0.13 0.93
0.14 0.95
0.15 0.96
0.16 0.969
0.17 0.976
0.18 0.98
0.19 0.986
0.2 0.99

The heat transfer rate after l =0.1m is almost constant and small. Therefore we can take 0.1m as
the appropriate fin length. That is in our case the heat transfer from fin to the tube will be small
after 0.1m.

That is area for a single tube will be

A=0.02m*0.1=0.02m²

From this we can conclude that for our collector which is with an area of 3.25m², the number of
pipes needed will be 8.

3.5. Calculation for losses and use full energy

3.5.1. Top loss ( U t ):

1
 

Ut = N

1 



 Tpm  Ta  Tpm 2  Ta 2  3
 
 C  T pm  Ta     0.00591Nhw 
2 N  f  1  0.133 p
e
hw  1
 N
T   N  f    p
g
 pm   

Where N=number of glass covers

f = 1  0.089hw  0.1166 hw p  1  0.07866N 


C = 520 1  0.000051 2 

3 4
. JOHN A.DUFFIE&WILLIAM A.BECK MAN” Solar engineering of thermal processes”, 2nd edition,
Wiley-inter science publication, USA, 1991

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 100 
e = 0.4301 
 T pm 

 =collector tilt angle (degrees) =14° (latitude of Mekelle)

 g =emitance of glass (0.88)4

C p =emitance of plate=0.97

Ta =ambient temperature (K) =296°K

T pm
=mean plate temperature (K)
hw =wind heat transfer coefficient (W/m2°c)

T fi =fluid inlet temperature=20°c

 =Stephan boltsman constant=5.67*10-8

And hw =5.7+3.8Vw=24.7W/m2°c
Thus f=0.437
c=515 (no unit)

In order to find the top losses and the overall lose coefficient it is necessary first to find T pm
and:-
  QU  
 A 
T pm = T fi   C  1  FR 

 FRU L 
 

 


Where Qu =Total useful energy

FR =collector heat removal factor

U L =total loss coefficient

.

m C p T fo  T fi 
.

And FR =

Ac S  U L T fi  Ta  
Where

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F ' = this factor is the fin or plate efficiency factor, and numerical values range typically
from about 0.8 to 0.9 for air collectors, from 0.9 to 0.95 for liquid collectors, and from
0.95 to 0.99 for evacuated collectors. This means for example the liquid collector delivers
5 % to 10 % less energy at a given temperature that it would with perfect heat transfer
between absorber and liquid. F ' does not vary much with operating conditions, and in
practice it is usually treated as a constant. (Solar collector, energy storage, and materials)
.
m = flow rate of water
C P =specific heat of water at 20°c.

Assuming:-
 = Effective transmittance absorbance=0.9.
F ' =0.93

.
Flow rate ( m )

. U L F ' AC
m=
U L  To  Ti  
5

C P ln 1  
 S  U L  Ti  Ta  
Where
S=absorbed solar radiation per unit area. = I 
The only way to find T pm is first to take a reasonable assumption and to iterate until we find a
refined value and to use this value to calculate the losses.
For the first assumption or iteration the most reasonable value of Tpm is given as
T pm
=Tfi+10, which is 30°c [2]
So, e=.288
5 6
. JOHN A.DUFFIE&WILLIAM A.BECK MAN” Solar engineering of thermal processes”, 2nd edition,
Wiley-inter science publication, USA, 1991

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3.5.2. Bottom loss ( U b )

Ub = K / L 6

Where K=Insulation conductivity

L=back insulation thickness
Since the objective of these design is to design a collector with minimum cost and available
materials in the mechanical department workshop the insulation material is selected to be urethra
foam with thermal conductivity (K):-
K=0.018W/m2°c.
And L is assumed to be 80mm.
.

3.5.3. Edge loss ( U e )

U e = UA edge / Ac 7

Where, UA edge =  K / Ledge  collector perimeter collector thickness

Edge insulation thickness (Ledge) is assumed to be 30mm.

3.5.4. The total loss coefficient (UL)

UL = Ut  Ub  Ue 8

First iteration( T pm =30°c) Second iteration( T pm =46°c)

6
7 89
. JOHN A.DUFFIE&WILLIAM A.BECK MAN” Solar engineering of thermal processes”, 2nd edition,
Wiley-inter science publication, USA, 1991
8

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T pm T pm
=46°c =48°c
FR =0.645 FR =0.564
. .
m =0.00934 m =0.0077
U t =9.864 U t =11.242
U b =0.225 U b =0.225
U e =0.22 U e =0.22
U L =10.305 U L =11.688
Qu =1575.49 Qu FR =1377

The total useful energy gain ( Qu )

Qu = Ac FR[S - UL (Tfi - Ta)] 9

From the second iteration, since the value of T pm is closer to the first iteration there is no need

for third iteration and the value of T pm is taken to be 48°c.

And thus taking T pm =48°c,

Qu =1200w

U L =13w/m2°c.

3.6. Design of insulation

Tanker insulation (hot water)

As mentioned above the hot water tanker has six faces with capacity of 75 liters. The dimensions
of the tanker are as given below in the fig.

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Two areas with A=0.25m2 and

Four areas with A=0.15m2
The overall area, Atotal =1.1m2

 Material for the tanker is steel, to be painted with an antirust paint, with conductivity,
k=54W/m°c.
 The minimum ambient temperature is taken to be 10°c.
 Insulation thickness, L, is assumed to be 50mm.
 Convictive heat transfer to the environment; hw =24.7W/m2°c.
 Surface temperature of the tanker is assumed to be 60°c.

Now let’s calculate the heat loss, Eloss for 24 hour storage which is given by:-

AT
E loss = t
L 1 
  
 k hw 

Where; A=area of the tanker

T = T f  Ta =50°c
t=the time to which the surface is exposed to convective loss
Thus E loss =119,287,792.3 Joule
Useful energy from the collector is:-
E u = Qu  t  3600
=103,680,000 Joule
The net energy

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E net = Eu  Eloss
=15,607,792.35 Joule
The useful temperature change of the water will be:-
E net
T =
mC p

Where, m=  w  volume
= 985  .075
= 73.875kg
T =50.5°c

From this result we can see that the insulation is enough to keep the water hot with an acceptable
temperature decrease. Thus the insulation thickness assumed is acceptable, which is 50 mm.

3.7. Summary of results

Component dimension comment

Fin 2.0m  1.60m Two sheets needed
Side frame 2.12m  .11m  .020m left & right (wood)
Front and back frames 1.68m  .11m  .020m wood
Bottom support 2.12m  1.68m Cheep wood
Back insulation 2.08m  1.68m  .08m Urethane foam
Side insulation 2.08m  .030m  .040m Urethane foam
Front and back insulation 1.60m  .030m  .04m Urethane foam
Front support .040m Angle iron (40  40)
Back support .092m Angle iron (40  40)
Bottom support (longer side) 2.14m Angle iron (40  40)
Bottom support (shorter side) 1.70m Angle iron (40  40)

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Hot water tanker .05m  .05m  .03m Stainless steel
Cold water tanker Plastic tanker

4. Manufacturing process

As mentioned above, the manufacturing process is to be done in the mechanical engineering

department workshop, using the available materials and equipments (machines).Parts of the
collector to be manufactured are the fin, the collector casing, the stands and the hot water tanker.

The fin

The fin is produced using aluminum sheet by cutting it into the required dimensions and pressing
it along the length so that the copper tubes will fit in, to increase the heat transfer. Due to the lack
of different diameter dies we have to use the only available die, which is 10mm diameter (the out

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side diameter of the copper tube is 12mm). Also the length of the die is short which only 60cm is
long so the length of the fin is made to be 50cm, to use the material effectively. (I.e. the overall
length of the fin is 2m=200m, and the standard size of the aluminum sheet is 2*1m, so the sheet
is cut into four along the length).

The width of the fin (the collector) is 1.6m that is the pressed fin width. The overall width of the
fin (aluminum sheet) required is 1.65m considering the perimeter of the pressed fin. Since the
standard width of aluminum sheet is 1m, two sheet metals are used and 0.825m is used from
each sheet, this is done to increase the heat transfer as much as possible. (I.e. since the number of
tubes are eight four tubes will be in each part).The different parts of the fin are connected using
rivets which will of course reduce the efficiency of the collector in a great amount. After
assembling the parts the fin painted black to increase absorbivity of the fin (aluminum sheet).

The collector casing

The collector casing is made up of wood. The overall length of the collector casing required is
2.120m and the width is 1.68m. The overall thickness of the collector required is 11cm, and since
the available standard wood is25cm it has to be cut to the required thickness. The casing (the
wood) is connected using screws or nails. The bottom side is covered with wood, cheep wood,
and the top or the upper part is normal glass which is cut into the required dimension.

The stand

The stands are made up of angle iron. Since the inclination of the collector is 14°, and choosing
the height in the shorter side to be 50cm, the height in the longer side will be 102cm. There is a
requirement of short support and cross support to give it strength to the stand. The frame holding
the casing is made also from angle iron. The stand is connected with the frame by simple
welding. Every connection in this part is made by welding.

The hot water tanker

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The hot water which is required to hold 75liters=0.075m3 of hot water, is made up of iron sheet.
It is made by cutting the sheet metal into the required dimensions and welding it. It is covered
with insulation (urethra foam) which is connected to the tanker using sticking materials like glue
or other of adhesives.

Note: - the cold water tanker is assumed to be normal plastic tanker available in the market
(e.g.roto). The cold water passes from the container through the PVC pipe connected to it, which
is directly connected to the eight copper tubes. And the hot water from the copper tubes inters
into another PVC pipe which is connected to the hot water tanker. This pipe has to be properly
insulated or covered with insulation (urethane foam).

5. Economic analysis

To analyze the economic feasibility of this project we need to compare the overall cost of water
heating using electricity and flat plat collector.

Using electricity:
Energy needed to heat water from 20 o c to 60 o c can be found using the formula:
Q = mc p T

 Q = 150  1478.4  20
 Q = 4435200 J

When it is converted to KWh it will be 1.232 KWh.

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As mentioned above the collector is designed to heat 150 liters of water per day, so for
comparison we need to calculate the cost of electricity to heat 150 liters of water. According to
our country the cost of 1kw of electricity is 13.65birr up to 50KWh. To heat 150 liters of water
1.232KWh of electricity is needed. This means in our country it costs 16.82birr to heat 150 liters
of water using electricity per day. If we calculate the cost of water heating with electricity for one
year neglecting the initial cost of the electric boiler, maintenance and other costs that is assuming
the boiler will work for one year without problem, the total cost will be 6138.132birr (the cost of
electricity only).

Using flat plate collector

When we come to the case of water heating using flat plate collector the only major cost is the
initial cost which is the cost of the flat plat collector. The table below shows the cost of the flat
plate collector according to our project.
Material Size Quantity Unit cost (birr) Total cost (birr)
Copper pipe 10mm(inside diameter) 8 30 (per meter) 510
Aluminum sheet 2m² (1mm thickness) 2 185 (2m*1m) 370
Wood 4m*.25m 1 104 104
Glass 3.65m² 2 70 (per m²) 255.5
Angle iron 0.04m*0.04m 2 100 200
Rivet 4mm diameter ½ pack 70 70
Sheet metal 2m² 1 195 (2m*1m) 195
RHS .04m 1 120 120
PVC pipe ½ inch 1 10 10
Plastic tanker 150 liter 1 150 150
Insulation 4.4m² 10 10
Black paint 400ml 5 16 80
Anti rust 1 liter 1 23 23
Cheep wood 2.5m*1.5m 2 120 240
nail ½ kg 13/kg 6.50
Total 2344

Note: - the above cost will reduce during mass production that is this cost is done for a unit
production.

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From this we can find that the total cost of the flat plat collector manufactured in our country is
found to be roughly 2700-3000birr, including labor, electricity and other costs like installation
cost.

From this we can see that there is at least 3000birr profit gain per year using solar water heating
(flat plat collector) over water heating using electricity, considering only electric cost.

Conclusion

These designed flat plate collectors have a capacity of heating 150 liters of water in the interval
of 8 hours. The area of the collector is found to be 3.25m2 (2m*1.6m) assuming a theoretical
efficiency of 30%. The orientation of the collector is to the true south. According to the previous
plan of this project, the aim was to design and manufacture the collector but due to lack and
delaines of materials like insulation and copper pipe the manufacturing process was not
completed thus no test is conducted. Even though there was no test conducted on the actual
efficiency of the collector, as seen from the economic analysis using flat plat collector for water
heating is very much advantageous.

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Recommendations

 To increase the efficiency of the collector that is to increase conduction there should be a
complete contact (should be welded) between the different parts of the fin and the copper
tube which was not achieved in the department workshop.
 There must be a filter at the interns of the cold water to the collector to avoid the effect of
dust particles that could reduce the life of the collector.
 The cold water tanker is preferred to be a normal plastic tanker due to ease of
manufacturing, availability and durability.
 In the future the department must make sure the availability of materials and required
working tools before starting any manufacturing process.
 Also an intensive test and research must be conducted in this area so as our country can
utilize its surplus solar energy.

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Bibliography

1. JOHN A.DUFFIE&WILLIAM A.BECK MAN” Solar engineering of thermal

processes”, 2nd edition, Wiley-inter science publication, USA, 1991

2. Frank P.Incropera; David P. DeWitt, “Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer”, 3rd
Ed, John Wiley and Sons, (1990)

3. YUNUS A. CENGLE, “Heat Transfer a Practical Approach”, Tata McGraw-Hill

Edition, NEWDELHI, 2002.

4. FRANCIS DE WINTER,” Solar collectors, energy storage and materials”,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1990

5. J.P. HOLMAN,” Heat transfer” 8th edition, Mc graw-hill, INC., New York, 1997

6. www. Solar experts.com

7. www.amazon.com

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Appendix

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