7SM2 : Energy Conversion II Lab Manual Expt. No.

4/LFPC

EXPERIMENT NO: - 04
Aim: - STUDY AND TESTING LIQUID FLAT PLATE COLLECTOR.
Description of liquid Flat Plate Collector:-
Solar collector is "a device designed to absorb incident solar radiation and to transfer
the energy to a liquid passing through it." It consists of absorber plate on which the
flow tubes are firmly attached by soldering, brazing or clamping. The plate and the
tubes are made up of copper or iron, tubes have diameter of 1-2 cm and the pitch
between them of 5-15 cm. The absorber plate is properly insulated with the
insulating materials like fibre glass with organic binder or mineral wool, having a
thickness of 25 and 50 mm to minimize the heat losses from the sides and the bottom.
The top of the system is covered with the glass [iron content, 0.12 percent emissivity
0.85] transparent covers of 3-4 mm thick to avoid the convective and radiative heat
losses from the top. Glazing [Iron oxide content of 0.03%] is a 3.2 mm single sheet
of low-iron tempered glass of double strength with an EPDM rubber seal around the
edges. Glazing is secured by an aluminum capping fastened by stainless steel screws
around the perimeter. To allow for thermal expansion, the absorber is free to float
within the collector container. EPDM gaskets prevent contact between the copper
tubes and the aluminum container.
The spacing between the two glass covers is of 2-4 cm. it also avoids the heat flow
by the air and also protect the system from the weather. The absorber plate is
generally made up of the galvanized G.I. or copper sheet of 1mm and 0.5mm thick
[24 gauge]and is coated with selective coating of black chrome over nickel to
improve its absorptivity [95 %] and to reduce its emissivity [5%]. Selective absorber
is made by electroplating a layer of nickel onto the absorber plate and then
electrodepositing an extremely thin layer of chromium oxide onto the nickel. This
combination is more resistant to water damage than the commonly used nickel oxide
coating Flat-plate collectors are installed facing the equator (i.e. South oriented in
the Northern hemisphere). The optimal tilt of the collector plate is close to the
latitude of the location (+ 5o) for year round application. Tracking device, is provided
at the bottom of the collector. By single axis tracking system, there is 20 to 30 %
gain in efficiency when compared with non-tracking system. The tubes are attached
to the plate on the top or bottom or across the section of the plate. The tube
arrangements are generally of the three types: header and tube type, zigzag or
serpentine type and Spiral type. The area of the commercial collector varies from 1
to 2 m3 and have length across sloping edge larger than the width. A 100 lpd Solar
Water Heating Systems requires approximately 2 sq.m. of Flat Plate Collector area
and 1.5 sq.m. of ETC Collector area. As a thumb rule, the requirement of shadow

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7SM2 : Energy Conversion II Lab Manual Expt. No.4/LFPC

free area is around 3 sq. m for each 1 x 2 m collector used. A commonly used thumb
rule is to provide 50 liters of storage for every sq. m of collector area. A SWH of
100 litres capacity can prevent emission of 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
SWHs have a life span of 15-20 years. The payback period is about 3-4 years when
electricity is replaced. A 100 litres capacity SWH can replace an electric geyser for
residential use and saves 1500 units of electricity annually .Some advantages of the
flat-plate collectors are that they are: 1]Easy to manufacture,2]Low cost,3]Collect
both beam and diffuse radiation,4]Permanently fixed (no sophisticated positioning
or tracking equipment is required ) and 5]Little maintenance
But the main disadvantage is the unavailability of the concentrating devices and that
the heat losses are more resulting in the less heat collection and high heat loss factor
(about 2.9 to 5.3 W/m²). Flat plate solar collectors are classified into Water-type
(hydronic) collectors, using water as the heat-transfer fluid. Open Loop and Closed
Loop system are used for potable water and hard water respectively.
Water is one of the common options as liquid fluid due to its accessibility and good
thermal properties :1] It has a relatively high volumetric heat capacity,2]It is
incompressible (or almost incompressible),3]It has a high mass density (which
allows using small tubes and pipes for transport).
One disadvantage of water is that it freezes during winter, which can damage the
collector or piping system. In future Nano materials [TiO2, CuO, ZnO, Al2O3 ]
and fluids [Ag/water, Cu/water, Al2O3/water] will be used in flat plate collector,
The fluid flow through the collector pipes is by natural (thermosyphon effect) or by
forced circulation (pump flow). For small water heating systems natural circulation
is used for fluid flow.
Maximum weight of the flat plate collector in the range from 45kg to 35kg for small
capacity collectors and also 50kg to 100kg for medium flat plate collectors. In
market various solar water heating system manufacturers available as TATA BP,
kotak Solarmax, Sudarshan, Jain, Jay solar, AvinSolar, Racold, Digiflic, Atash,
Kamal, Air India, and Sunbeam. Flat plate collectors has applications in swimming
pools, domestic hot water, buildings and air-conditioning, Industrial process heat,
Desalination, Solar thermal power systems.
Purpose of Testing of the liquid flat plate collectors:-
The testing of the flat plate collector provides the data regarding the performance,
capacity and other parameters of the system to be used for the various purpose.
Standard testing and rating provide an equitable basis of the comparing the
performance of the different types of collectors, an essential basis for the design and
selection of collectors. The standard test procedure generally adapted for the testing
are proposed by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and American Society of
Heating Refrigeration and Air conditioning Engineers. (ASHRAE).
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7SM2 : Energy Conversion II Lab Manual Expt. No.4/LFPC

Test Set up & Procedure for the Testing of liquid flat plate collector:-

A schematic diagram shows the test set up for the liquid flat plate collector. It is a
closed loop consisting of the collector under test, pyranometer, mixer, bent, insulated
pipings, thermometer, expansion tank, heat exchanger, control valve, pump electric
heater, flow meter mixer, thermometer pressure gauge, manometer, etc. The liquid
flat plate collector under test is located at requisite tilt angle with the horizontal as
per the latitude of the location. The pyranometer is also located at the same tilt angle
with which the total solar radiation intensity is measured as the input to the collector.
The manometer is connected across the collector inlet and outlet to know the
pressure difference between them. The two mixers are provided, one after the outlet
of the collector and the other after the electric heater to mix the liquid thoroughly to
obtain uniform temperature of the liquid.
The thermocouple are provided at the outlet and inlet and of the collector of the
collector to observe the inlet and outlet fluid temperatures. The liquid flow rate is
measured with the help of the rotameter connected in line. With the help of the flow
control valve, the flow rate of the fluid is adjusted in the range of 0.3 kg/sec to 0.9
kg/sec. The temperature of the inlet fluid to the collector is also varied with the help
of the electric heater to test the collector at the different inlet temperature starting
from 30,40,50,60,70,80,and 90 0 c.
When the system is exposed to the solar radiations the liquid in the flow tubes of the
collector gets heated and comes out of the collector. The heat is being exchanged in
the heat exchanger with some other suitable fluid. The heat is then pumped to the
electric heater where it is heated to desired temperature and is mixed thoroughly
before it is passed to the collector through rotameter where its flow rate is measured.
The entire fluid flow pipe line is perfectly insulated with proper insulation like glass
wool to minimize the heat losses to the surrounding. The heated fluid can be stored
in the insulated tank provided with open loop system.
Various Equipments use for the Test Set up:-

1) Pyranometer:-
This is the device used for the measurement of the solar radiation intensity falling
on the collector as an input to it. As the liquid flat plate collector utilizes all the types
of radiatons, the total or global radiation intensity is measured with the help of any
type of pyranometer which gives the heat input to the collector and taken as the input
to the collector. It can measure the radiation level in the range of 0 to 1999 W/m2.

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7SM2 : Energy Conversion II Lab Manual Expt. No.4/LFPC

The followings precautions are to be taken while mounting the pyranometer for
the measurement on the test up:
I. The pyranometer should be mounted at the same tilt angle as that of the liquid
flat plate collector for the exact measurement of the solar radiation intensity
as an input to the collector.
II. The shadow of the pyranometer should not fall on the liquid flat plat collector.
III. No reflection of the radiations from the pyranometer should fall on the
collector.
IV. No reflection of the radiation from the collector should fall to the
pyranometer.
V. The pyranometer, should not be subjected to any shocks, vibrations or jerks.
VI. The shadow of the collector should not fall on the pyranometer.
VII. The transparent covers of the both collector and the pyranometer should be
cleaned periodically.
2) Thermometers:-
To measure the temperature of the inlet & outlet fluids of the collector various
thermometers are used. Generally the resistance temperature detectors are used to
measure these temperatures of these fluids. Thermocouples are also recommended
to measure the temperature of these fluids. The probes are class A RTD based
platinum probe and can measure the temperature in the range of 0 C to 200 C.
3) Liquid flow meters:-
To measure the flow rate of the liquid through the collector various flow meters are
used. The rotameter with float is used to measure the flow rate of the liquid through
the collector. The rotameter of the range of 0-100 lph are used. The temperature
limit of the meter is up to 800C. Recommended water flow Rate is 72 L/hour.
Turbine meters, magnetic flow meters are also used depending upon the type of the
flow and it properties.
4) Pressure Gauges or Manometers:-
To read out the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet flow from the
collector the pressure gauges and the manometers are used. The pressure gauges can
measure the pressure in the range of 101.3 to 650 kpa.
5) Electric Heater:-
To vary the inlet fluid temperature to the collector the inlet fluid is heated with
electric heater provided in the test set up.
6) Anemometers:-
To note the air flow rate over the collector assembly (to calculate the heat loss from
the top), anemometers are used. Hot wire anemometers are used to measure the wind
speed over the collector assembly. The anemometer can measure the wind velocity
in the range of 0.4 to 8.0 m/s while the temperature range is -10 to 600C.

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7SM2 : Energy Conversion II Lab Manual Expt. No.4/LFPC

7) Expansion tank: –
Expansion tank is used to protect bursting of tubes due to volume change in liquid
and vapour phase during expansion at high temperatures.

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7SM2 : Energy Conversion II Lab Manual Expt. No.4/LFPC

FIG.4.4 EXPERIMETAL TEST SET UP FOR LIQUID FLAT

PLATE COLLECTOR

Observation Table:-
S.N. Multi Meter Solar Mass flow Fluid Inlet Fluid
Reading, Radiation Rate, m Temp., Tfi outlet
mv Intensity, IT LPH 𝟎𝒄 Temp.,
w/𝒎𝟐 Tfo
𝟎𝒄
1
2

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7SM2 : Energy Conversion II Lab Manual Expt. No.4/LFPC

Efficiency Calculations for the collector:-

Instantaneous collector efficiency is "the amount of energy removed by the transfer
liquid per unit of gross collector area during the specified time period divided by the
total solar radiation incident on the collector per unit area (solar flux) during the
same time period, under steady-state or quasi-steady-state (the state of the solar
collector test when the flow rate and temperature of the liquid entering the collector
are constant but the exit liquid temperature changes gradually due to the normal
change in irradiation that occurs with time for clear sky conditions) conditions."
Efficiency of collector is between ranges of 55% to 71%. Efficiency is dominated
by parameters like product of glazing’s transmittance and absorbing plate’s
absorptance, intensity of global radiation falling on the collector, water inlet
temperature and ambient air temperature.
The efficiency of the collector under test is calculated by the following relation:-
Specific Heat of Water = Cp
Collector Area = Ap in m2
Useful Heat gain = qu = m × 𝐶p × ∆ Tp

qu/Ap m ×Cp (∆Tp/Ap )

Efficiency, ɳ = =
It It
If the graph of efficiency vs. temperature difference is plotted, a straight line with
negative Slope could be obtained.

Table of calculated results:-

S.N. (Tfo-Tfi), (𝟎𝒄 = ∆ 𝑻𝒑) qu, Efficiency ∆ 𝐓𝐩/𝐈𝐭

𝒘/𝒎𝟐 (ɳ)
1
2

Methods of improve the Efficiency:-

1) The input in the form of solar radiations on the collector can be improved by
concentrating the additional solar radiations on the collector with the help of
concentrators or booster mirrors.
2) The collector should be located at the tilt angle as per the locations latitude
and south facing so as to keep it always facing to the solar radiations
throughout the day.
3) Proper tracking system should be provided for the seasonal tracking of the
system throughout the year so as to keep it facing to the solar radiations
direction.
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7SM2 : Energy Conversion II Lab Manual Expt. No.4/LFPC

4) Any soil, sand, dust, moisture deposits on the upper surface of the transparent
cover should be cleaned periodically to maintain the transmissivity of the
transparent cover.
5) The overall heat loss coefficient should be minimized by reducing the side,
bottom and top loss coefficient with proper insulations on the sides and bottom
and top by providing 2 or 3 nos. of transparent covers.
6) The wind flow rate over the top cover also affect the top loss coefficient.
Higher the wind flow rate, more will be the top loss coefficient. . The top heat
loss coefficient is also a function of other parameters which includes the
temperature of the absorbing plate, ambient temperature, emissivity of the
absorbing and the cover glass plate, tilt angle etc. The top loss is observed to
be in the range of 88 to 90%. Bottom loss coefficient is approximately 10
percent of top loss and Side loss coefficient is approximately 10 percent of
bottom loss.

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