Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep.

(4thClass)

Solar Energy:
The sun is a sphere of intensely hot gaseous matter with a diameter of
1.39 X 109m (see Figure below). The sun is about 1.5 X 108km away from earth,
so, because thermal radiation travels with the speed of light in a vacuum
(300.000 km/s) after leaving the sun solar energy reaches our planet in 8min
and 20s.

Equation of Time
Due to factors associated with the earth's orbit around the sun, the earth's orbital
velocity varies throughout the year, so the apparent solar time varies slightly
from the mean time kept by a clock running at a uniform rate. The variation is
called the equation of time (ET) and can be calculated as:
ET = 9.87 sin(2B) - 7.53 cos(B) - 1.5 sin(B) [min]
and

N: number of day (1 January =1 & 31 December =365)

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

Longitude Correction
The standard clock time is reckoned from a selected meridian near the center
of a time zone or from the standard meridian, the Greenwich, which is at
longitude of 0°. Since the sun takes 4min to transverse 1° of longitude, a
longitude
correction term of 4 X (Standard longitude — Local longitude) should be either
added or subtracted to the standard clock time of the locality. This correction
is constant for a particular longitude, and the following rule must be followed
with respect to sign convention. If the location is east of the standard meridian,
the correction is added to the clock time. If the location is west, it is subtracted.
The general equation for calculating the apparent solar time (AST) is:
AST = LST + ET ± 4(SL - LL)
where
LST = local standard time.
ET = equation of time.
SL = standard longitude (44.361488 for Iraq)
LL = local longitude.

If a location is east of Greenwich, the sign of Eq. above is minus ( —), and if it
is west, the sign is plus (+). If a daylight saving time is used, this must be
subtracted from the local standard time.
Example 2.1
Find the equation of AST for the city of Nicosia, Cyprus.
Solution
For the locality of Cyprus, the standard longitude (SL) is 30°E. The city of
Nicosia is at a local longitude (LL) of 33.33° east of Greenwich. Therefore, the
longitude correction is -4 X (30 - 33.33) = + 13.32min. Thus, Eq. (2.3) can be
written as
AST= LST + ET + 13.32 (min)

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

Solar Angles
The declination ()‫ االنحراف‬is the angular distance of the sun north or south of the
earth’s equator. The declination angle, δ, for the Northern Hemisphere (reverse
the declination angle sign for the Southern Hemisphere) is:

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

Yearly variation of solar declination.

HOUR ANGLE, h
The hour angle, h, of a point on the earth's surface is defined as the angle
through which the earth would turn to bring the meridian of the point directly
under the sun. Figure above shows the hour angle of point P as the angle
measured on the earth's equatorial plane between the projection of OP and the
projection of the sun-earth center to center line. The hour angle at local solar
noon is zero, with each 360/24 or 15° of longitude equivalent to 1 h, afternoon
hours being designated as positive. Expressed symbolically, the hour angle in
degrees is
h = ±0.25 (Number of minutes from local solar noon)
where the plus sign applies to afternoon hours and the minus sign to morning
hours.
SOLAR ALTITUDE ANGLE, α
The solar altitude angle is the angle between the sun's rays and a horizontal
plane, as shown in Figure above. It is related to the solar zenith angle Ф, which
is the angle between the sun's rays and the vertical. Therefore,

The mathematical expression for the solar altitude angle is

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

where L = local latitude, defined as the angle between a line from the center of
the earth to the site of interest and the equatorial plane. Values north of the
equator are positive and those souths are negative.
SOLAR AZIMUTH ANGLE, z
The solar azimuth angle, z, is the angle of the sun's rays measured in the
horizontal plane from due south (true south) for the Northern Hemisphere or due
north for the Southern Hemisphere; westward is designated as positive. The
mathematical expression for the solar azimuth angle is

Example 2.4
What are the maximum and minimum noon altitude angles for a location at
40° latitude?
Solution
The maximum angle is at summer solstice, where 8 is maximum, i.e., 23.5°.
Therefore, the maximum noon altitude angle is 90° - 40° + 23.5° = 73.5°.
The minimum noon altitude angle is at winter solstice, where 5 is mini-
mum, i.e., —23.5°. Therefore, the minimum noon altitude angle is 90° — 40°
- 23.5° = 26.5°.

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

INCIDENCE ANGLE, θ
The solar incidence angle, θ, is the angle between the sun's rays and the nor-
mal on a surface. For a horizontal plane, the incidence angle, θ, and the zenith
angle, ϕ, are the same. The angles shown above are related to the basic
angles, with the following general expression for the angle:

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

SUNRISE AND SUNSET TIMES AND DAY LENGTH

The sun is said to rise and set when the solar altitude angle is 0. So, the hour
angle at sunset, hss, can be found by solving Eq. (The mathematical expression
or the solar altitude angle is ) for h when α = 0°:
sin(α) = sin(0) = 0 = sin(L)sin(δ) + cos(L)cos(δ)cos(hss)
or

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

Which reduce to :

where hss is taken as positive at sunset.

The day length is twice the sunset hour, since the solar noon is at the mid- of the
sunrise and sunset hours. Therefore, the length of the day in hours is

Example 2.6
Find the solar altitude and azimuth angles at 2h after local noon on June 15 for
a city located at 40°N latitude. Also find the sunrise and sunset hours and the
day length.
Solution
The declination on June 15 (N = 167) is

the hour angle 2h after local solar noon is

h = +0.25(120) = 30°
the solar altitude angle is
sin(α) = sin (40) sin (23.35) + cos (40) cos (23.35) cos (30) = 0.864
Therefore, α = 59.75°
The solar azimuth angle is

Therefore,
z = 65.67o
the day length is

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

This means that the sun rises at 12 - 7.4 = 4.6 = 4:36 am solar time and sets at
7:24pm solar time.

SOLAR RADIATION
Thermal Radiation
Thermal radiation is a form of energy emission and transmission that depends
entirely on the temperature characteristics of the emissive surface. There is no
intervening carrier, as in the other modes of heat transmission, i.e., conduction
and convection. Thermal radiation is in fact an electromagnetic wave that travels
at the speed of light (C = 300,000km/s in a vacuum).
When a beam of thermal radiation is incident on the surface of a body, part
of it is reflected away from the surface, part is absorbed by the body, and part
is transmitted through the body. The various properties associated with this
phenomenon are the fraction of radiation reflected, called reflectivity (ρ); the
fraction of radiation absorbed, called absorptivity (α); and the fraction of
radiation transmitted, called transmissivity (τ). The three quantities are related by
the following equation:
ρ + α+ τ=1
Most solid bodies are opaque, so that τ = 0 and ρ + α =1. It a body absorbs all
the impinging thermal radiation such that τ = 0, ρ = 0, and α = 1,

Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation

The amount of solar energy per unit time, at the mean distance of the earth
from the sun, received on a unit area of a surface normal to the sun (perpen-
dicular to the direction of propagation of the radiation) outside the atmosphere
is called the solar constant, Gsc.

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

When the sun is closest to the earth, on January 3, the solar heat on the
outer edge of the earth's atmosphere is about 1400 W/m 2; and when the sun is
farthest away, on July 4, it is about 1330 W/m2.
Throughout the year, the extraterrestrial radiation measured on the plane
normal to the radiation on the Nth day of the year, Gon, varies between these
limits, in the range of 3.3% and can be calculated by:

where
Gon = extraterrestrial radiation measured on the plane normal to the radiation on
the Nth day of the year (W/m2).
Gsc = solar constant (W/m2).
The latest value of Gsc is 1366.1 W/m2. This was adopted in 2000 by the
American Society for Testing and Materials.
When a surface is placed parallel to the ground, the rate of solar radiation,
GoH, incident on this extraterrestrial horizontal surface at a given time of the
year is given by:

The total radiation. HQ, incident on an extraterrestrial horizontal surface

during a day can be obtained by the integration of Eq. above over a period
from sunrise to sunset. The resulting equation is:

The units of Eq. above are joules per square meter (J/m2).

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

To calculate the extraterrestrial radiation on a horizontal surface by an hour

period. Eq. of extraterrestrial radiation is integrated between hour angles, h1 and
h2 (h2 is larger). Therefore,

Example 2.l4
Determine the extraterrestrial normal radiation and the extraterrestrial radiation
on a horizontal surface on March 10 at 2:00 pm solar time for 35°N latitude.
Determine also the total solar radiation on the extraterrestrial horizontal surface
for the day.
Solution
The declination on March 10 (N = 69) is calculated as:

The hour angle at 2:00 pm solar time is calculated as:

h= 0.25 (number of minutes from local solar noon) = 0.25(120)=30o
The hour angle at sunset is calculated:

The extraterrestrial normal radiation is calculated as:

The extraterrestrial radiation on a horizontal surface is calculated as:

The total radiation on the extraterrestrial horizontal surface is calculated as:

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

Total Radiation on Tilted Surfaces

The amount of insulation on a terrestrial surface at a given location for a given
time depends on the orientation and slope of the surface. A flat surface absorbs
beam (GBt). diffuse (GDt), and ground-reflected (GGt) solar radiation; that is.

As shown in Figure below. the beam radiation on a tilted surface is:

GBt = GBn cos(θ)
and on a horizontal surface.
GB = GBn cos(Φ)
where
GBt = beam radiation on a tilted surface (W/m2).
GB = beam radiation on a horizontal surface (W/m2).
It follows that

Or

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

where RB is called the beam radiation tilt factor. The term cos(θ) can be
calculated from Eq. above and cos(Φ) from Eq. above. So, the beam radiation
component for any surface is:

Beam radiation on horizontal and tilted surfaces.

The ratio of beam radiation on the surface to that on a horizontal surface at any
time is given by:

Example 2.16
Estimate the beam radiation tilt factor for a surface located at 35°N latitude and
tilted 45° at 2:00 pm solar time on March 10. If the beam radiation at normal
incidence is 900 W/m2. estimate the beam radiation on the tilted surface.

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

EXERCISES
3 Calculate the solar declination for the spring and fall equinoxes and the
summer and winter solstices.
4 Calculate the sunrise and sunset times and day length for the spring and fall
equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices at 45°N latitude and 35°E
longitude.
5 Determine the solar altitude and azimuth angles at 10:00 am local time for
Rome, Italy, on June 10.
6 Calculate the solar zenith and azimuth angles, the sunrise and sunset times, and
the day length for Cairo, Egypt, at 10:30am solar time on April 10.
7 Calculate the sunrise and sunset times and altitude and azimuth angles for
London, England, on March 15 and September 15 at 10:00 am and 3:30pm solar
times.
8 What is the solar time in Denver, Colorado, on June 10 at 10:00 am Mountain
Standard Time?
9 A flat-plate collector in Nicosia, Cyprus, is tilted at 40° from horizontal and
pointed 10° east of south. Calculate the solar incidence angle on the collector at
10:30 am and 2:30 pm solar times on March 10 and September 10.
10 A vertical surface in Athens, Greece, faces 15° west of due south. Calculate
the solar incidence angle at 10:00am and 3:00pm solar times on January 15 and
November 10.
11 By using the sun path diagram, find the solar altitude and azimuth angles for
Athens, Greece, on January 20 at 10:00 am.
12 Two rows of 6 m wide by 2 m high flat-plate collector arrays tilted at 40° are
facing due south. If these collectors are located in 35°N latitude, using the sun
path diagram find the months of the year and the hours of day at which the front
row will cast a shadow on the second row when the distance between the rows is
3 m. What should be the distance so there will be no shading?

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

13 Find the blackbody spectral emissive power at X = 8p,m for a source at 400
K, 1000K, and 6000 K.
14 Assuming that the sun is a blackbody at 5777 K. at what wavelength does the
maximum monochromatic emissive power occur? What fraction of energy from
this source is in the visible part of the spectrum in the range 0.38-0.78 pm?
15 What percentage of blackbody radiation for a source at 323 K is in the
wavelength region 6-15 p,m?
16 A 2mm thick glass sheet has a refraction index of 1.526 and an extinction
coefficient of 0.2cm-1. Calculate the reflectivity, transmissivity, and absoiptivity
of the glass sheet at 0°, 20°, 40°, and 60° incidence angles.
17 A flat-plate collector has an outer glass cover of 4mm thick K = 23 m -1and
refractive index of 1.526, and a tedlar inner cover with refractive index of 1.45.
Calculate the reflectivity, transmissivity, and absorptivity of the glass sheet at a
40° incidence angle by considering tedlar to be of a very small thickness; i.e.,
absorption within the material can be neglected.
18 The glass plate of a solar greenhouse has a transmissivity of 0.90 for
wavelengths between 0.32 and 2.8 (im and is completely opaque at shorter and
longer wavelengths. If the sun is a blackbody radiating energy to the earth's
surface at an effective temperature of 5770 K and the interior of the greenhouse
is at 300 K, calculate the percent of incident solar radiation transmitted through
the glass and the percent of thermal radiation emitted by the interior objects that
is transmitted out.
19 A 30 m2 flat plate solar collector is absorbing radiation at a rate of 900 W/m2.
The environment temperature is 25°C and the collector emissivity is 0.85.
Neglecting conduction and convection losses, calculate the equilibrium
temperature of the collector and the net radiation exchange with the
surroundings.

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

20 Two large parallel plates are maintained at 500 K and 350 K. respectively.
The hotter plate has an emissivity of 0.6 and the colder one 0.3. Calculate the net
radiation heat transfer between the plates.
21 Find the direct normal and horizontal extraterrestrial radiation at 2:00 pm
solar time on February 21 for 40°N latitude and the total solar radiation on an
extraterrestrial horizontal surface for the day.
22 Estimate the average hourly diffuse and total solar radiation incident on a
horizontal surface for Rome, Italy, on March 10 at 10:00 am and 1:00pm solar
times if the monthly average daily total radiation is 18.1 MJ/m2.
23 Calculate the beam and total radiation tilt factors and the beam and total
radiation incident on a surface tilted at 45° toward the equator one hour after
local solar noon on April 15. The surface is located at 40°N latitude and the
round reflectance is 0.25. For that day, the beam radiation at normal incidence is
GB = 710 W/m- and diffuse radiation on the horizontal is GD = 250 W/m2.
24 For a south-facing surface located at 45°N latitude and tilted at 30° from the
horizontal, calculate the hourly values of the beam radiation tilt factor on
September 10.
25 A collector located in Berlin, Germany is tilted at 50° and receives a monthly
average daily total radiation H equal to 17 MJ/m2-day. Determine the monthly
mean beam and total radiation tilt factors for October for an area where the
ground reflectance is 0.2. Also, estimate the monthly average daily total solar
radiation on the surface.
Solar Energy Collectors
There are basically two types of solar collectors: non-concentrating or stationary
and concentrating. A non-concentrating collector has the same area
for intercepting and absorbing solar radiation, whereas a sun-tracking
concentrating solar collector usually has concave reflecting surfaces to intercept
and focus the sun's beam radiation to a smaller receiving area, thereby increasing
the radiation flux. Concentrating collectors are suitable for high-temperature

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

applications. Solar collectors can also be distinguished by the type of heat

transfer liquid used (water, non-freezing liquid, air, or heat transfer oil) and
whether they are covered or uncovered. A large number of solar collectors
are available on the market. A comprehensive list is shown in Table below:

Flat-Plate Collectors (FPCs)

A typical flat-plate solar collector is shown in Figure below. When solar
radiation passes through a transparent cover and impinges on the blackened
absorber surface of high absorptivity, a large portion of this energy is absorbed

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

by the plate and transferred to the transport medium in the fluid tubes, to be
carried away for storage or use. The underside of the absorber plate and the two
sides are well insulated to reduce conduction losses. The liquid tubes can be
welded to the absorbing plate or they can be an integral part of the plate. The
liquid tubes are connected at both ends by large-diameter header tubes. The
header

The main components of a flat-plate collector, as shown in Figure below, are

the following:
• Cover. One or more sheets of glass or other radiation-transmitting
material.
• Heat removal fluid passageways. Tubes, fins, or passages that conduct
or direct the heat transfer fluid from the inlet to the outlet.

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

• Absorber plate. Flat, corrugated, or grooved plates, to which the

tubes, fins, or passages are attached. A typical attachment method is the
embedded fixing shown in the detail of Figure 3.2. The plate is usually
coated with a high-absorptance, low-emittance layer.
• Headers or manifolds. Pipes and ducts to admit and discharge the fluid.
•Insulation. Used lo minimize the heat loss from the back and sides of the
collector.
•Container. The casing surrounds the aforementioned components and protects
them from dust, moisture, and any other material.

THERMAL ANALYSIS OF FLAT-PLATE

COLLECTORS
Collector Energy Losses
the energy losses from the collector can be written as

where
UL = overall heat loss coefficient based on collector area Ac (W/nr-K).
Tp = plate temperature (°C).
The overall heat loss coefficient is a complicated function of the collector
construction and its operating conditions, given by the following expression:
uL = ut+ub + ue

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Renewable Energy Solar Energy Thermal Mechanics Dep. (4thClass)

where
Ut = top loss coefficient (W/nr-K).
Ub = bottom heat loss coefficient (W/m2-K).
Ue = heat loss coefficient form the collector edges (W/m2-K).
Therefore, the heat loss from absorber plate to glass is

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