: Que 2.1. | Write a short note on solar radiation. i Answer ‘The solar radiations received by the earth's surface vary with the location. However radiation received outside the earth’s atmosphere is different than what we receive on the earth surface because of absorption, reflection, scattering and attenuation by particulates and clouds present in the atmosphere. ‘The solar radiation is grouped in the following two categories : 1 2. a, Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation : 1. The intensity of the sun’s radiation outside the earth’s atmosphere is called extraterrestrial and has no diffuse components. oR Extraterrestrial radiation is the measure of solar radiation that would be received in the absence of atmosphere. b. Terrestrial Solar Radiation : 1. The radiation we receive on the earth surface is called terrestrial radiation and is nearly 70 % of extraterrestrial radiation. 2, Solar radiations pass through the earth's atmosphere and are subjected to scattering and atmospheric absorption and a part of scattered radiations are reflected back into space. ‘Que 2.4. | What do you mean by solar constant ? 1. The solar constant is the ene: gy received from the sun on a unit are perpendicular to sun’s rays at the m ide ents 7 ean distance from the sun, outside 2. The standard value of the y solar constant based on measurements is 1367 W/m? with an accuracy of #1.5 %. — 3. The value of solar constant ough Df remains constant throughout the However, this value chan, i jance . iges with location be changes seasonally with time. So 4. ‘The extraterrestrial radiation observes don different days is kn apparent extraterrestrial solar irradiance and can be caleulatedon any day of the year using the following equation Ls 1, [1s 0.033¢0s 260] 365 | Where, 1, = Apparent extraterrestrial solar irradiance (Wim’), n= Number of days of the year counting January 1as the first day of the year, and 1, = 1367 W/m?, Note : According to above equation, the apparent solar irradiance will be maximum during December last or first week of January, as the carth’s centre is nearest to the sun during these days.ad Declination Angle (5) : 1. The declination is the angle made by the line joining the centres of the sun and’the earth with its projection on the equatorial plane. 2. The declination angle varies from a maximum value of +23.5° on June 21 to a minimum of -23.5° on December 21. 3. The declination (in degrees), for any given day may be calculated from the approximate equation of “Cooper”. 360 8 = 23.45sin [2222s4+m] where, n is the number of days in the year. Hour Angle (o) : The hour angle is zero at solar noon, ive i i h , Negative in the mo: Positive in the afternoon for the northern hemisphere (India) a vice-versa for southern hemisphere (Australia). Mathematically hour angle can be expressed as = 15(LST-12) Where, LST= Local solar time. £ Zenith Angle (0,): 1. _Itisthe vertical angle between the sun's rays and line perpendicular to the horizontal plane through the point. Mathematically : A. Day Length: 0, 5a The time of sunrise, sunset and the duration of the day length depend of t upon the latitude of the location and the month in the year. 2. Atsunrise and sunset, the sunlight is parallel tothe ground surface with azenith angle of 90°. - 3. The hour angle pertaining to sunrise or sunset (o,) is given below : a. Atsolarnoon, 0, = Oandw=0, cos w, = ~tand tand b. Ontilted surface, o, = cos [(-tan (6p) tand)] 4. The corresponding day length (in hours) is given by 5 Hoos *[-tan(4~p)tané] B. Local Apparent Time (LAT) : 1. The time used fr calculating the hour ange is the loeal apparent 2. Itisgiven by LAT=Standard time + Equation of time correction + 4 (Standard time longitude —longitude of location)Que 2.7, | What are solar collectors ? How solar collectors are classified ? Teal ss a) Solar Collectors : Solar collectors are used to collect the solar energy and convert this energy into the thermal energy by absorbing them. This thermal energy is further used for heating a collector fluid such as water, oil or air. Solar collector surface is designed for high absorption and low emission. Solar collectors are classified in two types : a. Non-Concentvating Collector : 1. It is also known as flat plate solar collector. 2. Inthese collectors, the area of collector to grasp the solar radiation is equal to the absorber plate and has concentration ratio of 1. Concentrating Collector : It is also known as focusing type solar collector. In these collectors, the area of the collector is kept less than the aperture through which the radiation passes, to concentrate the solar flux and has high concentration ratio. peoA Concentrating Solar Collector : 1 2 NS Concentrating solar collector is a device to collect solar energy with high intensity of solar radiation on the absorbing surface by the help of reflector or refractor. OR A concentrating solar collector is a modified form of flat-plate collector by introducing a reflecting or refracting surface between the solar radiation and absorber. Focal Receiver a Mlindrical trough Fig. 2.13.1, Concentrating type of collector, Principle: Concentrating solar collector uses reflective surface to concentrate sunlight to a small area, where it absorbed and converted to heat. Working of Concentrating Solar Collector : This collector system comprises of a concentrator and an absorber. In these collectors radiation from sun falls on a relatively large area which is focused through concentrator on to an absorber of considerably smaller area. As a result of energy concentration, fluid can be heated up to a temperature of 500 °C or more. These systems have high collector efficiency, since the losses are much less as compared to non-concentrating type of collectors.Pro kee er Advantages of Concentrating Collector : It gives high concentration ratio. High fluid temperature can be achieved (up to 500 °C). Thermal heat loss is less. Efficiency of this system increases at high temperature. In expensive process. Disadvantages of Concentrating Collector : These collectors are best suited for places having more number of clear days in a year. It has non-uniform flux on absorber. It needs costly tracking device. Ithas high initial cost. It needs maintenance in order to retain the quality of reflecting surface against dirt and oxidation. Applications : They are used for which need high amount of heat such as power generation. They used in solar power plant. They used to collected large solar energy which is used to convert water into steam.Classify different types of solar thermal collector and show the constructional details of a flat plate collector. What are its main advantages ? AKTU 2016-17, Marks 10 Answer A 1 on iii. iv. Principle: When solar radiation from the sun comes in the form of light (a short wave radiation) to the earth, visible sunlight is absorbed on the ground and transformed into heat energy ; the material becomes warm and stores the heat, conducts it to surrounding materials (air, water other solids or liquids) or reradiates it to other material of lower temperature. Classification : Refer Q. 2.7, Page 2-9M, Unit-2. Flat Plate Collector : Flat plate collector is simplest in design and it is most important part of any solar thermal energy system. In this collector both direct and diffuse radiations are absorbed and converted into useful heat. Components of Flat Plate Collector : i, Absorber plate, ii. Transparent covers, iii, Insulation, and iv. Box. Absorber Plate: 1. Absorber plate is used to grasp and absorb solar radiation. 2. The plate is usually metallic (copper, aluminum or steel), sometimes plastics have been used in some low temperature applications. Transparent Covers : 1. These are one or more sheets made of glass for trapping the heat received by the absorber plate. 2. It helps in reducing the convective and radiative heat losses. Insulation : It minimizes the heat losses by conduction. Box : It contains the above components and keep them into desired position. Transparent cover Absorber plate Series of tubes insulation Housing Fig. 2.8.1, Schematic diagram of a flat plate solar collector.Advantages of Flat Plate Collector : It absorbs both direct and diffuse radiations. There is no need of tracking. It has low cost and requires less maintenance. Disadvantages of Flat Plate Collector : Low temperature is achieved. There is a large heat loss by conduction due to large area. These are heavy in weight. Applications of Flat Plate Collector : It is used in solar water heating. It is used in space heating and cooling. It is used in low temperature power generation. Solar Thermal Power Plant : Solar thermal power generation involves the collection of solar heat which is utilized to increase the temperature of a fluid in a turbine operating on a cycle such as Rankine or Brayton. Solar thermal power plants can be classified as low, medium and high temperature cycles. - Low temperature cycles operate at about 100 °C, medium temperature cycles up to 400 °C, while high temperature cycles work above 500 °C. Limitation: — Large area required for collecting solar thermal energy. Low energy density 0.1 to 1 kW/m?. Direction of rays changes continuously with time. Energy not available during night and during clouds. Energy storage is essential. High initial cost. Requires hybrid plant with storage facility for supplying energy during night. 8. Solar central power plants in MW range are not economical. Negronr A. Energy Storage System : It stores the excess amount of energy than requirement of the demand and supplies stored energy when the demand exceeds the supply of energy of the system. . Thermal Energy Storage : 1. __ Itis the storage of energy by heating, melting or vaporization of material and the energy becomes available as heat. 2. Thermal energy storage is of two types : Classification of energy storage methods ‘Thermo- Electromag- ainsi Thermal chemical Electrical eatle Mechanical Sensible | [Latent he] | Battery a storage | |at storage] static Solar Pumped| |Compres- Solids | | Liquids] | Ooo g, | [Absorbent pachag eoryte These are different ways through which we can store solar energy : Solar Pond : It is a natural or artificial body of water for collecting and absorbing solar radiation energy and storing it as heat. Solar Pumping : Solar water pump work with the help of solar cell, which convert solar energy into electrical energy. Solar Cooker : A solar cooker is a device which uses sunlight as its energy source and these sun rays are absorbed by a blackened metal tray which kept inside the solar box. Solar cooking is done by the help of solar cooker. Solar Still : The process used to convert saline water into pure water by using solar energy is called solar distillation and the device used is called solar still.Que 2.21. | Define solar air heater with neat sketch and also write ‘ion. AKTU 2018-19, Marks 10 Answer ‘ A. Solar Air Heater : 1. Solar air heater is a technology in which the energy from the solar insolation is captured by an absorbing medium and used to heat air. 2. Solar air heaters use roof, wall or window mounted solar collectors to heat the air that passes through them. YAS Solar ra Ww 5; Radiation loss its applic: i Reflection loss Fy yf Convection Transparent loss cover Air in Air passage Conduction loss Absorber plate Bottom of collector Fig. 2.21.1, 3. Aconventional solar air heater is essentially a flat plate collector with an absorber plate. It is a transparent cover system at the top and insulation at the bottom and on the sides. The whole assembly is enclosed in a sheet metal container. Applications of Solar Air Heater : Solar air heater provides ventilation and process air heating. Solar air heater serves as weather cladding. » preoo(b) Draw a schematic diagram ofa solar pond based electric power plant with cooling tower and explain its working. x Ans. Here is a schematic diagfam ofa solar pond based electric { power plant with on cooling tower: ‘The solar pond is a shallow pool of water that is stratified into three layers: + The upper layer is the convective zone. This layer is heated by the sun and is constantly mixing.The middle layer is the thermal zone. {his layer is insulated from the convective zone by a layer of salt. The thermal zone is heated by the convective zone and does not mix. ‘The lower layer is the storage zone. This layer is the coldest layer and is used to store heat. The heat from the thermal zone is extracted by a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is a device that transfers heat from one fluid to another. The heat from the thermal zone is transferred to a working fluid, such as water or air. The working fluid is then used to drive a turbine, which generates electricity. - The electricity generated by the bpeting is then fed into the power grid. The cooling to is used to cool the working fluid before it is returned to the solar pond. The working principle of a bend based electric power plant is as follows: The sun heats the uppet ayer of the solar pond. The heat from the upper layer is transferred to the thermal zone by conducticgs 3. The thermal, is insulated from the convective zone by alayer ofssalt. This prevents the heat from the thermal zone from mixing with the convective zone. A. The heat from the thermal zone is extracted by a heat exchanger. . The heat exchanger transfers the heat from the thermal zone to a working fluid. The working fluid is then used to drive a turbine, which generates electricity. es The elgctricity generated by the turbine is then fed into the power grid. 8. The cooling tower is used to cool the working fluid before it is returned to the solar pond. - Solar ponds based electri¢'power plants are a promising technology for generating electricity from solar energy. ‘They are relatively inexpensive to build and operate, and they are reliable. However, they are not as efficient as other solar power technologies, such as solar photovoltaics. Pr a ° =Advantages of Solar Pond + Saves money as the cost associated with itis only its initial cost. Very large area collectors can be constructed just with the cost of the clay or plastic pond liner. + This technology is attractive For rural areas in developing countries. ‘+ The accumulated salt crystals which is a by-product from solar pond can be used further. + Separate collector is not needed for this thermal storage system. + Environmental friendly. + Flexibility of location as they can be located anywhere regardless of the distance to the nearest power outlet provided that there is access to direct sunlight near the pond site. Disadvantages of Solar Pond «= The accumulated salt crystals have to be removed periodically and this adds maintenance expense, + Solar ponds require a significant amount of land area to function properly. += Can only operate in sunny days and ifthe site is shaded by tall trees or building, it may not work property. «= Proper algae and dust removal is needed as the thermal efficiency of a solar pond sturdily dependents on the clarity ofthe pond. Applications of Solar Pond ‘+ Power production: A solar pond can be used to generate electricity by driving a thermo electric device or a Rankine cycle engine. The organic working fluid produces mechanical power in a Rankine cycle, which in turn generates electrical power using an alternator. + Industrial process heat. ‘+ Heating animal housing on Farms: In arms which have enough land for solar ponds, the low grade heat from them can be used for heating animal housing, drying crops etc. + Salt production: Salt is obtained as the byproduct From solar pond. Solar pond can be used for purification of salt that is fr the production of ‘vacuum quality’ salt. ‘+ Aquaculture: Using the saline water from the solar pond fishes lke brine shrimp can be grown. + Heating and Cooling of Buildings. ‘+ Desalination: The low cost thermal energy can used to purify water for drinking or irrigation.