Before there were computers we let nature be the computer. This was performed by using dimensionless numbers and developing correlations between them, particularly when designing complicated flow or heat transfer processes. The essence of the procedure was to take the differ­ential equation applicable to the process at hand and make it dimension­less. The variables were […]

Fig. B.1 Various properties of liquid water including: viscosity (д, •), density (p, o), heat capacity (Cp, ■), thermal conductivity (k, □), a group of parameters used in the calculation of the Rayleigh number (Ra = [gxp2Cp/kp]ATL3 = CRaATL3, see the text for the definition of the parameters used to determine CRa, *) and the […]

Table A.1 Numerical prefixes Prefix Symbol Value Prefix Symbol Value Yotta Y 1—1 О to Yocto y i—1 О 1 to Zetta Z 1021 Zepto z 10-21 Exa E 1018 Atto a 10-18 Peta* P 1015 Femto f 10-15 Tera T 1012 Pico p 10-12 Giga G 109 Nano n 10-9 Mega M 106 Micro […]

When a cover was placed on a flat plate solar energy collector it was found that the device became more thermally efficient despite the fact that the cover admitted less insolation. The gauge of the insolation reaching and absorbed by the absorber plate was || or ||, which is a com­plicated calculation requiring detailed knowledge […]

The basic parabolic trough STEGE process has a large area of parabolic reflectors that concentrate insolation to absorber pipes through which a heat transfer fluid (typically) flows to receive the energy. The pipes have a selective surface and are surrounded by a clear glass concentric tube to minimize heat transfer to the surroundings, similar to […]

In order to use solar energy to produce steam and hence power a Rankine cycle to generate electricity, one must concentrate the solar radiation. The concentrated insolation is absorbed by a pipe that has the heat transfer fluid flowing through it. It was demonstrated in the previous chapter that a flat plate solar energy collector […]

The Rankine cycle is the cycle of choice to produce electricity and is shown in Fig. 9.1 in a pressure (P)-enthalpy (H) diagram. Water is the usual working fluid in the cycle. Although there are more details to the cycle than shown, such as a reheat component, this will be ignored here so the reader […]

Solar thermal energy generated electricity (STEGE) is produced sim­ilarly to a typical, coal-fired power station used today, with the only difference being the heat source. The power cycle for a contemporary power plant occurs by first pulverizing coal into a fine powder which is then ignited to generate heat within a furnace. Water is pumped […]