Abstract
The harnessing of abundant solar thermal energy is a major challenge for research. In this scenario, a solar water lens collector is developed and its performance is investigated experimentally. A linear low-density polyethylene plastic transparent (LLDPE) sheet filled with plain distilled water is established as a water lens concentrating collector, which behaves as a convex lens. A spirally coiled copper tube fitted on the copper plate enclosed by wooden cabinet with a top surface covered by a glass plate that is used as the receiver. The performance of the solar water lens collector is evaluated by a thermodynamical approach. The water lens concentrating collector can be developed by using simple technology at a low cost. The intensity of solar flux falling on the receiver surface is observed as 4.5–6.3 times the solar flux falling on the horizontal surface. In this paper, the performance of the collector is evaluated at three foci points of the receiver from the collector at 60 cm, 90 cm from the ground, and at the ground. The instantaneous collector energy conversion efficiency of the water lens collector is achieved in the range of 70–94%. The collector and receivers are scalable and hence this collector may be suitable for residential, commercial, and also for industrial applications.
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Natarajan, M., Sekhar, Y.R., Chiranjeevi, C., Srinivas, T., Bicer, Y. (2022). Concentrated Solar Flux Assessment of Water Lens Collector. In: Palanisamy, M., Natarajan, S.K., Jayaraj, S., Sivalingam, M. (eds) Innovations in Energy, Power and Thermal Engineering . Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4489-4_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4489-4_3
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