Full-scale traditional metal solar collectors and solar collector specimens fabricated from polymeric materials were investigated in the present study. A polymeric collector is 67.8% lighter than a traditional metal solar collector, and a metal solar collector with transparent plastic covering is 40.3% lighter than a traditional metal solar collector. Honeycomb multichannel plates made from polycarbonate were chosen to create a polymeric solar collector. A test rig for the natural circulation of the working fluid in a solar collector was built for a comparative experimental investigation of various solar collectors operating at ambient conditions. It was shown experimentally that the efficiency of a polymeric collector is 8-15% lower than the efficiency of a traditional collector.
Full-scale metal solar collectors and solar collectors fabricated from polymeric materials are studied in present research. Honeycomb multichannel plates made from polycarbonate were chosen to create a polymeric solar collector. Polymeric collector is 67.8% lighter than metal solar collector. It was experimentally shown that the efficiency of a polymeric collector is 7-14% lower than a traditional collector. An ecologically based Life Cycle Assessment showed the advantages of the application of polymeric materials in the construction of solar collectors.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.