Lowe, Rodney William (2004) Development of a novel rotationally moulded solar hot water system. Masters (Research) thesis, James Cook University.

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Abstract

The objective of this thesis is to outline the development of a novel rotationally moulded solar water heater. It will describe the underlying principles that make the system unique and conclude with the industrial development of a commercial version of the heater. The solar water heater is of the integral collector-storage type. The most unique feature of the water heater is that the collector glazing system also forms a transparent upper surface of the storage tank. The highly efficient top cover system provides the maximum possible use of available solar radiation, although some penalty is imposed through relatively large night time heat losses. The top cover system is a prime consideration in this thesis and the principles of solar transmission and thermal insulation are discussed in detail. Mains pressure hot water supply is achieved by passing the mains pressure cold water through a finned heat exchange tube that is submerged in the water storage chamber. The water exits the tube at a temperature close to that of the stored heat transfer medium in the collector/storage chamber. Careful consideration was given to design of the heat exchange circuit to optimise extraction of energy from the solar water heater.

The collector is composed of three main components that have been developed to suit manufacturing from plastic using the rotational moulding process. The absorber/storage component houses the heat exchange tube, inner glazing and 150 litres of water which is heated by solar radiation. The top cover houses the upper transparent insulation, the outer glazing and provides additional side insulation. A mounting tray that facilitates permanent attachment of the collector assembly to the roof of a dwelling or suitable intermediate framework is the final component. The heater is now ready for production and is an Australian and New Zealand Standards, AS/NZS 2712-2002 approved system.

Item ID:	25358
Item Type:	Thesis (Masters (Research))
Keywords:	engineering design; heat exchange; heat transfer; honeycomb transparent insulation; ICS; integral collector-storage; integrated collector storage; renewable energy; rotational moulding; rotationally moulded; rotomolding; rotomoulding; SHW; solar hot water systems; solar thermal collectors; solar water heating; storage tanks; SWH
Related URLs:	http://eprints.jcu.edu.au/7132/
Additional Information:	Appendices N and O (administrative documentation) are not available through this repository. Publications arising from this thesis are available from the Related URLs field. The publications are: Suehrcke, H., Däldehög, D., Harris, J.A., and Lowe, R.W. (2004) Heat transfer across corrugated sheets and honeycomb transparent insulation. Solar Energy, 76 . pp. 351-358.
Date Deposited:	13 Aug 2013 04:15
FoR Codes:	09 ENGINEERING > 0913 Mechanical Engineering > 091305 Energy Generation, Conversion and Storage Engineering @ 100%
SEO Codes:	85 ENERGY > 8505 Renewable Energy > 850506 Solar-Thermal Energy @ 100%
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