Description:   

The use of solar energy for distillation, pool heating, domestic water heating, and
space heating and cooling.  This course covers the fundamental processes by which solar radiation is transmitted through the atmosphere, absorbed by a surface, converted into heat, distributed and stored.  The course includes heat-loss calculations for solar collectors & buildings, and the use of computer simulations.  The course also covers the use of passive shading devices and the construction of sun/shade maps.

Prerequisite(s):          ME 312 – Thermodynamics II

Textbook(s)/Materials Required:

1. Duffie, J.A. & Beckman, W.A., Solar Engineering of  Thermal Processes, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2nd ed, 1991; and Sun Angle Calculator by Libbey-Owens Ford.

2. Instructors Notes in Library.

Objectives:

1. Contemporary issues including renewable vs nonrenewable energy, the greenhouse effect (global warming), acid rain, and the ozone layer destruction will be introduced and discussed.  Students will learn about the composition of the sun, the spectral distribution & variation of extraterrestrial radiation, the conversion of standard time to solar time, and the basic relations of sun-earth geometry.

2. Students will learn how to determine radiation properties of opaque materials including absorptivity and emissivity.  Also students will learn to determine the absorptivity, reflectivity, and transmissivity of transparent materials, i.e. solar glazing.

3. Students will understand how to make heat transfer calculations involving conduction, convection, and radiation for solar energy collectors.  In addition, students will learn how to develop a thermal design model for flat-plate collectors.

4. Students will learn how to use the Sun-Angle Calculator to construct sun-shade maps.

5. Students will learn how to use a computer simulation program for solar system Calculations, including solar system design and parametric studies.

Topics:

Introduction to contemporary issues, sun-earth geometry relationships & calculations
Use of the sun-angle calculator for determining solar daylength, sunrise/sunset times, solar altitude &  azimuth angles
Construction of sun-shade maps on the sun-angle calculator
Passive Horizontal shading devices
Passive Vertical Shading Devices
Combinations of horizontal and vertical shading devices
Off-South Shading Devices
Inverse Problems
Available Solar Radiation Topics Introduction to the use of f-Chart computer program
Selected Heat Transfer Topics
Radiation Characteristics of Opaque Materials
Radiation Transmission through Glazings and Absorbed Radiation
Thermal Modeling of Flat Plate  Collectors
Energy Storage
Exams, plus Final Exam

Schedule:            Lecture Recitation:                3 hours, per week
                            Laboratory:                           none