Effect of Acceptance angle on the design and performance of a heat pipe based compound parabolic collector at Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

The performance of any solar collector depends on the solar radiation available, its design and orientation. The aim of this work is to develop a compound parabolic solar collector (CPC) and optimize its performance for domestic use under climatic condition of Kano, Nigeria (Φ =12.05 o N). The acceptance angle plays an important role in determining the solar radiation acceptance of the CPC collector. Therefore this paper investigates the effect of the acceptance angle on the CPC design, solar radiation collection and absorption by the heat pipe receiver installed inside the CPC collector. From the radiation data and the analysis used, this study shows that as the acceptance angle increases, the collector height decreases and the concentration ratio increases.