Study of the Fixed and Concentrated Type Reverse Flat Plate Solar Collector (1st Report, Analysis on the Shape of Fixed Reflector)

The reverse flat plate solar collector proposed in this study consists of a fixed reflector and an absorber plate installed upside down. It has a higher collective performance than the ordinary flat plate collector for high temperature applications, due to the possible reduction of natural convection heat losses from the absorber plate. In the present paper, three-dimensional geometrical analysis of the optimum shape of the fixed reflector has been conducted on parabolic and partially circular cross-sections of the reflectors. The average concentrated energy flux has been calculated aided by the evaluated solar radiation distribution from the sky, and the geometrical collective performance is discussed.