Stoves and furnaces – Heaters – Surface
Patent
1975-07-21
1979-02-13
Sprague, Kenneth W.
Stoves and furnaces
Heaters
Surface
237 1A, 252316, F24J 302
Patent
active
041389921
ABSTRACT:
A solar pond for collecting solar energy preferably filled with a shallow layer of water over a blackened sunlight-absorbing surface which is in turn in contact with a heat-storage or heat exchanging medium. Convection in the solar pond is inhibited by raising the viscosity of the pond by adding gelling agents, for example, a polyethyleneoxide adduct of a hydrophobic residue. Convection is further inhibited by dividing the pond into cells such that the Rayleigh number of the fluid within the cell structure is less than the critical Rayleigh number at which convection may occur. The dividers may be translucent or transparent generally horizontal sheets or generally vertical sheets, forming matrices which are rectangular, hexagonal or triangular in horizontal cross-sections. Alternatively, the gelled fluid medium of the solar pond may be bagged in translucent elongated bags which when arranged in the pond have their shortest dimension less than that which will support convection. Formulas are given for computing the maximum permissible shortest dimension of the cells of the structures disclosed and a general formula is given for computing this dimension in any configuration. In one embodiment of the invention, the solar pond is merely made shallow enough and viscous enough that convection will not take place.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2801218 (1957-07-01), Menaul
patent: 3077190 (1963-02-01), Allen
patent: 3372691 (1968-03-01), Shachar
patent: 3563305 (1971-02-01), Hay
patent: 3639258 (1972-02-01), Corino
patent: 3918904 (1975-11-01), Vartiak
A. Rabl and C. Nielsen, "Solar Ponds for Space Heating," Solar Energy, vol. 17, pp. 1-12, Pergamon Press, England, 1975.
Schaffer, executrix by Dorothy B.
Shaffer, deceased Lloyd H.
Sprague Kenneth W.
Yeung James C.
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