Experimental and theoretical investigations on temperature limitation in solar thermal collectors with heat pipes: Effect of superheating on the maximum temperature

Heat pipes in solar thermal collectors enable to reduce the temperature loads in the solar circuit during stagnation periods by exploiting their dry-out limit. With this approach vapour formation in the solar circuit can be completely avoided, which is essential to reduce costs of solar thermal systems by simplified and more reliable solar circuits. The design of “deactivating” collector heat pipes with a desired maximum temperature requires a comprehensive understanding of the heat transfer processes in the heat pipe, in particular when dry-out takes place. We developed a model, which allows calculating the maximum fluid temperature in the collector for various working fluids. Compared to existing approaches, the effect of superheated vapour in the heat pipe during stagnation is additionally considered. The paper describes the theoretical model in detail and its extensive experimental validation. The results show that the model is able to predict the maximum fluid temperature with an accuracy better than 5 K. Based on parametric studies with different working fluids, we analyse and discuss the temperature limitation and its effect on the collector performance.