Artificial Aging Properties of an Extruded Polymeric Solar Collector

Abstract

A Solar hot water collector, manufactured from polymer materials, has been studied to produce low temperature water with low cost production in order to assist electrical safety, which is more suitable for Thailand’s energy usage. The polymer collector used in this study was PVC composite (PVC-C). This material, with a conduction rate of 0.24 W/m K, was investigated through ASHRAE 93- 77 standard procedures and compared with a commercial solar collector made from a polyphenylene ether blend with polystyrene (Noryl). The mechanical properties testing used in this study are tensile strength, modulus, and elongation at break, before and after aging at 50oC for 10,000 hr in order to indicate aging. The lifetime expected from aging results for PVC-C was more than 8 years durability under these experimental testing conditions.

Keywords: Polymeric solar collector, Thermal efficiency, Artificial aging, Mechanical properties