Abstract :
A calorimeter was built for measuring the concentrated solar power produced by a point focus solar concentrator that was developed
at CIE – UNAM. In order to obtain a thermal characterization of the calorimeter a theoretical and experimental heat transfer study is
carried out. This study addresses the heat transfer in the circular flat plate of the calorimeter, which acts as receiver for the concentrating
system. Temperatures are measured at different points of this plate and fit with a theoretical model that considers heat conduction with
convective and radiative boundary conditions. In particular, it is possible to calculate the temperature distribution on the irradiated surface.
This allows to examine the validity of the assumptions of cold water calorimetry, which was the technique applied to this system in
previous works.
2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
