Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, 4th Edition

Preface to the Third Edition

It has been 14 years since the second edition was published, but during that period the fundamentals of solar engineering have not changed significantly. So, why is a third edition needed? The best explanation is to realize that the details of all engineering disciplines grow in complexity with time and new ways of presenting complex material become apparent.

In Part I, Fundamentals, the first two chapters on the solar resource have received only modest updates. The sun's position has been well understood for centuries and so Chapter 1 has been updated by recasting some equations in simpler forms. The understanding and modeling of the influence of the earth's atmosphere on the radiation striking surfaces of arbitrary orientation have been active research areas for many years. Some of this work has been used to update Chapter 2. Chapter 3 now includes heat transfer relations needed for transpired solar collectors and heat transfer relations for low-pressure conditions encountered in linear concentrating collectors. Chapters 4 and 5 on properties of opaque and transparent surfaces have not changed significantly. Chapter 6 on flat-plate collectors now includes an analysis of transpired collectors. Collector testing is important but has not changed significantly. However, different countries express test results in different ways so a more through discussion of alternative presentations has been added. Compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs) receive a more ...