Back to results
US 4,117,829 AGranted
Fur-like photothermal converter surface
AssigneeBattelle Development Corporation
InventorsDaniel Gross, Pierre Genequand
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Loading patent…
Loading patent…
AssigneeBattelle Development Corporation
InventorsDaniel Gross, Pierre Genequand
Estimating the term…
In order to reduce energy losses by convection and/or thermal radiation from the radiation-absorbing surface of a photothermal energy converter for the utilization of solar energy, the said surface is provided with a multiplicity of projecting fibres sufficiently close to one another to suppress convection, each fibre consisting of a material which is permeable to the incident luminous radiation to be absorbed and at least partly opaque to infrared thermal radiation which may be reemitted from the said surface whereby energy losses by radiation are reduced. The fibres can be, for example, glass or plastic fibres and can be integral with or implanted in the said surface. Preferably, the fibres have diameters in the range 25 to 500 micrometers, a height of the order of 5 cm, and an average distance between fibres in the range 100 to 5000 micrometers.
Photothermal converter apparatus for converting incident photon energy into heat, comprising a heat-absorbing surface and a multiplicity of substantially parallel fibres secured to said surface and extending substantially rectilinearly therefrom and having a length of at least about 1 cm, said fibers being arranged substantially equidistant from each other and being comprised of a material which is transparent to the incident photon energy and at least partially opaque to infrared thermal radiation re-emitted by said surface, whereby said fibres act as a light guiding structure with respect to the incident photon energy and serve to suppress energy losses from the converter by inhibiting infrared thermal reradiation from said surface and by inhibiting convection losses.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.