Moss, RogerShire, StanHenshall, PaulEames, PhilipArya, FaridHyde, Trevor2017-08-282017-08-282016http://hdl.handle.net/2263/61927papers presented to the 12th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Costa de Sol, Spain on 11-13 July 2016.An evacuated flat plate collector has been built and tested in a solar simulator. A vacuum of <0.1 Pa was used to eliminate heat losses through convection and gas conduction. CFD and stress calculations for the hydro-formed panels determined the material thickness and through-hole sizes. The simulator used a reflecting tube to generate uniform illumination via multiple virtual images of four halogen floodlights. Tests with and without vacuum over a range of illumination powers demonstrate the efficiency benefits of vacuum insulation when providing heat at elevated temperatures or with weak insolation.6 pagesPDFenUniversity of PretoriaEvacuated flat plate solar collectorVirtual image solar simulatorPresentation