Design and Thermal Performance Testing of a Heat Pipe Flat Plate Solar Collector

This thesis investigates the use of heat pipes for removing heat from flat plate solar collectors and transferring the energy to air in a space heating system. Heat pipes are passive devices which are very efficient at transporting heat energy. They operate using a closed evaporation-condensation cycle. This thesis presents the fundamentals of flat plate collectors, heat pipes, and a set of parameters for evaluating a heat pipe flat collector. Also included are the results of this project and the recommendations for improvements.