Until very recently, energy supply of the world has been treated as being nearly inexhaustible. Nowadays about 90 percent of the energy used is obtained from non-renewable resources: oil, natural gas, coal and uranium. These resources are being used up at an alarming rate. To meet our demands we are now searching for new sources of energy. One of these new sources of energy is solar energy which will assume increasing importance. It is free but means must be developed to use it economically. Research is actively under way to reduce the storage cost of this low intensity energy and for the design of economical systems. The purpose of this Institute is to provide an international forum for the dissemination of information on solar energy utilization: fundamentals and applications in industry. This meeting is primarily a high level teaching activity. The subject is treated in considerable depth by lecturers eminent in their field. The other participants include scientists, engineers, and senior graduate students who themselves are involved in a similar research and who wish to learn more about current developments, as well as scientists from other areas who are planning to research on solar energy. The lectures are supplemented by informal discussions designed to encourage the free and critical exchange of ideas. A limited number of contributions are also included. This volume contains both basic and applied information contributed during the Institute. The editors appreciate the cooperation of Martinus Nijhoff Publishezsin making the proceedings widely available.

Inhalt

Basic Concepts and Laws of Thermal Radiation.- Radiative Heat Transfer at a Surface.- Radiative Heat Exchange Between Surfaces.- Availability of Solar Energy.- Optical Properties of Selective Layers.- Solar Radiation Transfer in Semitransparent Materials.- Analysis of Ceramic Material Behaviour Under Highly Concentrated Solar Radiation.- Second Law Aspects of Solar Energy Conversion.- Analysis of Flat Plate Collectors.- Slightly Concentrating Solar Collectors.- Predicting Long Terra Average Performance of Solar Collectors.- Second Law Optimization Procedure for Concentrating Collectors.- Convection Suppression Devices for Solar Thermal Applications.- Laminar and Turbulent Natural Convection in Solar Energy Applications.- Direct Absorption Solar Radiation Collection Systems.- Direct Absorption Receiver System for High Temperature.- Design of Liquid Desiccant Dehumidification and Cooling Systems.- Active Hybrid Solar Cooling Systems.- Solar-Assisted Lithium-Bromide Absorption Cooling Systems.- Solar Adsorption Heat Pumps.- Performance Simulation of a Solar Absorption Air Conditioning System Using Latent Heat Storage.- Solar Thermal Energy Storage.- High Temperature Sensible Heat Storage.- Large Scale Energy Storage.- Solar Ponds for Power Generation.- Design of the C.S.I.C. Research Salt Gradient Solar Pond.- Optimal Efficiency of a Solar Pond and A Rankine Cycle System.- Review of Thermosyphon Solar Water Heaters.- An Investigation of Hydraulic and Thermal Characteristics of a Double-Loop Thermosyphonic Solar Water Heater.- An Interpretation Method for Solar Energy Systems Monitored in the System Test Facility.- Massive Buildings in the Mediterranean Area-A Shortcut to Passive Solar Applications.- Convective Thermal Rectification in an Air-Filled Parallelogramic Cavity.- Integral Transform Solution of a One Dimensional Transient Non-Homogeneous Heat Conduction Problem in the Trombe Wall.- Solar Drying.- Low Temperature Drying Systems - Insights on the Evaluation of Their Performance.- Solar Energy Assisted Fluidized-Bed Dryer.- Solar Thermo Electric Power Systems.- Solar Industrial Process Heat Production.- Economic Analyses of Solar Systems.- Subject Inde.