Review of state-of-the-art of solar collector corrosion processes. Task 1 of solar collector studies for solar heating and cooling applications. Final technical progress report

The state-of-the-art of solar collector corrosion processes is reviewed, and Task 1 of a current research program on use of aqueous heat transfer fluids for solar heating and cooling is summarized. The review of available published literature has indicated that lack of quantitative information exists relative to collector corrosion at the present time, particularly for the higher temperature applications of solar heating and cooling compared to domestic water heating. Solar collector systems are reviewed from the corrosion/service life viewpoint, with emphasis on various applications, collector design, heat transfer fluids, and freeze protection methods. Available information (mostly qualitative) on collector corrosion technology is reviewed to indicate potential corrosion problem areas and corrosion prevention practices. Sources of limited quantitative data that are reviewed are current solar applications, research programs on collector corrosion, and pertinent experience in related applications of automotive cooling and non-solar heating and cooling. A data bank was developed to catalog corrosion information. Appendix A of this report is a bibliography of the data bank, with abstracts reproduced from presently available literature accessions (about 220). This report is presented as a descriptive summary of information that is contained in the data bank