Deep Hole Drilling for Solar Thermal Components
Solar thermal systems use tubes and manifolds that need deep hole drilling. The work is similar to general heat exchanger tube drilling with some material-specific considerations. Over the years, I have drilled components for parabolic trough collectors, flat plate collectors, and central receiver tower systems. Each design brings its own drilling challenges. The main components are collector tubes and distribution manifolds. Collector tubes carry heat transfer fluid and are typically made from copper or stainless steel. The manifolds that connect multiple collector tubes need drilled passages for fluid distribution. I have also worked on header boxes that distribute fluid to arrays of collectors, which require multiple cross-drilled ports at precise angles. The precision of these ports affects the flow balance across the collector array. ...