Coupled radiative and conductive heat transfer across honeycomb panels and through single cells

In the absence of natural convection, heat flows through a gas-filled honeycomb by conduction and radiation. For the parameter ranges of interest in a plastic honeycomb inside a flat plate solar collector, the conduction and radiation are strongly coupled. The total heat transfer across the panel was studied experimentally and theoretically. The experimental approach precisely measured the total heat transfer under varying conditions. The theoretical approach proposed several models, established their governing equations, and solved the equations by either numerical or analytical methods. A model based on grey surfaces, specular sidewalls, and one-dimensional conduction yielded results within 6 percent of measurements.