Question

PVC water pipe, that is smaller in diameter than 24 inches that is exposed to direct sunlight shall be protected by a wrap of no less than _______ of an inch to protect the piping from UV degradation?

1) 1/4
2) 1/2
3) 3/4
4) 1

Answer 1

The detailed answer includes an approach for calculating the energy per meter of the PVC pipe exposed to sunlight with given insolation and an explanation that additional information on specific heat and mass of the fluid is required for calculating the fluid's temperature increase.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question deals with the amount of sunlight concentrated onto a PVC pipe and the resulting temperature increase of the fluid within the pipe, assuming it is exposed to direct sunlight with an insolation value of 0.900 kW/m². We can address part b by calculating the area of the cylindrical surface of the pipe that sunlight would hit, and then multiply it by the given insolation to find the energy per meter. For part c, we'd need to know specific heat and mass of the mineral oil in the pipe to calculate the temperature increase using the energy absorbed, which has not been provided in this case.