The experimental study of natural convection in allglass evacuated tube solar collectors is performed through the experimental platform of the solar-assisted fuel cell system.The experimental facility includes solar collectors with different length and diameter tubes, different coating materials, and with / without guide plates, respectively. Threedimensional mathematical models on natural and forced convections in the solar collectors are established and the experimental data is validated by field synergy and entransy principles. The results of natural convection show that the water temperature increases and thermal efficiency decreases gradually with the evacuated tube length. The thermal efficiency increases when absorption rates increase from 0. 95 to 1. 0 and emission rates decrease from 0. 16 to 0. 06. The thermal efficiency of solar collectors is increased after being equipped with the guide plate, which is attributed to the disappearance of the mixed flowand the enhancement of the heat transfer at the bottom of the evacuated tube. The results of forced convertion indicate that the Reynolds, Nusselt and entransy increments of the horizontal double collectors are higher than those of the vertical single collector while the entransy dissipation is lower than that of the vertical single collector. It is concluded that the solar collectors with guide plates are suitable for natural convection while the double horizontal collectors are suitable for forced convection in the thermal field of solar-assisted fuel cell systems with lowand medium temperatures.
