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Performance of Parabolic Trough
Collector
(Fabrication and Analysis)

Basic Fundamentals of Parabolic Trough

Collector

HARBHINDER SINGH
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University Institute of Engineering & Technology
Panjab University
CHANDIGARH

1
 Contents
Objective of the Book....................................................................................................................3

Chapter 1 Introduction.................................................................................................................4

Chapter 2 Research Work..........................................................................................................12

Chapter 3 Experimental Analysis..............................................................................................19

Chapter 4 Conclusion..................................................................................................................34

Chapter 5. Comparison with flat plate collectors.....................................................................35

Chapter 6. Future Trends...........................................................................................................37

2
 Objective of the Book

The solar parabolic trough collector technology is one of the most reliable technology in the field

of solar thermal. This is due to the fact that temperatures as high as 300 oC can be achieved using

this technology. This technology is used for hot water production, process steam requirement,

power generation and many more. In the present study a fabrication and performance analysis on

a close type parabolic trough collector is performed. Different parameters of the system such as

receiver tube diameter, material of the receiver tube and heat transfer fluid are chosen for the

study and evaluating the performance of the system. In the present work stainless steel with

mirror finish is taken as the reflecting material for the trough. Stainless steel and copper are taken

as the material for the receiver tubes. The Absorber Tube is fabricated and then painted with

black paint in order to increase its absorptivity and reduce losses. Water is used as heat transfer

fluid. Three mass flow rates are used for the fluid. Temperatures are recorded using

Thermometer. On the basis of recorded parameters efficiency of the system was calculated and

its variation with time of day and mass flow rate for different conditions is represented

graphically.

3
 Chapter 1

Introduction

The overall prerequisite of energy is persistently expanding Furthermore makes it

ineluctable on making the utilization of unpredictable assets. The sun will be a standout

amongst the generous energy sources that need the possibility will satisfy this climbing

energy has. Sun may be a boundless Furthermore, cleaner hotspot about energy. Solar

thermal technology is inexorable clinched alongside the development of the group

keeping and also the country. Also, it will be paramount of the country and of the earth.

Sun is a gigantic pool of clean energy also this clean force achieves earth in the

manifestation of its beams is known as solar energy. Solar energy may be an abundant

sourball from claiming energy Also will be accessible clinched alongside a lot.

Transformation of these approaching sun oriented radiations might make done

specifically or by implication clinched alongside different helpful manifestations of

energy concerning illustration high temperature Also power which might a chance to be

used further Likewise for those prerequisites of the humankind. That sun is giving a

staggering supply about solar energy in excess of 4 billion quite some time. Sun

powered energy might have been utilized by the ancient administration individuals to

warm their homes also dry apparel yet their employments were more primitive. Intense

increment on worldwide oil prices, broad utilization about fossil fuels, debilitating climb

4
 on contamination. Furthermore, nursery impact brings headed an expansive amount of

nations around those globes should do broad research in this zone.

1.1 Basics of Solar Thermal Collection / Concentrating Solar Power

The basic principle of solar thermal collection is that when solar radiation is

incident on a surface (such as that of a blackbody) part of this radiation is absorbed, thus

increasing the temperature of the surface. As the temperature of the body increases, the

surface loses heat at an increasing rate to the surroundings. Steady state is reached when

the rate of the solar heat gain is balanced by the rate of heat loss to the ambient

surroundings. Solar concentrators increase the amount of incident energy on the

absorber surface as compared to that on the concentrator aperture. The increase is

achieved by the use of reflecting surfaces or other optical means, which concentrate the

incident radiation onto a suitable absorber / receiver. Therefore, a solar concentrator

generally consists of (i) a focusing device, (ii) an absorber / receiver provided with or

without a transparent cover, and (iii) a tracking device for continuously following the

sun. Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technologies are usually categorized in three

different concepts, as shown in figure (1.1).

5
 Figure 1.1: Schematic diagrams of the three CSP systems (Tower, Dish, and Trough)

• Troughs: parabolic trough – shaped mirror reflectors linearly concentrate

sunlight onto receiver tubes, heating a thermal transfer fluid which is then used

to produce superheated steam.

• Dishes: parabolic dish – shaped reflectors perfectly concentrate sunlight in two

dimensions and run a small engine or turbine at the focal point.

• Towers: central receivers use numerous heliostats to concentrate sunlight onto a

central receiver on the top of a tower.

The solar flux concentration ratio typically obtained is at the level of 30 – 100, 100 –

1000, and 1000 – 10000 for trough, tower and dish systems, respectively.

1.2 Solar Energy in India

India is blessed with a huge potential of solar power. India receives an estimated

hourly radiation of 200 MW/km2 with approximately 300 sunny days per year. The

theoretical reception of solar power on the land area is about 5 trillion KWh/yr. At

present India is having about 3 GW of installed capacity which is just over 1% of the

total installed capacity and about 0.5% of the estimated potential. As estimated by the

National Institute of solar energy the current potential of solar energy in India is about

750 GW. The estimates suggest that Rajasthan and Jammu Kashmir have the highest

potential in this regard. Thar Desert in Rajasthan has massive potential of about 142GW

of solar power. Currently Gujarat is the leading state when it comes to installed solar

power and has installed capacity of about 900 MW and is also developing utility-scale

6
 power project over various canals and rooftops throughout the state. Indian government

is expanding its wings to become one of the largest producers of solar power in the

world and plans to install 100 GW by the end of 2022 which includes about 20 GW of

ultra-mega solar power projects across 12 different states.

1.3 Parabolic Trough Collector

A parabolic trough collector system consists of a reflecting surface which

resembles a parabolic shape. This reflecting surface is mostly made of reflecting mirrors

or anodized aluminium sheets.

The solar radiations falling on the reflecting surface is concentrated on the focal

line of the parabola where a receiver tube carrying the heat transfer fluid is placed.

Absorber tube either painted black or electroplated with nickel or chromium in order to

increase the absorptivity of the tube. The heat transfer fluid picks up the heat Figure 1.2.

Parabolic Trough Collector system from the absorber tube which is utilized later in

the desired way. The temperature in this type system can reach as high as 400 oC,

depending upon the type of reflecting surface, absorber tube materials and heat

transfer fluid. A parabolic trough collector system must be positioned in agreement

with the sun’s position so that it can reflect the incoming beam radiations to the

absorber tube.

7
 Figure 1.2: Parabolic Trough Collector system

Concentrating ratio is an important term when talking about concentrating

collectors. It is defined as the ratio of the area aperture area of collector and absorber

tube’s area. Its value ranges from 12 to 70. Increase in concentration ratio corresponds

to higher working temperatures. Various components of the system are shown in the

figure 1.2.

Design specifications are shown in figure some of the chief components of the

system are:

8
Reflector: The purpose of the reflector is to reflect and concentrate the incoming direct

radiation to the focal line. This is generally made from a material of very high

reflectivity, such as polished mirrors, stainless steel sheets, anodized aluminium etc.

The reflectivity is as high as 90%.

Absorber tube: It acts as receiver and transporter of the energy which is being

concentrated at focal line of the reflecting surface. It is made of good absorbing

materials such as copper or stainless steel and is coated with black paint or other metal

for increased absorptivity. It carries the heat transfer fluid to which the energy is

transferred.

Support structure: It is a mechanical frame which gives the required support to sustain

the weight and provide robustness against wind loads.

Advantages:

• System has high conversion efficiency.

• It can be used for power generation and steam generation.

• It can be used for community cooking purposes.

• Temperatures as high as 400oC are achievable.

• It can also be utilized for thermal energy storage.

9
1.4Geometry of Parabolic Trough Solar Collector

Parabolic Trough Solar Collector (PTSC), which is also called a cylindrical

parabolic collector, employs linear imaging concentration. These collectors comprise of

a cylindrical concentrator of parabolic cross–sectional shape, and a circular cylindrical

receiver located along the focal line of the parabola. A section of a PTSC is shown in

figure 1.5.

Figure 1.5: Cross-sectional view of PTSC

Basically, it consists of (i) a parabolic reflector of about 63.5cm aperture width,

and (ii) an absorber (receiver) tube made of Stainless Steel and coated with selective

coating.

The cylindrical parabolic reflector focuses all the incident sunlight onto a metallic

tubular or flat receiver placed along its length in the focal plane. The heat transfer fluid

is allowed to flow through the receiver. The parabolic reflector is defined by its aperture

diameter, rim angle and receiver shape and size.

10
 The radius of parabola at an arbitrary location is defined by r, and is called the

"mirror radius". The maximum mirror radius occurs at its outer rim and is fittingly

called "rim radius" or parabolic radius. The rim anglecorresponds to beam radiation

reflected from the outer rim of the concentrator. The focal length, f, is related to rim

angle, and aperture width, W.

11
 Chapter 2

2. Research Work
In this chapter basics and detailed literature review on Parabolic Trough Collector

are presented. The main objective of the literature review is to identify research gaps

and methodology for the present study.

AtulSagade had once conducted experiments on prototype parabolic trough made

of fiberglass-reinforced plastic with its aperture area coated by aluminium foil of

reflectivity 0.86. Seeing Indian conditions, there is a large potential available for low-

cost solar-concentrating technologies for domestic as well as industrial process heat

applications. This line-focusing parabolic trough with mild steel receiver coated with

black proxy material has been tested with and without glass cover. Instantaneous

efficiency of 51% and 39% has been achieved with and without glass cover,

respectively. From Indian conditions, low-cost FRP parabolic trough system can prove

beneficial for industrial heating applications as well as domestic heating. With the

system described in this paper, the following conclusions are drawn:

1. Instantaneous efficiency of the collector has been increased by 13%.

Instantaneous efficiency of 51.67% has been achieved with the glass-covered receiver.

2. Useful heat gained by the receiver increases by 22% with the glass-covered

receiver throughout the day, and the average receiver temperature increased by 23%.

12
3. It has been observed that, with glass-covered receiver, outlet water temperature

and temperature gradient increase by 29% and 68%, respectively.

4. It has been observed that the average decrease in heat loss coefficient is 70%

when the receiver was covered with glass.

The installation of a large scale industrial solar thermal system provides an opportunity

to evaluate the technical and economic hurdles of similar systems in California. The

research was performed through the design, construction, operation, and analysis of a

high temperature solar thermal system at a Frito Lay snack food plant located in

Modesto, California. In this installation, high temperature water in excess of 232°C

(450°F) is produced by a concentrating solar field, which in turn is used to produce

approximately 300 pounds per square inch (20 bar) of process steam. The solar thermal

system is intended to improve plant efficiency with minimal impact on day to day

production operations. Process steam in the plant is used for cooking, which includes

heating edible oil for frying, and heating baking equipment. Steam is also converted into

hot water for cleaning and sterilization processes.

Odeh S.D conducted experiments on parabolic trough collector to obtain the effect

of the vacuum space between the steel tube and the glass tube on the reduction of the

total thermal loss. Synthetic oil is used as working fluid. Calculation is down to measure

the main thermal loss from the absorber tube outer wall to the evacuated glass tube

(surrounding the absorber) occurs by radiation. The heat loss from the glass cover tube

occurs by radiation to the sky and by convection to the surrounding air by wind or

natural convection. The second part of the loss from the collector takes place between

the absorber tube and the ambient via the vacuum bellows and supports. The

13
temperature increase by this experimental setup is about 250- 400 °C. The thermal cycle

uses a heat transfer fluid (synthetic oil) to transfer energy from the collector field to a

Rankine steam cycle via a heat exchanger.

Folaranmi J. reported the designed, constructed and testing of a parabolic solar

steam generator works on solar energy and made concentrating collector, heat from the

sun was concentrated on a black absorber located at the focus point of the reflector in

which water is heated to a very high temperature to form steam. It also describes the sun

tracking system unit by manual tilting of the lever at the base of the parabolic dish to

capture solar energy. The whole arrangement is mounted on a hinged frame supported

with a slotted lever for tilting the parabolic dish reflector to different angles so that the

sun is always directed to the collector at different period of the day. On the average

sunny and cloud free days, the test results gave high temperature above 200°C. The

testing of the parabolic dish solar steam generator was done in the month of January

2009 for three days. The whole set was placed in an open space in the sun from 9:00am

in the morning to 5:00 pm in the evening each day for three days. Resistance

thermometer placed at the focal point was used to obtain its maximum obtainable

Temperature. The results obtained for hourly reading of 8hours every day.

Rabl A matched a variety of solar concentrators in terms of their most important

general characteristics namely concentration, acceptance angle, sensitivity to mirror

errors, size of reflector area and average number of reflections. The connection between

concentration, acceptance angle and operating temperature of a solar collector is

analysed in simple intuitive terms for designing for designing collectors with maximum

concentration.

14
 Price H. reviewed the current state of the art of parabolic trough solar power

technology and described the R&D efforts that are in progress to enhance this

technology. The paper also shows how the economics of future parabolic trough solar

power plants are expected to improve. The operating performance of the existing

parabolic trough power plants has demonstrated this technology to be robust and an

excellent performer in the commercial power industry and since the last commercial

parabolic trough plant was built, substantial technological progress has been realized.

The various alternative technologies are given for the tracking mechanisms, reflector

materials, heat collection elements thermal characteristics, heat transfer fluids and

power cycle to reduce the cost of the plant. Parabolic trough solar power technology

appears to be capable of competing directly with conventional fossil-fuel power plants

in mainstream markets in the relatively near term. Given that parabolic trough

technology utilizes standard industrial manufacturing processes, materials, and power

cycle equipment, the technology is poised for rapid deployment should the need emerge

for a low-cost solar power option.

Tyagi S.K evaluated the energetic performance of concentrating type solar

collector and the parametric study is made using hourly solar radiation from the exergy

output is optimized with respect to the inlet fluid temperature and the corresponding

efficiencies are computed.

Arasu A.V investigated the performance of a new parabolic trough collector hot

water generation system with a well-mixed hot water storage tank. The storage tank

water temperature is increased from 35ºC at 9.30 h to 73.84ºC at 16.00 h when no

energy is withdrawn from the storage tank. The average beam radiation during the

15
collection period is 699 W/m2. The useful heat gain, collector instantaneous efficiency,

energy gained by the storage tank water and the efficiency of the system as a whole are

found to follow the variation of incident beam radiation as these parameters are strongly

influenced by the incident beam radiation. The values of each of those parameters are

observed maximum at noon.

Kalogeria S.A presented a parabolic trough solar collector system used for steam

generation. A Modelling program called as PTCDES which is written in BASIC

language is developed for determining the quantity of steam produced by the steam

generation system. The flash vessel size, capacity and inventory determine how much

energy is used at the beginning of the day for raising the temperature of the circulating

water to saturation temperature before effective steam production begins. System

performance tests indicate that the Modelling program is accurate to within 1.2% which

is considered very accurate. The theoretical system energy analysis is presented in the

form of Sankey diagram. The analysis shows that only 48.9% of the available solar

radiation is used for steam generation.

Martin R.L described that solar energy has a share of more than 99.9 % of all the

energy converted on earth. The solar radiation incident on the earth is weakened within

the atmosphere and partially converted into other energy forms (e.g. wind, hydro

power). Part of the solar radiation energy can be converted into heat by using absorbers

(e.g. solar collectors).

16
2.1 Discussion on Literature

• Low-temperature testing was performed at MangosuthuTechnikons’STAR lab

facility using water as the working fluid. Both an evacuated glass shielded receiver

and an unshielded receiver were tested, with which peak thermal efficiencies of

53.8% and 55.2% were obtained respectively. The glass-shielded element offered

superior performance at the maximum test temperature,

• Isabel Llorente explained the performance of parabolic trough solar thermal power

plant with help of simulation model. The model is to anticipate the electric output

during the various stages of planning, design, operation and construction.

• Suggested method for preventing the deflection due to long pipe/tube & high

temperature: composition of receiver tube material as copper (20%) and steel (80%).

according this compound pipe is 75% less than gradient of the simple pipe in a time

of ten second. Compound absorber pipe offers greater resistance to the deflection

provoked by the direct steam generation.

• A Modelling program called as PTCDES which is written in BASIC language is

developed for determining the quantity of steam produced by the steam generation

system. System performance tests indicate that the Modelling program is accurate to

within 1.2% which is considered very accurate. The analysis shows that only 48.9%

of the available solar radiation is used for steam generation.

17
2.2 Research Gaps from Literature Reviews

Many researchers have worked on parabolic trough collector for different

applications such as distillation, water heating, steam generation, electricity generation,

etc. but very small of them worked on the improvement of efficiency of parabolic

though collector by modifying and using new designs of receivers.

Many researchers have worked on parabolic trough collector for solar thermal

power plant. But none of them worked on close type parabolic though collector.

2.3 Methodology Adopted

In the present work, the methodology adopted is as follows:

1. An exhaustive literature survey has been done and research gaps have been

identified.

2. Various designs and operating parameters have been identified.

3. Initially, newlydesignedparabolic trough collector is fabricated. Then

experimental setup is tested and the obtained experimental results are

analysed to enhance its performance with different diameter receiver pipes.

4. After that, the collector is used for water heating and experimental results

areanalysed.

18
 Chapter 3

Experimental Analysis

3.1 Material Study

Based on the extensive studies for suitable materials for the various parts of the

solar collector based on their thermal, mechanical and chemical properties; we came

across certain elements that are cost efficient as well as desirable.

The property of the material that is to be used for coating should be such that it

should be able to withstand high temperatures, have better reflectivity, should be

resistant to corrosion and also should have low transitivity and absorptivity. For this

purpose, silver seems to be an ideal candidate, but due to the high cost and requirement

of heat treated bend glass plate and high cost of silvering and difficulty in maintaining

the silver coating and requirement of extreme care while handling the same, makes it

not an economically viable solution to the reflective surface. It was decided that mirror

coating stainless steel is used as a reflective material because of its optical efficiency is

70% to 85%. Another advantage of using mirror coating stainless steel is its long life

and very small corrosion. It is also wind-loading deformation free.

The material used for the structure should be more resistant to compression than

tension. It should have high strength and capable of taking fatigue loading and should

19
have good resistance to corrosion. Mild steel is the most preferred material for the

purpose.

The material used for making the pipe section should be a good conductor of heat,

should be able to maintain its properties for sufficiently high temperature, it should have

good absorptivity and good conductance and preferably, low emissivity to avoid

radiation losses from the pipe section. It should be able to resist corrosion. On the inner

surface, the working fluid is ordinary water, which can lead to calcification, and rusting.

The outer surface being exposed to the atmosphere should also have some kind of

protection mechanism. It is preferred to use copper tubes of diameter 30mm considering

the required mass flow rates and good heat transfer properties.

3.2 Drawing of PTC

All components of the closed type PTC were designed using Solid Works .The

supporting structure were made by square stainless steel and the stainless steel reflective

sheet is placed as observed below.

20
The Figure shows the base supports where the parabolic trough collector PTC will be installed

with rotation axis of PTC structure, maintaining the absorber tube only a rotational degree of

freedom rather than translating.

21
3.3System Design

The Mass flow rate for the required temperature rise and the velocity of flow is

calculated as below.

For 0.5 kW power,

Mass flow rate ( ṁ) = Power/C.dt

Where, C = 4180J/kg K

dt = 8 K

ṁ = 0.0149 Kg/s

Velocity of Flow (v) = ṁ/µ.Ai

Where, µ = 1000 kg/m3

Ai = Cross section area of the inside of the absorber tube = 4.9087 x 10 -4 m2

v = 3.04 mm/s

Power Input (Solar Energy),

Intensity of Radiation (IB) = 450W/m2

Intensity of Radiation on the Collector = IB.AC=195.75W/m2

Where, Ac is projected area.

Polished steel emissivity= 0.075

3.3.1Parabolic Reflector
22
Dimensions

Width = 0.60m

Length = 0.725m

Projected area (Ac) = 0.435m2

Defining equation = X2 = 4AY (A- focal distance)

3.3.2Focal Point Fixing

Rim angle (ф) = 90°

Focal distance a = 13.081 mm

For optimum focal distance and curve length, a rim angle of 90° is selected for the model.

3.3.3Receiver

Stainless steel: Di (0.025m)inner diameter

Do(0.0265m) outer diameter

Area of receiver =πDL

Area of receiver exposed to rays (AR) = πDL/2

Inner cross section area=πDi2/4=4.9087x10-4m2

Outer cross section area=πDo2/4=5.154x10-4m2

23
Concentration Ratio (CR)=Ac/Ar=14.4518

3.4Fabrication

24
 3.4.1Supporting Structure

Supporting structure is made up of SS because it is corrosion resistant material and gives

rigid support.

25
26
3.5 Experimental Procedure

Steps that were followed during the experimental investigation are as follows-

Step 1: To clean the apparatus in order to remove the accumulated dust

Step 2: Setting and positioning the reflector according to the sun’s position. Open the

water tank valve and manual track and running the system for 30 min prior to recording

the first reading.

Step 3: The time gap between each reading is set to 5 min. The flow rate of the heat

transfer fluid was maintained constant to ensure proper reading.

Step 4: The system was started 9:30 AM and the reading was taken from 10:00 AM to

01:00 PM by recording the data every 10 mins.

The same procedure was repeated for other readings.

27
The experimental procedure as mentioned above was followed throughout the

experimental investigation.

The experiments were conducted on November 2017. Setup was exposed to solar

radiation at 9:00 AM and reading were taken from 10:00AM to 1:00PM.

3.6 Experimental Results

The following results are gathered from the performance analysis of the close type

parabolic trough collector system.

Observations:

With Black Paint:

TIME (IN INLET OUTLET

SECONDS) TEMPERATURE TEMPERATURE

5 12 12
10 12 12
15 12 12.1
20 12 12.2
25 12 12.2
30 12 12.2
35 12 12.4
40 12 12.4
45 12 12.5
50 12 12.5
55 12 12.9
60 12 13.1
65 12 13.6
70 12 13.7
75 12 13.8
80 12 13.8
85 12 13.8
90 12 13.8
95 12 13.9
100 12 13.9

28
105 12 13.9
110 12 13.9
115 12 13.9
120 12 14
125 12 14
130 12 14.1
135 12 14.1
140 12 14.2
145 12 14.2
150 12 14.3
155 12 14.3
160 12 14.3
165 12 14.3
170 12 14.3
175 12 14.3
180 12 14.4
185 12 14.4
190 12 14.4
195 12 14.4
200 12 14.5
205 12 14.5
210 12 14.5
215 12 14.5
220 12 14.5
225 12 14.5
230 12 14.5
235 12 14.5
240 12 14.5
245 12 14.6
250 12 14.6
255 12 14.7
260 12 14.7
265 12 14.7
270 12 14.7
275 12 14.7
280 12 14.8
285 12 14.8
290 12 14.8
295 12 14.8
300 12 14.8
305 12 14.8
310 12 14.8
315 12 14.8
320 12 14.8
325 12 14.8

29
330 12 14.8
335 12 14.8
340 12 14.9
345 12 14.9
350 12 14.9
355 12 14.9
360 12 15
365 12 15.1
370 12 15.2
375 12 15.2
380 12 15.3
385 12 15.3
390 12 15.4
395 12 15.4
400 12 15.5
405 12 15.6
410 12 15.6
415 12 15.6
420 12 15.7
425 12 15.7
430 12 15.8
435 12 15.8
440 12 15.8
445 12 15.9
450 12 15.9
455 12 15.9
460 12 15.9
465 12 15.9
470 12 15.9
475 12 15.9
480 12 16
485 12 16
490 12 16.1
495 12 16.1
500 12 16.2
505 12 16.3
510 12 16.3
515 12 16.3
520 12 16.4
525 12 16.4
530 12 16.4
535 12 16.5
540 12 16.6
545 12 16.6
550 12 16.6

30
555 12 16.7
560 12 16.7
565 12 16.8
570 12 16.8
575 12 16.8
580 12 16.8
585 12 16.9
590 12 16.9
595 12 16.9
600 12 17
605 12 17
610 12 17
615 12 17.1
620 12 17.2
625 12 17.2
630 12 17.3
635 12 17.3
640 12 17.3
645 12 17.3
650 12 17.3
655 12 17.4
660 12 17.4
665 12 17.4
670 12 17.4
675 12 17.4
680 12 17.5
685 12 17.5
690 12 17.5
740 12 17.5
790 12 17.5
840 12 17.5
890 12 17.7
940 12 17.8
990 12 17.9
1040 12 18
1090 12 18.2
1140 12 18.3
1190 12 18.4
1240 12 18.5
1290 12 18.7
1340 12 18.8
1390 12 19
1440 12 19.2
1490 12 19.3
1540 12 19.7

31
 1590 12 19.8
1640 12 20
1690 12 20
1740 12 20
1790 12 20
1840 12 20

Without Black Paint:

TIME(IN INLET OUTLET

SECONDS) TEMPERATURE TEMPERATURE

5 12 12
600 12 14
1240 12 15.5
1840 12 17.5

32
33
 Chapter 4

Conclusions

The closed type solar parabolic trough collector system is used for generation of

power as the system is capable of producing high temperature. This system is also

employed for water heating process, steam application and air heating as well. In

this present study a close type parabolic trough collector with the stainless-steel

reflecting surface is used for the performance analysis is used. In the present study

various parameters such as inlet temperature, outlet temperature, ambient

temperature etc. were measured. The Performance of the collector is calculated on

the basis of the recorded parameters.

The performance of the concentrating collector with Black Painted Stainless Steel

receiver tube having diameter 25 mm is higher than the normal Stainless Steel

receiver tube having diameter 25 mm.

34
 CHAPTER 5

COMPARISON OF CONCENTRATI G COLLECTORS WITH FLAT PLATE

COLLECTORS

Concentrators are normally used on solar farms to make superheated steam that drive

Sterling Engines or turbine generators used in standard power plants. Flat plate

collectors are normally used for residential heating. Parabolic troughs gather more heat

than flat plates. The spacing of the flow tubes on the absorber plate as well as the flow

tube bonding method glazing material and other factors all have an effect on collector

efficiency.

35
From the graph we can conclude that for high mean temperature, efficiency of parabolic

trough collector is the highest. Also for high temperature water heating and power

plants(In which mean temperature of fluid is more than 100 degrees Celsius), the

efficiency orcollector output of flat plate and evacuated tube collector decreases

significantly.

It is therefore concluded that the flat plate collectors will require a very high value of

concentration ratio to generate temperatures which are comparable with the

concentrated solar collectors. It is also noted that if the temperature of mean fluid is less

than 50 degrees Celsius, then flat plate collectors are more efficient than the parabolic

collectors.

36
 CHAPTER 6

FUTURE TRENDS OF THIS WORK

 Commercial plants utilizing parabolic troughs may use thermal storage at night

while some are hybrids and support natural gas as a secondary fuel source.

 We can use the molten salt instead of the water as a working fluid to increase the

heat storage capacity of the trough collector, which can be further used to run

the turbine and to generate electricity from it.

 Sensible heat of molten saltis also used for storing solar energy at a high

temperature. Molten salts can be employed as a thermal energy storage method

to retain thermal energy. The heat can later be converted into superheated steam

to power conventional steam turbines and generate electricity in bad weather or

at night.

37
 The present generation of commercial parabolic trough solar power plant uses a

synthetic oil as the heat transport fluid in the collector field. The plants are

currently operating at the upper temperature limit of the fluid, and further

improvements in the solar-to-electric conversion efficiency are likely to be

incremental. In contrast, adoption of a nitrate salt, or a nitrate/nitrite salt,

mixture as the heat transport fluid would allow the collector field outlet

temperature to increase by 50 to 100 °C, which translates into an increase in the

gross Rankine cycle efficiency from the present 37.5 percent to new values in

the range of 40 to 41 percent.

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This book is dedicated to my students

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Best Wishes

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