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Design of parabolic trough collector solar field for future solar thermal power
plants in Algeria

Conference Paper · June 2012

DOI: 10.1109/EFEA.2012.6294069

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 Design of Parabolic Trough Collector Solar Field for Future Solar Thermal Power
Plants in Algeria

B.Zeroual 1, A.Moummi 2,
1: Department of Engineering of Materials
University of Dr. Yahia Fares
Médéa, Algeria
zeroualb@yahoo.fr
2: Laboratoire de Génie Mécanique (LGM)
Université Mohamed Khider
Biskra, Algeria
Moummi.abdelhafid@gmail.com

Abstract—the main future purpose for Algeria is to establish
the credibility for the ability to realize the self-sufficiency and
to export solar electricity; because it has the best annual solar
potential in the Mediterranean basin, estimated by 169 TWh.
Now Algeria has planned a program of capacity 22 000 MW in
which the considerable share is renewable origin for horizon
2030. The program includes photovoltaic and solar thermal
power plants (STPP). The main objective of the present paper
is the design of parabolic Trough solar field for future
scheduled STPPs both the ISCCS and SEGS systems for
Algeria. The range of the designed solar field output thermal
power is from 63 to 107 MWth. The solar field model is similar
to that of Lippek (1995) and is based on experimental
measurements of the SEGS LS-2 trough collector performance.
It uses a synthetic-oil heat transfer fluid (Therminol VP-1) in
the collector loops to transfer thermal energy to Rankine cycle
via heat exchangers train. The designed parameters include the
net output thermal power, the output HTF mass flow rate, the
solar field efficiency and the HTF pumping power required
this for different solar field aperture area. Site of Tamanrasset
is taken as a case study and the results obtained showed that
the solar field works several hours above the design point.
Keywords-trough solar collector; solar thermal power plant;
solar energy; design; electricity
I. INTRODUCTION
Algeria is located between latitudes 18° N and 36°N,
with 2.381.741 km2 of land area, over 70% of its area is
consisted of deserts. According to study of the German
Aerospace Centre (DLR), Algeria has 1.787.000 km2, the
largest long term land potential for concentrating solar
thermal power plants (CSP). According to the irradiation
maps, the total annual direct normal irradiation ranges from
2 100 kWh/m2Yr to over 2 700 kW/m2Yr for the best site in
the south[1], and it is accounted among the best insolated
areas in the world, (as Algeria lies in the so-called Sun Belt).
Algeria’s electricity demand is growing rapidly at 5%-7%
annual rate, and will, according to Sonelgaz, require
significant additional electricity. Now Algeria puts
renewable energy in the heart of its energetic and economic
politics. Also according to the Sonelgaz, program of
capacity of 22 000 MW is planned for the horizon of 2030
in which 1 200MW will be for national consumption (40%
from renewable energies: 37% from solar energy and 3%
from wind power), and 10 000MW will be for export. The
program includes realization from now till 2020 of about 60
photovoltaic and solar thermal power plants, wind farms,
and hybrid power plants. This is in order to achieve global
electrical capacity between 75 and 80 TWh, and
between130 and 150 TWh in 2030.
In May 2011 the first Algeria’s solar thermal power
plant (STPP1) started in production, with overall capacity of
150 MW in Hassi R’mal in which 30 MWe is from solar. The
parabolic trough collector technology is classified as medium
temperature system in which the outlet heat transfer fluid
temperature is kept constant about 393°C to avoid the
decomposition of the HTF.
The present study selects the plant based on parabolic
trough because it has a simplest design and can be
effectively integrated with conventional steam cycle plant,
as well as with combined cycle plant for excellent
performance without or less emissions, besides parabolic
trough collector is a proven technology since the eighteenth
of the last century in USA, in addition solar trough collector
is among the most cost effective renewable power
technologies with near-term power generation costs in the
range of 12-20 cent/kWh and of 5-10 cent/kWh for long
term considerations [2].
Also the objective of the preset paper is to encourage the
Algerian government to achieve the future scheduled
program concerning the solar thermal power plants projects.
The favourable site selection include high direct
insolation, flat topography, suitable water supply, access to
electric transmission facilities, and availability of auxiliary
fuel supplies [3]. In designing and operating any solar
power plant (SPP), it is necessary to have reliable
meteorological or satellite data. In the actual study, the site
of Tamanrasset is taken as a case study (Latitude 22°.46`N,
and longitude 5°.27`E), the yearly sum of direct irradiation
exceeds 2200 kWh/m2 Yr [1].
To achieve the design analyses of the proposed solar
field, a computer program was built from zero using Matlab.
The main designed parameters include the output thermal
power, the HTF mass flow rate, the total aperture area of the
solar collector and the pumping power required.
 II. PARABOLIC TROUGH SOLAR FIELD MATHEMATICAL
MODEL
The parabolic trough solar field (fig.1), is similar to that
of Lippek (1995) [4], is based on experimental
measurements of the SEGS LS-2 trough collector
performance (Dudley et al., 1994) [5]. The SEGS IV
operators manually control the flow rate of the synthetic-oil
heat transfer fluid (Therminol VP-1) through the field of
parabolic trough collectors. Normally, they adjust flow to
maintain roughly constant outlet field temperature.
The required mass flow rate of HTF to achieve a user-
defined outlet temperature Tout is calculated from a first-law
energy balance on the field.
. (1)
where,
(2)
the absorbed power [4], [5] is described by
0.007276 ∆
0.496 Δ / 0.0691 Δ / (3)
and the incident angle modifier [4],[5] is given by
cos 0.0003512 0.00003137 (5)
S, considers shading of parallel rows [6] is obtained by
/ . / (6)
M, factor describes the end losses [6], [7] is given by
1 . / (7)
is the incident direct normal irradiation. Opteff is
the optical efficiency of the absorber tube, Qpipe accounts for
losses in the piping, is the incident angle, Lsca is the
length of the solar collector assembly, Aap is the total
aperture area of the solar field, is the focal length, and W
is the space between 2 rows.
The above experimental equations are for cermet coated
stainless steel receiver tube and vacuum in annulus.
The pressure loss in the flow to the outermost loop
defines the pressure loss in the flows through all of the
loops [7]. This can be calculated using the standard Darcy-
Weisbach equation [8], this is done by dividing the length of
one loop to six equal segments [9], and calculate the
Reynolds number and all needed physical proprieties of the
HTF at the average temperature for every segment.

The temperature difference ∆ is calculated as

∆ /2 (4)

Fig.1. Layout of parabolic trough solar field

 III. SOLAR FIELD DESIGN CRITERIA
The collectors are single-axes tracking and aligned on a
north-south line, the total solar field is composed of several
parallel rows. The collectors are connected to single motor,
controlled by a solar tracking control system, thus tracking
the sun from east to west (see fig. 1); the solar receiver tube
is a black-coated, vacuum glass, the receiver tube containing
the heat transfer fluid, synthetic-oil (Therminol VP-1).
Heat transfer fluid (HTF) is pumped from the steam heat
exchangers in the power cycle to east and west solar fields
through the east and west supply header. The diameter of
the cold header steps down as the distance from the power
bloc increases to provide a roughly uniform fluid velocity in
the header. Similarly, the diameter of the hot header
increases as the distance to the power block decreases [3].
The HTF undergoes significant volume changes over a
day due to changing average temperature. To accommodate
this effect, an expansion vessel is located between the solar
field and the heat exchanger train.
For the designing and selection of solar power systems, the
following data is considered:
• Detailed solar data for specific site;
• The consumer demand profile at the same site;
• The performance characteristics of the solar
collectors.
Specifications of the solar collector assembly are shown
in (table I) below.
As a case study in the present work, we have designed a
solar field that consists of 30 loops of parabolic trough
collectors with each row having 8 SCAs in series (i.e. the
total is 480 SCAs) having an output thermal power of
63MWth and so it needs 113 040 m2 total aperture area .
The number of parallel rows of the solar field will depend
on the designed power output required.
(The STPP Gross electrical power output) = (solar field
output thermal power) x (power block efficiency) x
(electrical generator efficiency).
To investigate the effect of climatic conditions on the
output power and the efficiency of the solar field, we have
used both the ambient temperature and the direct normal
irradiation for the site of Tamanrasset (Latitude 22°.46`N,
and longitude 5°.27`E) the yearly sum of direct irradiation
exceeds 2200 kWh/m2 Yr [1], as the input for our simulation,
the main design parameters are shown in (table II) opposite.
TABLE I. TROUGH SOLAR COLLECTOR ASSEMBLY E [10]
Collector type LS-2
Aperture width (m) 5 thermal output power, DNI and the efficiency, (fig.6) shows
Length (m) 47.1
Optical efficiency (%) 73
Focal length, (m) 1.84
TABLE II. BOUNDARY CONDITIONS FOR THE SOLAR FIELD DESGIN
Pressure at collector outlet 27 bar
Pressure drop across the collector loop at 26.67 bar
design point
Pressure drop across the heat exchangers 3.6 bar
train, HTF side at design point
Oil temperature at outlet 393°C
Oil temperature at inlet 293°C
HTF mass flow rate at design point 236.22 kg/s
Direct Normal Irradiation at design point 850 W/m2
Inner diameter of the absorber tube 65.5 mm
Reference HTF pump efficiency 0.6
Reference HTF pump power 1.62 MWe
Space between 2 rows, W 15 m
IV. RESULTS AND DESCUSSION
The design of the proposed solar field was analyzed. The
design point is at 12:00 on 23 of June, 250 of DNI and 36°C
of ambient temperature, the range of designed solar field
thermal output power is from 63 to 107.5 MWth or if we
assume that the power block gross efficiency of 36%, we
can say the SEGS plant electrical output ranges from 22 to
39 MWth. As primary design, you can estimate the required
output thermal power of the solar field and you can read
from (fig. 2) the needed total solar field aperture area, and
from (fig. 3) you can read the required mass flow rate of the
heat transfer fluid and the necessary HTF pumping power.
For high pumping power the designer can connect two
pumps in series to overcome the high pressure or in parallel
to overcome the high mass flow rate.
It can be seen that from (fig. 4), when the standard solar
radiation increases, the output thermal power and the heat
transfer fluid mass flow rate increase linearly.
Approximately 10-15% of the energy absorbed by the
receiver tube is not retained by the heat transfer fluid, due to
thermal losses from the field to the surroundings [6].
It can be concluded as in (fig. 5) that the efficiency
increases sharply at low solar radiation and slowly from
about 500 W/m2 till it reaches the peak and above the design
efficiency (65%), it can be showing from (fig. 5) that the
pressure drop across the solar field loops increases with
increase of the solar radiation which causes the increase of
the HTF pumping power.
Finally as a case study for the same design point for the
site of Tamanrasset on 23 June, an analysis of hourly
that the solar field or the power plant works about 5 hours
above the design point, as it shown by the horizontal line in
(Fig.6), as a result the solar field efficiency remains nearly
constant about 65%.
 60 70 80 90 100 110
190,000 440 6.0

Heat Transfer Fluid mass flow rate (kg/s)

Heat TransferFluid Pumping Power (MW)

180,000 Date:23 June 420 5.5
Solar Field aperture area (m2)

time =12:00 400

HTF mass flow rate 5.0
170,000 Tamb=36 °C
DNI=850 W/sqm 380 HTF pumping power 4.5
160,000
360 4.0
150,000 340
3.5

140,000 320
3.0
300
130,000 2.5
280
120,000 2.0
260
1.5
110,000 240
1.0
60 70 80 90 100 110 60 70 80 90 100 110
Solar Field Output Thermal Power (MW) Output Thermal Power (MW)

Fig.2. Solar field aperture area with solar field output Thermal Power Fig.3. HTF mass flow rate and HTF pumping power with thermal output
power

70 70
100
Heat Transfer Fluid Mass Flow Rate (kg/s)

300 Solar Fieled Pressure Drop (Bar) and

HTF mass flow rate 90 60 60
Thermal Output Power (MW)

thermal output power 80

250 50 solar field effeciency 50
70 Solar Field Pressure Drop
Effeciency(%)

200 40
60 40

50 30
150 30
40
20
100 30 20

10
20
10
50
10 0
0
0 0 0 200 400 600 800 1000
Direct Normal Irradiation (W/m2)
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Direct Normal Irradiation (W/m2)

Fig.5. Pressure drop, solar field efficiency for different solar direct normal
Fig.4. Output thermal power and the HTF mass flow rate at insolation
different direct normal insolation
V. CONCLUSION
The main objective of the present study is to encourage
input power the Algerian government to achieve the scheduled program
output thermal power
110
6 8 10 12 14 16
effeciency
18 20
110
concerning the solar thermal power plant both ISCCS and
100
line of the design point
100
SEGS plants. The results obtained are for collector type
Solar Field Input and Output Thermal

LS-2 vacuum field; the results have been compared with the
Solar Field Effeciency (%)

90 90
literatures and proved to be good. The collector area is
80 80
proportional to the plant megawatt size. The study showed
70 70
that the solar field or power plant can work several hours
Power (MW)

60 60
above the design point for such site. It is clear that from the
50 50
present study or the study of the German aerospace centre
40 40 (DLR) that the south of Algeria is among the best regions
30 30 for solar power plants in the world [1].
20 20 The efficiency of solar field is improved by using
10 10 evacuated receivers in the collector field, by increasing the
0 0 frequency of mirror wash; the solar field is washed
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
approximately once a month to maintain mirror reflectivity
Time in Day (hr)
more than 90%, at this clearness factor, the cost of washing
mirrors is about $0.013/m2 of mirrors [11]. Another option
Fig.6. Hourly thermal output, direct normal irradiation and
efficiency for Tamanrasset on 23 June for good power plant efficiency is to use wet cooling, for
this case we have to ensure water make-up of about 2.5 kg/s
 for such power plant to compensate the evaporation rate
which is about 1 to 1.5% of the circulating cooling water
[12], for this the vapor form cooling tower accumulates on
collector mirrors especially with seasonal sandy wind. This
causes more need of water for reflectivity maintenance. We
can use air cooled condenser (ACC) despite its high
condensing pressure, as a result the plant efficiency is lower
in comparison with using a cooling tower. Another design
option is the thermal storage to provide generation during
non-solar periods especially later evening, and to smooth
solar radiation fluctuation and thereby to increase the plant
capacity factor.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank Dr. Markus Eck and
Michael Wittmann of the Institute of Technical
Thermodynamics of the DLR for their help for realization of
the present study.
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View publication stats
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