4th Scientific International Conference – Najaf – IRAQ (4th SICN-2019)
Performance evaluation thermal efficiency for the
parabolic collector with two types of absorber
Mohammed R. Al_qasaab Qahtan A. Abed
Engineering Technical college of Al Najaf Engineering Technical college of Al Najaf
AL- Furat AL-Awsat Technical University AL- Furat AL-Awsat Technical University
Najaf, Iraq
mohammed.radh@atu.edu.iq qahtan.abed@atu.edu.iq
Abstract- In recent years, many research studies focused on
enhancing and improving the cost of the solar water heating
system. This paper focuses on the development of the thermal
efficiency of the solar parabolic dish collector (PDC) with different
types of the absorber. A spiral coil and helical conical coil receivers
in a PDC system are studied experimentally. The experimental
system consists of a solar parabolic dish 1.5m diameter, spiral coil,
helical conical coil, and solar tracking system. The concentrated
solar radiation amounting the receiver heats the working fluid
(water) flows through this tube (coil spiral or helical conical). The
preliminary calculations have been accomplished on the typical
winter day in Najaf, Iraq (32.1oN /44.19oE). Effect of volumetric
flow rates on the useful energy and thermal efficiency of the
system has been investigated. They are conducted within 30 L/h
and 60 L/h of volumetric flow rates. The experimental results
showed that the maximum outlet temperature was obtained from
PDC with spiral coil receiver with 30 L/h volumetric flow rate. The
PDC with a spiral coil has the potential to supply hot water is
about 30.14%, 53.48% more efficient than of a PDC with a helical
conical coil at 30 L/h, 60 L/h respectively.
Keywords—Helical conical, Parabolic dish, Spiral coil, Thermal
efficiency, Useful energy
INTRODUCTION
The world has begun to activate other sources of energy
instead of fossil fuel used and relying on renewable energy. The
most crucial source is solar energy, which has become more
popular and spread due to sustainability and low maintenance
and production costs [1]. The Sun emits very high thermal
energy, many of which are lost in space and a small fraction of
solar radiation reaches Earth, but this radiation is enough to
provide adequate energy that can be exploited in many
applications, some solar energy that reaches Earth still returns
to space. Solar thermal collector aims to collect heat by
absorbing solar radiation. One of the types of solar collectors is
the parabolic dish, which is used in applications that need to
provide high temperatures, such as steam generation,
distillation, solar heater and other applications[2]. Solar
concentrates operate on the main principle is to focus the solar
radiation incident on a small point called the receiver and thus
lead to a significant
978-1-7281-4425-2/19/$31.00 ©2019 IEEE
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Wisam A. Abd Al-wahid
Engineering Technical college of Al Najaf
AL- Furat AL-Awsat Technical University
Najaf, Iraq Najaf, Iraq
wsm@atu.edu.iq
temperature rise that part. The solar concentrates are available
in different categories, with varying concentration and level of
temperature, including linear parabolic concentrates, parabolic
dish concentrates, and Fresnel lens concentrators. The solar
parabolic dish is the most common type prevalent among
concentrates and has been studied by many researchers during
the previous years. Imhamed and Tadhg [3] presented a new
study aimed at developing a fixed three-dimensional solar
capacitor that was supposed to be used to provide hot water at
a low production cost in rural India. The researcher was used
radiation tracking software to evaluate the visual performance
of a three-dimensional elliptical weight center. A total of
improvements were made to the condensed profile and
geometry to improve overall system performance. Reddy,
Natarajan and Veershetty[4] tested the 20 m solar collector to
study its performance combined with the modified cavity
receiver. He concluded that the average value of the total heat
loss coefficient was about 356 W/m2. Daghigh and Zandi[5]
different types of thermal coils have been studied with different
geometrical designs and have observed that circular spiral coils
give greater thermal efficiency than other types used in this
experiment. Al-Shamkhi[6] showed in an experimental study
about made low-cost heater water depended on solar radiation
for Najaf, Iraq environment, used collector as container box
with receiver take cylindrical shape and the maximum
efficiency obtained was 52%. A review of previous literature
suggests there are many different designs of receivers that have
been studied by many researchers. The purpose of this paper is
to investigate and compare the conical receiver and spiral
receiver for different volumetric flow rates of water. The
receivers are integrated with the parabolic dish. Also, the
efficiency performance calculated of the collector according to
different receiver design within the city Najaf, Iraq climatic
conditions.
THE TEST SETUP AND SYSTEM PARAMETERS
The operational principle of the equivalent dish is the
reflection of the solar radiation on a small receiver placed at the
point of concentration, which is calculated according to the
dimensions of the dish. In this experiment, a parabolic dish-
shaped with a diameter of 1.5 m, a depth of 0.15 m, a focal
length of 0.92 m, an aperture area was 1.72 m2 and a dish
material made of galvanizing. The internal surface of the dish
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 4th Scientific International Conference – Najaf – IRAQ (4th SICN-2019)

has been cleaned of impurities and dust on it and paste a
reflective material of aluminum foil for easy use and
availability in the local market where it has a reflective rate of
solar radiation estimated at 78%, where Fig.1 show a direct
photograph for concentrator collector [7].
The properties of the coils and the parabolic dish are shown in
"TABLE I". A black coating was used to paint the outer surface
of the coils because it helps to increase absorption of solar
radiation and reduce the reflectivity of copper and thermal
losses. The coils installed on a top cover made of galvanized
material with diameter 0.25 m to reduce thermal loss by
convection with ambient. thermal conductivity for glass wool
was 0.0343 W/m.k [9]. In this study, different volumetric flow
rates were 30 L/h and 60 L/h and repeated it for two absorber
types, were investigated to find optimum thermal collecting
efficiency of the solar concentrator.
THEORETICAL CONSIDERATION
The volumetric flow rate was calculated using a stopwatch
with a graduated vessel where the water was opened within an
hour to reach the required volumetric rate and also to calculate
the mass flow rate of water as follows:

V̇
ṁ = (1)
60

To calculate the amount of useful energy according to the

equation shown[10]:
Qu =m. . cp . (Tout -Tin ) (2)
Moreover, to calculate the amount of energy incident on the
dish[11]:
Qs = Ib *Aa (3)
Fig.1. Direct photograph for components system

The receiver is installed at the point of concentration to help

absorb the most substantial amount of solar radiation reflected TABLE I. GEOMETRICAL SPECIFICATION OF THE PARABOLIC DISH AND
RECEIVER SYSTEM
from the dish, thus increasing the temperature of the absorbent
device and achieving the desired purpose. The copper material
is used because it has a high thermal conductivity Parameter Value Unit
approximation (386.11 W/ m.k). The receiver is designed and Parabolic dish diameter 1.5 m
manufactured in the spiral coil and helical conical coil length Depth of dish 0.15 m
of 3.5 m as shown in Fig.2. a, b. The variation in the design help Focal length 0.92 m
to determine the optimal model of thermal efficiency and
Dish material Galvanized steel -
according to the application used [8].
Aperture area of the dish 1.76 m2

Focal length/Diameter of the dish 0.626 -

Bottom receiver diameter 0.06 m

Top receiver diameter 0.22 m

Geometrical concentration ratio 56 -

Receiver Length 3.5 m

A high helical conical coil 0.15 m

Copper thermal conductivity 386.11 W/m.k

Pipe coil thickness 0.002 m

The diameter of the pipe coil 0.006 m

Number of coils 6 -
Fig.2.-.a. Spiral coil, Fig.2- b. Helical conical

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 4th Scientific International Conference – Najaf – IRAQ (4th SICN-2019)

Through the above equations, can calculate the thermal

efficiency of the equation below [10]:
ṁ Cp (Tout -Tin )
ηth = (4)
Qs

Where CP is a variable function of the temperature and is

calculated from the equation below [12].
CP =(57610 *10-15 * T5m )-(1.1816*10-11 * T4m )+(1.9848*
10-8 * T3m )
-(7.5368* 10-6 * T2m)+(6.6923* 10-5 * Tm )+2.3082 (5)
Where:
Tin +Tout
Tm = (6) Fig.4.b. Environmental data with 60 L/h flow rate at 13/2/2019
2

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The experimental test undertook at Engineering Technical
college of Al Najaf_ AL- Furat AL-Awsat Technical University
at Najaf, Iraq 31.95oN, 44.39oE. The results recorded for many
bright sky days were found for during February 2019 from the
09:00 am to 04:00 pm with different volumetric flow rates. The
effects of climate on the spiral coil receiver are studied for two
days from 12th-13th February.2019, where the sky was clear
from the clouds and dust that helps to reach the most
considerable amount of solar radiation to the solar dish thus
increasing the reflectivity of the receiver and obtain high
temperatures for the absorbent part. A constant volume flow rate
was used for each day of 30 L/h, 60 L/h, respectively as shown
in Fig. 4. a, b. The analysis showed that the water temperature
outside the receiver was 89.51 °C, and the maximum
temperature of the absorber surface was 116.27 °C when the
flow rate was 30 L/h. Indicates gave that the relationship is
inverse between the volumetric flow rate versus the temperature
of the absorbent part. As for helical conical absorber design, the
data was tested within two days 16th -17th February 2019 with
the same flow rates for the previous test per day, 30 L/h, and 60
L/h respectively. All parameters that need are calculated which
temperature of the water inside and outside of the receiver,
absorber temperature and the amount of direct solar radiation, as
shown in Fig.5. a, b. Analytical analyses showed that the
maximum temperature of the outside water at midday was 76.3
°C when the maximum temperature of the absorber reached 93.1
°C at the minimum flow rate 30 L/h. From the results obtained,
we note that the temperature of the water outside the design of
the spiral coil type is higher than from helical conical type and
indicates that the reflected radiation covered the whole area of
the receiver, so it is preferable to use this type. The useful energy
is an essential factor in evaluating the performance of the
system so it must calculate the effects that can give a substantial
amount of them. According to Eq. 2 useful energy is a function
of temperature change and mass flow rate. Therefore, the
results showed that the maximum useful energy was 1762.21

Fig.4.a. Environmental data with 30 L/h flow rate at 12/2/2019

Fig.5.a. Environmental data with 30 L/h flow rate at 16/2/2019

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 4th Scientific International Conference – Najaf – IRAQ (4th SICN-2019)
Fig.5_b. Environmental data with 60 L/h flow rate at 17/2/2019
W when the maximum flow rate was 60 L/h within spiral coil
Fig.6. Effect of volumetric flow rate variation on useful heat energy
design as shown in Fig.6.
Although the maximum difference in temperature is at a lower
volumetric flow as shown in Fig.7 but the effect of temperature
difference is less than from effect mass flow rate.
The calculation of the thermal efficiency of the solar collector
was done by Equation 4, where all the data required to achieve
it provided. The results are shown in Fig.8 where the thermal
efficiency of spiral absorber starts from 62.1% to 55.6% during
the test time, and the flow rate was 30 L/h. The thermal
efficiency of helical conical coil absorber at the same test time
and flow rate 30 L/h is started from 17.3% to 16.8%. The
increase in flow rate led to an increase in the thermal efficiency
of the solar collector. Where the results were as follows, the
efficiency of spiral absorber began from 65.7% to 40.9% and
helical conical coil absorber varied from 32.5% to 27.4%. This
result showed the behavior of thermal efficiency that increases
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Fig.7. Different temperatures per time energy
Fig.8. Effect of volumetric flow rate variation on thermal efficiency
with the increase of the flow rate over the effect of the
difference in temperature.
CONCLUSIONS
1. One of the most critical global problems is the
depletion sources of energy used from fossil fuels, so
it is necessary to rely on alternative sources of energy.
2. One of the most critical systems of solar concentrators
to generate considerable heat is a parabolic dish.
3. In this study, compared to 30 L/h, 60 L/h flow rate
with used two absorber types and investigated
performance experimentally.
4. When the flow rate is increased, the temperature of the
receiver is reduced, this is due to the speed of the flow
of the water, and the small diameter of the pipe leads
to a rise in the cooling rates of the receiving surface.
 4th Scientific International Conference – Najaf – IRAQ (4th SICN-2019)

5. The useful energy and thermal efficiency are the

functions of the mass flow rate and the difference in
temperature, but the more the flow rate increases
useful energy more than delta temperatures.
6. The spiral absorber design is more efficient than the
helical conical coil absorber design.
7. The city of Najaf, Iraq, is a suitable place for solar
concentrator's projects because of the high amount of
solar radiation incidence on it.

RECOMMENDATIONS
a) Study different models of different materials and
knowledge of thermal efficiency.
b) For a more considerable amount of solar radiation, it
is preferable to use a larger solar dish diameter.
c) Use materials that give a high reflection ratio to
increase the amount of difference in temperature.

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