A parabolic trough is a type of solar thermal collector that is straight in one dimension and curved as a parabola in the other two, lined with a polished metal mirror. The objective of this study is to develop analytical expressions for the determination of the thermal performance of parabolic trough collectors. Heat transfer analysis and modeling of a parabolic trough. Pdf parabolictrough solar collectors and their applications. Solar collector in the shape of a parabolic mirror reflects the incident solar energy on the longitudinal axis of the solar collector. The most common technologies are parabolic trough collector ptc, linear fresnel re. This is primarily due to the nine plants operating in californias mojave desert since the mid1980s. It is used to predict the performance of a given parabolic trough and compare competing technologies. Sep 03, 2010 it is used to predict the performance of a given parabolic trough and compare competing technologies. In a solar cooker, for example, food is placed at the focal line. Sep 02, 2012 parabolic trough plants require large amount of land while solar pvs can be conveniently places on rooftops. In a parabola all of the incoming rays from a light source in this case the sun are reflected back to the focal point of the parabola. Table 2 shows the design characteristics of th e acurex, single axis tracking m.
The operating temperature of the system is in the range of 500700k and the geometric concentration ratio of the parabolictrough system is in the range of 30100 table 8. The enhancement increased the capacity of the tube to absorb solar energy by improving the convective transfer between the inner surface of the absorber tubes and. Bringing you a prosperous future where energy is clean, abundant, reliable and affordable u. Solar collector concentrated solar power plant industrial process heat heat. In addition, sidebars provide indicators that a system. Optimization of parabolic trough solar collector system. Design, simulation and manufacturing of an integrated. The solar option and solar collector solar energy is a very large, inexhaustible of energy, the power from the sun intercepted. It points out the types of situations where parabolictrough solar water heating is most likely to be cost effective and describes the espc process available to federal facilities for parabolictrough projects. Each sca is an independently tracking parabolic trough solar collector consisting of four major subsystems.
Parabolic trough collector water heating efficient. Parabolic trough collector power plant performance. Parabolic trough plants require large amount of land while solar pvs can be conveniently places on rooftops. Eurotrough parabolic trough collector developed for. Design, construction, and test of a miniature parabolic. In 1907, the germans wilhelm meier and adolf remshardt obtained the first patent of parabolic trough technology. Several power plants based on this technology have been operational for years, and more are being built. Parabolic trough solar collectors utilize a heat transfer fluid htf that flows through the receiver collecting and transporting solar thermal energy to the power. Conduit 20 is positioned along the focal line of parabolic solar collector 10 so as to heat a circulating fluid passing therethrough. Parabolic trough collector the energy of sunlight which enters the mirror parallel to its plane of symmetry is focused along the focal line, where objects are positioned that. Design of a 25 mwe solar thermal power plant in iran with. Pdf abstractsolar collector in the shape of a parabolic mirror reflects the incident solar energy on the longitudinal axis of the solar collector. All heat transfer and thermodynamic equations, optical properties, and parameters used in the model are discussed.
The term solar collector commonly refers to a device for solar hot water heating, but may refer to large power generating installations such as solar parabolic troughs and solar towers or non water heating devices such as solar air heaters solar thermal collectors are either nonconcentrating or concentrating. Cad modeling of the collector unit the parabolic trough collector is modeled in dassault systemes solidworks 18 software. Parabolictrough solar concentrating systems are an advanced and matured technology. The model determines the performance of a parabolic trough solar collector s linear receiver, also called a heat collector element hce. This parabolic trough 73% efficient solar power world. In this paper, two different reflective surfaces are used to increase the optical efficiency of a parabolic trough solar collector. Nrel tests show the skytroughs thermal efficiency at 350 c 662 f to be over 73%, meaning that nearly three quarters of the solar radiation striking the trough surface is converted into thermal energy. The various components are the parabolic trough, vertical side panels for absorber tube support, ribs for trough support and shape, and flange panels for photovoltaics fig.
A precision made parabolic trough can focus more solar on a receiver tube collector resulting in creating more solar energy. The angle between a direct ray from the sun and the aperture plane of the parabolic trough collector defined to be 0 degrees. The shape of the collector, its height above the ground, the collector pitch. Parabolictrough collector is a viable technology for harnessing solar energy for industrial process heat in cyprus 58. Since the sun is very far away, the radiation rays that reach a concentrator is parallel to its axis.
Analytical expression of parabolic trough solar collector. A parabolic trough solar collector using reflective flexible materials is disclosed. I tried to show what a determined person can do with ordinary tools and materials, a good hardware store and a bit of perseverance a high performance do it. The initial installation cost of these parabolic trough solar collectors consti. A new technique was proposed and implemented through an experimental model to improve the absorber tube of a parabolic trough collector, which was connected to a twisted tube and resulted in a heat transfer enhancement. This line is called the focal axis of the parabolic collector. A parabolic trough solar collector uses a mirror in the shape of a parabolic cylinder to reflect. Design of a parabolic trough solar collector using a. Certainly, the right size of the solar field is the first selection with regard to nominal electrical power.
Design and fabrication of parabolic trough solar water. Converting light to heat any black on the inside of a solar cooker, as well as certain materials for pots, will improve the effectiveness of turning light into heat. Pdf an overview on parabolic trough solar collectors. The equipment which is made up of the reflector surface curved mirror, reflector support, absorber pipe and a stand. Abstract the highperformance eurotrough parabolic trough collector models et100 and et150 have been developed for the utility scale generation of solar steam for process heat applications and solar power generation. Parabolic trough power plants use a curved, mirrored trough which reflects the direct solar radiation onto a glass tube containing a fluid also called a receiver, absorber or collector running the length of the trough, positioned at the focal point of the reflectors. The sunlight which enters the mirror parallel to its plane of symmetry is focused along the focal line, where objects are positioned that are intended to be heated. Pdf optimization of parabolic trough solar collector. Pdf optimization of parabolic trough solar collector system. In concentrating solar power technology, the optical efficiency of solar collector influences collector performance significantly.
Parabolic trough collector power plant performance simulation. Nowadays, parabolic trough solar thermal plants are prevalent around the world. Federal technology parabolictrough solar alert water heating. Parabolic troughs, which are a type of linear concentrator, are the most mature csp technology with over 500 megawatts mw operating worldwide. A parabolic cylinder mirror is formed by stretching a flexible reflecting material between two parabolic end formers. Parabolictrough solar collectors and their applications. Solar parabolic trough collector ptc is the best recognized and commercialindustrialscale, high temperature generation technology available today, and studies to assess its performance will. Parabolic trough power plants ptpp are thus far mostly developed csp thermal plants that are operating commercially. Manual making of a parabolic solar collector, gang xiao, laboratoire j. The term solar collector commonly refers to a device for solar hot water heating, but may refer to large power generating installations such as solar parabolic troughs and solar towers or non water heating devices such as solar air heaters. Table 2 shows the design characteristics of the acurex, single axis tracking m.
An innovative receiver design for a parabolic trough solar. Performance evaluation of flat plate collector watt the useful heat output of a flatplate solar collector is given by 18. A closed parabolic trough solar collector gang xiao 30th october 2007 parabolic trough 1 is the most mature technology for large scale exploitation of solar energy. A closed parabolic trough solar collector gang xiao 30th october 2007 parabolic trough1 is the most mature technology for large scale exploitation of solar energy. Patented parabolic trough reflectors, uses the latest technology. After conducting more research on solar energy and solar collection, the decision was made to attempt to build a parabolic trough solar concentrator. We develop and manufacture solar thermal parabolic trough collectors and advise on system design and applications. Structures such as parabolic trough solar collectors are being considered for power plant thermal sources.
Molten salts freeze at high temperatures in the range of 120. Parabolic trough solar thermal electric power plants parabolic trough solar collector technology offers an environmentally sound and increasingly costeffective energy source for the future. The parabolic trough collector is one of the most developed solar concentrating technologies for medium and high temperatures up to 800 k. The outlet temperature of the fluid from the collector 20. Numerical simulation of a parabolic trough solar collector for hot water and steam generation aip conf. The procedure employed includes the design, construction and testing stages. The parabolic curve would focus all the rays to a focal point, and a trough normally extends the shape in three dimensions to tum the focal point into a focal line. How to make a solar water heater using parabolic trough.
Cnc precision is used in the process of making our parabolic troughs. Simplified methodology for designing parabolic trough. Simplified methodology for designing parabolic trough solar. There is a risk of it freezing at night which affects plants operations. Eurotrough parabolic trough collector developed for cost. Parabolic trough power plants use parabolic trough collectors to concentrate the. Numerical modelling of a parabolic trough solar collector. Pdf solar collector in the shape of a parabolic mirror reflects the incident solar energy on the longitudinal axis of the solar collector. Design and fabrication of parabolic trough solar water heater. The resulting mirror is made to track the sun, focusing the suns rays on a receiver tube. Parabolic trough solar collector technology is currently the most proven solar thermal collector technology. The trough is parabolic along one axis and linear in the orthogonal axis. Mean wind forces on parabolic trough solar collectors. Among these systems, parabolic trough collector is one of the most mature technologies and it has been widely studied and used the last decades 4.
Recent studies that analyze the deployment of solar. Nep solar is striving to make a difference in the emerging concentrating solar thermal energy sector. In this paper, the potential for a solar thermal system for hot water generation has been studied. The basic component of the solar field is the solar collector assembly sca. In this video new physicist shows you how to build a high efficient solar water heater using zinc sheet and copper pipe. Jul 03, 2008 parabolic trough reflector solar water heater green power. A significant factar influencing the economic viability of these collectors is the magnitude of the wind load and the resulting structural requirements. A vast area will be economically unreasonable whereas a small area will mainly.
Designing a solarthermal cylindrical parabolic trough concentrator by simulation balbir singh mahinder singh. A vast area will be economically unreasonable whereas a small area will mainly cause. In different areas concerning the amount of solar radiation, their standard size is approximately between 20 and 100 mwe. It offers polytrough 1200, a roof and ground mountable parabolic trough collector. In these plants, large fields of parabolic trough collectors supply the thermal energy used to produce steam supplied to a rankine steam turbinegenerator cycle to produce electricity. Solar troughs are easy to assemble and takes 2 men approximately 1 week to assemble. The model determines the performance of a parabolic trough solar collectors linear receiver, also called a heat collector element hce. Parabolictrough concentrator the accuracy of the solar tracking depends to a great extent on the solar coordinates at a particular. This solar technology is applied in many applications and so its investigation is common. However, the current technology suffers from a too high installation cost.