Utilization of parabolic solar collector in wood drying; Utilizacao de coletor solar parabolico na secagem de madeira

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Souza Mendes, Alfredo de

1986-12-31

This study was concerned to concept, to project and to build a parabolic solar collector as a generation source of thermic energy to the conventional drying of wood, jointed to a drying environment and to evaluate its efficiency. In this sense, prototypes of a solar collector and a conventional dry kiln were built. The collector with linear focus, was provided with a solar photoelectric tracking system. The dry kiln had semiautomatic control of temperature and a capacity to dry 0,3 m deg 3 of wood. All the steps of the construction of the system are presented with details. (author). 14 figs., 8 tabs., 73 refs

Numerical simulation of solar parabolic trough collector performance in the Algeria Saharan region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marif, Yacine; Benmoussa, Hocine; Bouguettaia, Hamza; Belhadj, Mohamed M.; Zerrouki, Moussa

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The parabolic trough collector performance is examined. • The finite difference method is proposed and validated. • Two fluids are considered water and TherminolVP-1™. - Abstract: In order to determine the optical and thermal performance of a solar parabolic trough collector under the climate conditions of Algerian Sahara, a computer program based on one dimensional implicit finite difference method with energy balance approach has been developed. The absorber pipe, glass envelope and fluid were divided into several segments and the partial derivation in the differential equations was replaced by the backward finite difference terms in each segment. Two fluids were considered, liquid water and TherminolVP-1™ synthetic oil. Furthermore, the intensity of the direct solar radiation was estimated by monthly average values of the atmospheric Linke turbidity factor for different tracking systems. According to the simulation findings, the one axis polar East–West and horizontal East–West tracking systems were most desirable for a parabolic trough collector throughout the whole year. In addition, it is found that the thermal efficiency was about 69.73–72.24%, which decreases with the high synthetic oil fluid temperatures and increases in the lower water temperature by 2%

Theoretical Study of the Compound Parabolic Trough Solar Collector

OpenAIRE

Dr. Subhi S. Mahammed; Dr. Hameed J. Khalaf; Tadahmun A. Yassen

2012-01-01

Theoretical design of compound parabolic trough solar collector (CPC) without tracking is presented in this work. The thermal efficiency is obtained by using FORTRAN 90 program. The thermal efficiency is between (60-67)% at mass flow rate between (0.02-0.03) kg/s at concentration ratio of (3.8) without need to tracking system.The total and diffused radiation is calculated for Tikrit city by using theoretical equations. Good agreement between present work and the previous work.

Ray tracing for optimization of compound parabolic concentrators for solar collectors of enclosed design

OpenAIRE

YURCHENKO, VLADIMIR; YURCHENKO, EDUARD; ÇİYDEM, MEHMET; TOTUK, ONAT

2015-01-01

We present our developments in computer simulations and optimization of compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs) for solar heat collectors. Issues of both the optical and thermal optimization of CPC collectors of enclosed design are discussed. Ray tracing results for a CPC with a V-shaped absorber are presented. A range of optimal values for the apex angle of a V-shaped absorber is proposed for a CPC collector of typical design.

Performance of an absorbing concentrating solar collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imadojemu, H.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on a comparison of the efficiency of an absorbing fluid parabolic trough concentrating solar collector and a traditional concentrating collector that was made. In the absorbing fluid collector, black liquid flows through a glass tube absorber while the same black liquid flows through a selective black coated copper tube absorber while the same black fluid flows through a selective black coated copper tube absorber in the traditional collector. After a careful study of the properties of available black liquids, a mixture of water and black ink was chosen as the black absorbing medium or transfer fluid. In the black liquid glass collector there is a slightly improved efficiency based on beam radiation as a result of the direct absorption process and an increase in the effective transmittance absorptance. At worst the efficiency of this collector equals that of the traditional concentrating collector when the efficiency is based on total radiation. The collector's reflecting surfaces were made of aluminum sheet, parabolic line focus and with cylindrical receivers. The ease of manufacture and reduced cost per unit energy collected, in addition to the clean and pollution free mode of energy conversion, makes it very attractive

Theoretical Study of the Compound Parabolic Trough Solar Collector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr. Subhi S. Mahammed

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Theoretical design of compound parabolic trough solar collector (CPC without tracking is presented in this work. The thermal efficiency is obtained by using FORTRAN 90 program. The thermal efficiency is between (60-67% at mass flow rate between (0.02-0.03 kg/s at concentration ratio of (3.8 without need to tracking system.The total and diffused radiation is calculated for Tikrit city by using theoretical equations. Good agreement between present work and the previous work.

Performance of cylindrical plastic solar collectors for air heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdullah, A.S.; Bassiouny, M.K.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The study including the combined convective and radiative heat transfer analysis. • The solar collector is manufactured from LDPE films acting as a black absorber. • Comparisons between the experimental data and the theoretical methods have been made. • The thermal efficiency increases with decreasing the major axes of elliptic shape. • The Nusselt number between the absorber and the heated air is determined. - Abstract: A theoretical and experimental study including the combined convective and radiative heat transfer analysis of a flexible cylindrical type solar air-heater for agriculture crops dehydration as well as heating processes is presented. The solar collector is manufactured from LDPE films acting as a black absorber with a back insulation and double transparent covers sealed together along its edges. The collector is to be blown with a flow of pressurized air. The experiments are carried out with solar collectors of circular shapes having 0.5 m diameter and solar collectors of elliptic shapes having 0.55 m and 0.65 m major axis. Energy balance of the cover, absorber and air yield three simultaneous quadratic algebraic equations in the three unknowns namely, cover, absorber and outlet air temperatures. A computer program is written for calculating the outlet temperature using the Newton–Raphson method and the collector thermal efficiency in terms of its diameter, length, mass flow rate, inlet temperature and solar insolation. Moreover the Nusselt number between the absorber and the heated air is determined experimentally in relation with the Reynolds number. Comparisons between the experimental data and the theoretical methods for the collector efficiency demonstrate a good agreement. In addition of this, the present experimental results of Nusselt number are correlated and compared with a correlation of another authors

Mechatronic Prototype of Parabolic Solar Tracker.

Science.gov (United States)

Morón, Carlos; Díaz, Jorge Pablo; Ferrández, Daniel; Ramos, Mari Paz

2016-06-15

In the last 30 years numerous attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of the parabolic collectors in the electric power production, although most of the studies have focused on the industrial production of thermoelectric power. This research focuses on the application of this concentrating solar thermal power in the unexplored field of building construction. To that end, a mechatronic prototype of a hybrid paraboloidal and cylindrical-parabolic tracker based on the Arduido technology has been designed. The prototype is able to measure meteorological data autonomously in order to quantify the energy potential of any location. In this way, it is possible to reliably model real commercial equipment behavior before its deployment in buildings and single family houses.

Evaluation of Surface Slope Irregularity in Linear Parabolic Solar Collectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Francini

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper describes a methodology, very simple in its application, for measuring surface irregularities of linear parabolic collectors. This technique was principally developed to be applied in cases where it is difficult to use cumbersome instruments and to facilitate logistic management. The instruments to be employed are a digital camera and a grating. If the reflector surface is defective, the image of the grating, reflected on the solar collector, appears distorted. Analyzing the reflected image, we can obtain the local slope of the defective surface. These profilometric tests are useful to identify and monitor the mirror portions under mechanical stress and to estimate the losses caused by the light rays deflected outside the absorber.

The rise of non-imaging optics for rooftop solar collectors

Science.gov (United States)

Rosengarten, Gary; Stanley, Cameron; Ferrari, Dave; Blakers, Andrew; Ratcliff, Tom

2016-09-01

In this paper we explore the use of non-imaging optics for rooftop solar concentrators. Specifically, we focus on compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs), which form an ideal shape for cylindrical thermal absorbers, and for linear PV cells (allowing the use of more expensive but more efficient cells). Rooftops are ideal surfaces for solar collectors as they face the sky and are generally free, unused space. Concentrating solar radiation adds thermodynamic value to thermal collectors (allowing the attainment of higher temperature) and can add efficiency to PV electricity generation. CPCs allow that concentration over the day without the need for tracking. Hence they have become ubiquitous in applications requiring low concentration.

Study of Cylindrical Honeycomb Solar Collector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Atish Mozumder

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We present the results of our investigation on cylindrical honeycomb solar collector. The honeycomb has been fabricated with transparent cellulose triacetate polymer sheets. Insulation characteristics of the honeycomb were studied by varying the separation between the honeycomb and the absorber plate. The optimal value of the separation was found to be 3.3 mm for which the heat transfer coefficient is 3.06 W m−2 K−1. This supports result of previous similar experiments. Further we test the honeycomb through a field experiment conducted in Delhi (28.6°N, 77°E and found that when the incident angle of the solar radiation is within 20° then the performance of the system with the honeycomb is better than the one without the honeycomb.

Two new methods used to simulate the circumferential solar flux density concentrated on the absorber of a parabolic trough solar collector

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Minghuan; Wang, Zhifeng; Sun, Feihu

2016-05-01

The optical efficiencies of a solar trough concentrator are important to the whole thermal performance of the solar collector, and the outer surface of the tube absorber is a key interface of energy flux. So it is necessary to simulate and analyze the concentrated solar flux density distributions on the tube absorber of a parabolic trough solar collector for various sun beam incident angles, with main optical errors considered. Since the solar trough concentrators are linear focusing, it is much of interest to investigate the solar flux density distribution on the cross-section profile of the tube absorber, rather than the flux density distribution along the focal line direction. Although a few integral approaches based on the "solar cone" concept were developed to compute the concentrated flux density for some simple trough concentrator geometries, all those integral approaches needed special integration routines, meanwhile, the optical parameters and geometrical properties of collectors also couldn't be changed conveniently. Flexible Monte Carlo ray trace (MCRT) methods are widely used to simulate the more accurate concentrated flux density distribution for compound parabolic solar trough concentrators, while generally they are quite time consuming. In this paper, we first mainly introduce a new backward ray tracing (BRT) method combined with the lumped effective solar cone, to simulate the cross-section flux density on the region of interest of the tube absorber. For BRT, bundles of rays are launched at absorber-surface points of interest, directly go through the glass cover of the absorber, strike on the uniformly sampled mirror segment centers in the close-related surface region of the parabolic reflector, and then direct to the effective solar cone around the incident sun beam direction after the virtual backward reflection. All the optical errors are convoluted into the effective solar cone. The brightness distribution of the effective solar cone is supposed

Automatic control of plants of direct steam generation with cylinder-parabolic solar collectors; Control automatico de plantas de generacion directa de vapor con colectores solares cilindro-parabolicos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valenzuela Gutierrez, L.

2008-07-01

The main objective of this dissertation has been the contributions to the operation in automatic mode of a new generation of direct steam generation solar plants with parabolic-trough collectors. The dissertation starts introducing the parabolic-trough collectors solar thermal technology for the generation of process steam or steam for a Rankine cycle in the case of power generation generation, which is currently the most developed and commercialized technology. Presently, the parabolic-trough collectors technology is based on the configuration known as heat-exchanger system, based in the use of a heat transfer fluid in the solar field which is heated during the recirculation through the absorber tubes of the solar collectors, transferring later on the that thermal energy to a heat-exchanger for steam generation. Direct steam generation in the absorber tubes has always been shown as an ideal pathway to reduce generation cost by 15% and increase conversion efficiency by 20% (DISS, 1999). (Author)

Thermo-economic optimization of a hybrid solar district heating plant with flat plate collectors and parabolic trough collectors in series

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tian, Zhiyong; Perers, Bengt; Furbo, Simon

2018-01-01

heating network in this study. The results also show that parabolic trough collectors are economically feasible for district heating networks in Denmark. The generic and multivariable levelized cost of heat method can guide engineers and designers on the design, construction and control of large...... to optimize the hybrid solar district heating systems based on levelized cost of heat. It is found that the lowest net levelized cost of heat of hybrid solar heating plants could reach about 0.36 DKK/kWh. The system levelized cost of heat can be reduced by 5–9% by use of solar collectors in the district...

Simulation of solar lithium bromide-water absorption cooling system with parabolic trough collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazloumi, M.; Naghashzadegan, M.; Javaherdeh, K.

2008-01-01

Ahwaz is one of the sweltering cities in Iran where an enormous amount of energy is being consumed to cool residential places in a year. The aim of this research is to simulate a solar single effect lithium bromide-water absorption cooling system in Ahwaz. The solar energy is absorbed by a horizontal N-S parabolic trough collector and stored in an insulated thermal storage tank. The system has been designed to supply the cooling load of a typical house where the cooling load peak is about 17.5 kW (5 tons of refrigeration), which occurs in July. A thermodynamic model has been used to simulate the absorption cycle. The working fluid is water, which is pumped directly to the collector. The results showed that the collector mass flow rate has a negligible effect on the minimum required collector area, but it has a significant effect on the optimum capacity of the storage tank. The minimum required collector area was about 57.6 m 2 , which could supply the cooling loads for the sunshine hours of the design day for July. The operation of the system has also been considered after sunset by saving solar energy

Mechatronic Prototype of Parabolic Solar Tracker

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Morón

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In the last 30 years numerous attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of the parabolic collectors in the electric power production, although most of the studies have focused on the industrial production of thermoelectric power. This research focuses on the application of this concentrating solar thermal power in the unexplored field of building construction. To that end, a mechatronic prototype of a hybrid paraboloidal and cylindrical-parabolic tracker based on the Arduido technology has been designed. The prototype is able to measure meteorological data autonomously in order to quantify the energy potential of any location. In this way, it is possible to reliably model real commercial equipment behavior before its deployment in buildings and single family houses.

Experimental investigation of a solar collector integrated with a pulsating heat pipe and a compound parabolic concentrator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Rong Ji; Zhang, Xiao Hui; Wang, Rui Xiang; Xu, Shu Hui; Wang, Hua Sheng

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Solar collector integrates compound parabolic concentrator and pulsating heat pipe. • Concentrator of a concentration ratio 3.4 matches well heat flux of heat pipe. • Solar collector efficiency increases with decreasing absorber thermal resistance. • Maximum 50% efficiency of the integrated solar collector has been achieved. - Abstract: The paper reports an experimental investigation of a newly proposed solar collector that integrates a closed-end pulsating heat pipe (PHP) and a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC). The PHP is used as an absorber due to its simple structure and high heat transfer capacity. The CPC has a concentration ratio of 3.4 and can be readily manufactured by three-dimensional printing. The CPC can significantly increase the incident solar irradiation intensity to the PHP absorber and also reduce the heat loss due to the decrease in the area of the hot surface. A prototype of the solar collector has been built, consisting of a PHP absorber bent by 4 mm diameter copper tube, CPC arrayed by 10 × 2 CPC units with the collection area of 300 × 427.6 mm 2 , a hot water tank and a glass cover. HFE7100 was utilized as the working fluid at a filling ratio of 40%. The operating characteristics and thermal efficiency of the solar collector were experimentally studied. The steady and periodic temperature fluctuations of the evaporation and condensation sections of the PHP absorber indicate that the absorber works well with a thermal resistance of about 0.26 °C/W. It is also found that, as the main factor to the the thermal performance of the collector, thermal resistance of the PHP absorber decreases with increasing evaporation temperature. The collector apparently shows start-up, operational and shutdown stages at the starting and ending temperatures of 75 °C. When the direct normal irradiance is 800 W/m 2 , the instantaneous thermal efficiency of the solar collector can reach up to 50%.

Parabolic Trough Solar Collector Initial Trials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghalya Pikra

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses initial trials of parabolic trough solar collector (PTSC in Bandung. PTSC model consists of concentrator, absorber and tracking system. Concentrator designs are made with 2m aperture width, 6m length and 0.75m focal distance. The design is equipped with an automatic tracking system which is driven using 12V and 24Watt DC motor with 0.0125rpm rotational speed. Absorber/receiver is designed with evacuated tube type, with 1 inch core diameter and tube made of AISI304 and coated with black oxide, the outer tube is borosilicate glass with a 70 mm diameter and 1.5 m length. Working fluid stored in single type of thermal storage tank, a single phase with 37.7 liter volume. PTSC model testing carried out for 2 hours and 10 minutes produces heat output and input of 11.5 kW and 0.64 kW respectively. 

Optical and thermal performance of large-size parabolic-trough solar collectors from outdoor experiments: A test method and a case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valenzuela, Loreto; López-Martín, Rafael; Zarza, Eduardo

2014-01-01

This article presents an outdoor test method to evaluate the optical and thermal performance of parabolic-trough collectors of large size (length ≥ 100 m), similar to those currently installed in solar thermal power plants. Optical performance in line-focus collectors is defined by three parameters, peak-optical efficiency and longitudinal and transversal incidence angle modifiers. In parabolic-troughs, the transversal incidence angle modifier is usually assumed equal to 1, and the incidence angle modifier is referred to the longitudinal incidence angle modifier, which is a factor less than or equal to 1 and must be quantified. These measurements are performed by operating the collector at low fluid temperatures for reducing heat losses. Thermal performance is measured during tests at various operating temperatures, which are defined within the working temperature range of the solar field, and for the condition of maximum optical response. Heat losses are measured from both the experiments performed to measure the overall efficiency and the experiments done by operating the collector to ensure that absorber pipes are not exposed to concentrated solar radiation. The set of parameters describing the performance of a parabolic-trough collector of large size has been measured following the test procedures proposed and explained in the article. - Highlights: • Outdoor test procedures of parabolic-trough solar collector (PTC) of large size working at high temperature are described. • Optical performance measured with cold fluid temperature and thermal performance measured in the complete temperature range. • Experimental data obtained in the testing of a PTC prototype are explained

The performance of solar collector CPC (compound parabolic concentrator) type with three pipes covered by glass tubes

Science.gov (United States)

Gaos, Yogi Sirodz; Yulianto, Muhamad; Juarsa, Mulya; Nurrohman, Marzuki, Edi; Yuliaji, Dwi; Budiono, Kabul

2017-03-01

Indonesia is a tropical country that has potential energy of solar radiation worth of 4.5 until 4.8 kWh/m2. However, this potential has not been utilized regularly. This paper will discuss the performance of solar collector compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) type with water as the working fluid. This CPC solar collector utilized three pipes covered by glass tubes. This paper has contribution to provide the temperature achievement between three pipes covered by glass tubes with and without glass cover of solar collector CPC type. The research conducted by varying the water flow rate of 1 l/m up to 6 l/m with three pipes arranged in series and parallel. From the results, the used of solar collector CPC type in the current study shows that the decrease of solar radiation, which was caused by climate change, did not influence the heat absorbance by water in the pipe. Therefore, the design of the solar collector in this research has potential to be used in future when solar radiation are used as the energy source.

EVALUATION OF A SOLAR DESALINATION SYSTEM, TYPE CYLINDRICAL PARABOLIC CONCENTRATOR FOR SEA WATER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina Mercado

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In this work, the methodology for the design, construction and commissioning of a solar desalinator, based on a parabolic trough collector and a solar still occurs, is presented. The energy is supplied through the solar collector, which is connected to the distiller. The equipment was set up on the premises of the Universidad Católica del Norte. It is compact, modular, low cost, easy maintenance and long life, with an average production capacity of distilled water of 2.37 l / d, however, it has to be considered that this rate is directly related with weather conditions and sea water flow entering the system, generating an average percentage of 34.04% efficiency. The results obtained with the respective findings, conclusions and recommendations for future projects associated to renewable energy equipment designed analyzed.

Performance Evaluation of Dual-axis Tracking System of Parabolic Trough Solar Collector

Science.gov (United States)

Ullah, Fahim; Min, Kang

2018-01-01

A parabolic trough solar collector with the concentration ratio of 24 was developed in the College of Engineering; Nanjing Agricultural University, China with the using of the TracePro software an optical model built. Effects of single-axis and dual-axis tracking modes, azimuth and elevating angle tracking errors on the optical performance were investigated and the thermal performance of the solar collector was experimentally measured. The results showed that the optical efficiency of the dual-axis tracking was 0.813% and its year average value was 14.3% and 40.9% higher than that of the eat-west tracking mode and north-south tracking mode respectively. Further, form the results of the experiment, it was concluded that the optical efficiency was affected significantly by the elevation angle tracking errors which should be kept below 0.6o. High optical efficiency could be attained by using dual-tracking mode even though the tracking precision of one axis was degraded. The real-time instantaneous thermal efficiency of the collector reached to 0.775%. In addition, the linearity of the normalized efficiency was favorable. The curve of the calculated thermal efficiency agreed well with the normalized instantaneous efficiency curve derived from the experimental data and the maximum difference between them was 10.3%. This type of solar collector should be applied in middle-scale thermal collection systems.

Bilinear reduced order approximate model of parabolic distributed solar collectors

KAUST Repository

Elmetennani, Shahrazed

2015-07-01

This paper proposes a novel, low dimensional and accurate approximate model for the distributed parabolic solar collector, by means of a modified gaussian interpolation along the spatial domain. The proposed reduced model, taking the form of a low dimensional bilinear state representation, enables the reproduction of the heat transfer dynamics along the collector tube for system analysis. Moreover, presented as a reduced order bilinear state space model, the well established control theory for this class of systems can be applied. The approximation efficiency has been proven by several simulation tests, which have been performed considering parameters of the Acurex field with real external working conditions. Model accuracy has been evaluated by comparison to the analytical solution of the hyperbolic distributed model and its semi discretized approximation highlighting the benefits of using the proposed numerical scheme. Furthermore, model sensitivity to the different parameters of the gaussian interpolation has been studied.

A comparative Thermal Analysis of conventional parabolic receiver tube and Cavity model tube in a Solar Parabolic Concentrator

Science.gov (United States)

Arumugam, S.; Ramakrishna, P.; Sangavi, S.

2018-02-01

Improvements in heating technology with solar energy is gaining focus, especially solar parabolic collectors. Solar heating in conventional parabolic collectors is done with the help of radiation concentration on receiver tubes. Conventional receiver tubes are open to atmosphere and loose heat by ambient air currents. In order to reduce the convection losses and also to improve the aperture area, we designed a tube with cavity. This study is a comparative performance behaviour of conventional tube and cavity model tube. The performance formulae were derived for the cavity model based on conventional model. Reduction in overall heat loss coefficient was observed for cavity model, though collector heat removal factor and collector efficiency were nearly same for both models. Improvement in efficiency was also observed in the cavity model’s performance. The approach towards the design of a cavity model tube as the receiver tube in solar parabolic collectors gave improved results and proved as a good consideration.

A Monte Carlo method and finite volume method coupled optical simulation method for parabolic trough solar collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Hongbo; Fan, Man; You, Shijun; Zheng, Wandong; Zhang, Huan; Ye, Tianzhen; Zheng, Xuejing

2017-01-01

Highlights: •Four optical models for parabolic trough solar collectors were compared in detail. •Characteristics of Monte Carlo Method and Finite Volume Method were discussed. •A novel method was presented combining advantages of different models. •The method was suited to optical analysis of collectors with different geometries. •A new kind of cavity receiver was simulated depending on the novel method. -- Abstract: The PTC (parabolic trough solar collector) is widely used for space heating, heat-driven refrigeration, solar power, etc. The concentrated solar radiation is the only energy source for a PTC, thus its optical performance significantly affects the collector efficiency. In this study, four different optical models were constructed, validated and compared in detail. On this basis, a novel coupled method was presented by combining advantages of these models, which was suited to carry out a mass of optical simulations of collectors with different geometrical parameters rapidly and accurately. Based on these simulation results, the optimal configuration of a collector with highest efficiency can be determined. Thus, this method was useful for collector optimization and design. In the four models, MCM (Monte Carlo Method) and FVM (Finite Volume Method) were used to initialize photons distribution, as well as CPEM (Change Photon Energy Method) and MCM were adopted to describe the process of reflecting, transmitting and absorbing. For simulating reflection, transmission and absorption, CPEM was more efficient than MCM, so it was utilized in the coupled method. For photons distribution initialization, FVM saved running time and computation effort, whereas it needed suitable grid configuration. MCM only required a total number of rays for simulation, whereas it needed higher computing cost and its results fluctuated in multiple runs. In the novel coupled method, the grid configuration for FVM was optimized according to the “true values” from MCM of

Thermal Modeling of a Hybrid Thermoelectric Solar Collector with a Compound Parabolic Concentrator

Science.gov (United States)

Lertsatitthanakorn, C.; Jamradloedluk, J.; Rungsiyopas, M.

2013-07-01

In this study radiant light from the sun is used by a hybrid thermoelectric (TE) solar collector and a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) to generate electricity and thermal energy. The hybrid TE solar collector system described in this report is composed of transparent glass, an air gap, an absorber plate, TE modules, a heat sink to cool the water, and a storage tank. Incident solar radiation falls on the CPC, which directs and reflects the radiation to heat up the absorber plate, creating a temperature difference across the TE modules. The water, which absorbs heat from the hot TE modules, flows through the heat sink to release its heat. The results show that the electrical power output and the conversion efficiency depend on the temperature difference between the hot and cold sides of the TE modules. A maximum power output of 1.03 W and a conversion efficiency of 0.6% were obtained when the temperature difference was 12°C. The thermal efficiency increased as the water flow rate increased. The maximum thermal efficiency achieved was 43.3%, corresponding to a water flow rate of 0.24 kg/s. These experimental results verify that using a TE solar collector with a CPC to produce both electrical power and thermal energy seems to be feasible. The thermal model and calculation method can be applied for performance prediction.

Comparison of three optical models and analysis of geometric parameters for parabolic trough solar collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Hongbo; You, Shijun; Zhang, Huan

2016-01-01

A PTC (parabolic trough solar collector) focuses direct solar radiation reflected by the reflector onto a receiver located on its focal line. The solar flux distribution on the absorber is non-uniform generally, thus it needs to carry out optical simulation to analyze the concentrated flux density and optical performance. In this paper, three different optical models based on ray tracing for a PTC were proposed and compared in detail. They were proved to be feasible and reliable in comparison with other literature. Model 1 was based on MCM (Monte Carlo Method). Model 2 initialized photon distribution with FVM (Finite Volume Method), and calculated reflection, transmission, and absorption by means of MCM. Model 3 utilized FVM to determine ray positions initially, while it changed the photon energy by multiplying reflectivity, transmissivity and absorptivity. The runtime and computation effort of Model 3 were approximately 40% and 60% of that of Model 1 in the present work. Moreover, the simulation result of Model 3 was not affected by the algorithm for generating random numbers, however, it needed to take account of suitable grid configurations for different sections of the system. Additionally, effects of varying the geometric parameters for a PTC on optical efficiency were estimated. Effect of offsetting the absorber in width direction of aperture was greater than that in its normal direction at the same offset distance, which was more obvious with offset distance increasing. Furthermore, absorber offset at the opposite direction of tracking error was beneficial for improving optical performance. The larger rim angle (≤90°) was, the less sensitive optical efficiency was to tracking error for the same aperture width of a PTC. In contrast, a larger aperture width was more sensitive to tracking error for a certain rim angle. - Highlights: • Three different optical models for parabolic trough solar collectors were derived. • Their running time, computation

Slope Error Measurement Tool for Solar Parabolic Trough Collectors: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stynes, J. K.; Ihas, B.

2012-04-01

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed an optical measurement tool for parabolic solar collectors that measures the combined errors due to absorber misalignment and reflector slope error. The combined absorber alignment and reflector slope errors are measured using a digital camera to photograph the reflected image of the absorber in the collector. Previous work using the image of the reflection of the absorber finds the reflector slope errors from the reflection of the absorber and an independent measurement of the absorber location. The accuracy of the reflector slope error measurement is thus dependent on the accuracy of the absorber location measurement. By measuring the combined reflector-absorber errors, the uncertainty in the absorber location measurement is eliminated. The related performance merit, the intercept factor, depends on the combined effects of the absorber alignment and reflector slope errors. Measuring the combined effect provides a simpler measurement and a more accurate input to the intercept factor estimate. The minimal equipment and setup required for this measurement technique make it ideal for field measurements.

Study of a new solar adsorption refrigerator powered by a parabolic trough collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Fadar, A.; Mimet, A.; Azzabakh, A.; Perez-Garcia, M.; Castaing, J.

2009-01-01

This paper presents the study of solar adsorption cooling machine, where the reactor is heated by a parabolic trough collector (PTC) and is coupled with a heat pipe (HP). This reactor contains a porous medium constituted of activated carbon, reacting by adsorption with ammonia. We have developed a model, based on the equilibrium equations of the refrigerant, adsorption isotherms, heat and mass transfer within the adsorbent bed and energy balance in the hybrid system components. From real climatic data, the model computes the performances of the machine. In comparison with other systems powered by flat plate or evacuated tube collectors, the predicted results, have illustrated the ability of the proposed system to achieve a high performance due to high efficiency of PTC, and high flux density of heat pipe

Experimental Investigation of a Solar Greenhouse Heating System Equipped with a Parabolic Trough Solar Concentrator and a Double-Purpose Flat Plate Solar Collector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Jafari

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction Greenhouses provide a suitable environment in which all the parameters required for growing the plants can be controlled throughout the year. Greenhouse heating is one of the most important issues in productivity of a greenhouse. In many countries, heating costs in the greenhouses are very high, having almost 60-80% of the total production costs. In recent years, several studies have attempted to reduce the heating costs of the greenhouses by applying more energy efficient equipment and using the renewable energy sources as alternatives or supplementary to the fossil fuels. In the present study a novel solar greenhouse heating system equipped with a parabolic trough solar concentrator (PTC and a flat-plate solar collector has been developed. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the performance of the proposed heating system at different working conditions. Materials and Methods The presented solar greenhouse heating system was comprised of a parabolic trough solar concentrator (PTC, a heat storage tank, a pump and a flat plate solar collector. The PTC was constructed from a polished stainless steel sheet (as the reflector and a vacuum tube receiver. The PTC was connected to the tank by using insulated tubes and a water pump was utilized to circulate the working fluid trough the PTC and the heat exchanger installed between walls of the tank. The uncovered solar collector was located inside the greenhouse. During the sunshine time, a fraction of the total solar radiation received inside the greenhouse is absorbed by the solar collector. This rises the temperature of the working fluid inside the collector which led to density reduction and natural flow of the fluid. In other words, the collector works as a natural flow flat plate solar collector during the sunshine time. At night, when the greenhouse temperature is lower than tank temperature, the fluid flows in a reverse direction through the solar collector and the

A new desalination system using a combination of heat pipe, evacuated tube and parabolic trough collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jafari Mosleh, H.; Jahangiri Mamouri, S.; Shafii, M.B.; Hakim Sima, A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A new desalination uses a combination of heat pipe and parabolic trough collector. • A twin-glass evacuated tube is used to decrease the thermal losses from heat pipe. • Adding oil into the space between heat pipe and tube collector enhances the yield. • The yield and efficiency reach up to 0.933 kg/(m 2 h) and 65.2%, respectively. - Abstract: The solar collectors have been commonly used in desalination systems. Recent investigations show that the use of a linear parabolic trough collector in solar stills can improve the efficiency of a desalination system. In this work, a combination of a heat pipe and a twin-glass evacuated tube collector is utilized with a parabolic trough collector. Results show that the rate of production and efficiency can reach to 0.27 kg/(m 2 h) and 22.1% when aluminum conducting foils are used in the space between the heat pipe and the twin-glass evacuated tube collector to transfer heat from the tube collector to the heat pipe. When oil is used as a medium for the transfer of heat, filling the space between heat pipe and twin-glass evacuated tube collector, the production and efficiency can increase to 0.933 kg/(m 2 h) and 65.2%, respectively

Bilinear Approximate Model-Based Robust Lyapunov Control for Parabolic Distributed Collectors

KAUST Repository

Elmetennani, Shahrazed; Laleg-Kirati, Taous-Meriem

2016-01-01

This brief addresses the control problem of distributed parabolic solar collectors in order to maintain the field outlet temperature around a desired level. The objective is to design an efficient controller to force the outlet fluid temperature

Estimation of the temperature, heat gain and heat loss by solar parabolic trough collector under Algerian climate using different thermal oils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouagued, Malika; Khellaf, Abdallah; Loukarfi, Larbi

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Estimation of direct solar radiations for different tracking systems at six typical locations in Algeria. • PTC thermal model uses energy balances from the HTF to the atmosphere. • The model depends on the collector type, nature of HTF, optical properties, and ambient conditions. • Estimation of temperature, heat gain and energy cost of thermal oils used in the model. • Comparison between monthly mean heat gain of the various thermal oils for six Algerian locations. - Abstract: Algeria is blessed with a very important renewable, and more particularly solar, energy potential. This potential opens for Algeria reel opportunities to cope with the increasing energy demand and the growing environmental problems link to the use of fossil fuel. In order to develop and to promote concrete actions in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency, Algeria has introduced a national daring program for the period 2011–2030. In this program, solar energy, and more particularly solar thermal energy plays an important role. In this paper, the potential of direct solar irradiance in Algeria and the performance of solar parabolic trough collector (PTC) are estimated under the climate conditions of the country. These two factors are treated as they play an important role in the design of solar thermal plant. In order to determine the most promising solar sites in Algeria, monthly mean daily direct solar radiation have been estimated and compared for different locations corresponding to different climatic region. Different tilted and tracking collectors are considered so as to determine the most efficient system for the PTC. In order to evaluate the performance of a tracking solar parabolic trough collector, a heat transfer model is developed. The receiver, heat collector element (HCE), is divided into several segments and heat balance is applied in each segment over a section of the solar receiver. Different oils are considered to determine the thermal

Impact of pressure losses in small-sized parabolic-trough collectors for direct steam generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lobón, David H.; Valenzuela, Loreto

2013-01-01

Using PTC (parabolic-trough solar collectors) for industrial thermal processes in the temperature range up to 300 °C is not new, but in recent years there is a boosted interest in this type of concentrating solar technology. One of the problems that arise when designing PTC solar fields is how to deal with the pressure losses which are critical when producing saturated steam directly in the collectors. Depending on the characteristics of the collector, mainly on the receiver diameter, and on the nominal process conditions defined, a solar field configuration can be feasible or not. This paper presents a sensitivity analysis done using a software tool developed to study the thermo-hydraulic behaviour of PTC systems using water-steam as heat transfer fluid. In the case study presented, a small-sized PTC designed for industrial process heat applications is considered, which has a focal length of 0.2 m, an aperture area of 2 m 2 , and its receiver pipe has an inner diameter of 15 mm. Varied process conditions are inlet water pressure, temperature, and mass flow rate, solar irradiance and incidence angle of solar radiation. Results show that working pressure definition is particularly critical to make feasible or not the direct steam generation in solar collectors. - Highlights: • DSG (Direct steam generation) in small-sized parabolic-trough collectors. • Thermo-hydraulic sensitivity analysis. • Influence of working pressure and receiver geometry in DSG process

Layout of heating units for solar-heated gas turbine systems with paraboloid collectors. Die Auslegung von Erhitzern Solar beheizter Gasturbinenanlagen mit Paraboloidkollektoren

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seifert, P

1983-07-04

Solar energy is converted in a gas turbine plant, with solar radiation collected in a parabolic collector and reflected into a hollow receiver. The receiver, which is rigidly connected to the collector, consists of a conical bottom part and a cylindrical upper part. The highly focussed radiation enters through the aperture of the conus. The cool, compressed working fluid of the gas turbine flows through pipes arranged in front of the cylindrical inner wall. The distribution of the radiation was studied as well as the resulting receiver wall temperature, radiation losses and useful heat absorbed by the working fluid. Temperature distributions and three-dimensional fields of thermal stresses were calculated. The influence of geometric and thermodynamic parameters on the stresses inside the pipes was studied in consideration of thermal stresses and stresses due to working fluid pressure. The findings will help to optimize the heating surface load, material utilisation, and efficiency of the receiver. The interdependences between receiver characteristics and gas turbine operation are explained.

Tracking system for solar collectors

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, B.

1980-10-01

A tracking system is provided for pivotally mounted spaced-apart solar collectors. A pair of cables is connected to spaced-apart portions of each collector, and a driver displaces the cables, thereby causing the collectors to pivot about their mounting, so as to assume the desired orientation. The collectors may be of the cylindrical type as well as the flat-plate type. Rigid spar-like linkages may be substituted for the cables. Releasable attachments of the cables to the collectors is also described, as is a fine tuning mechanism for precisely aligning each individual collector.

Output feedback control of heat transport mechanisms in parabolic distributed solar collectors

KAUST Repository

Elmetennani, Shahrazed

2016-08-05

This paper presents an output feedback control for distributed parabolic solar collectors. The controller aims at forcing the outlet temperature to track a desired reference in order to manage the produced heat despite the external disturbances. The proposed control strategy is derived using the distributed physical model of the system to avoid the loss of information due to model approximation schemes. The system dynamics are driven to follow reference dynamics defined by a transport equation with a constant velocity, which allows to control the transient behavior and the response time of the closed loop. The designed controller depends only on the accessible measured variables which makes it easy for real time implementation and useful for industrial plants. Simulation results show the efficiency of the reference tracking closed loop under different working conditions.

Parabolic dish collectors - A solar option

Science.gov (United States)

Truscello, V. C.

1981-05-01

A description is given of several parabolic-dish high temperature solar thermal systems currently undergoing performance trials. A single parabolic dish has the potential for generating 20 to 30 kW of electricity with fluid temperatures from 300 to 1650 C. Each dish is a complete power-producing unit, and may function either independently or as part of a group of linked modules. The two dish designs under consideration are of 11 and 12 meter diameters, yielding receiver operating temperatures of 925 and 815 C, respectively. The receiver designs described include (1) an organic working fluid (toluene) Rankine cycle engine; (2) a Brayton open cycle unit incorporating a hybrid combustion chamber and nozzle and a shaft-coupled permanent magnet alternator; and (3) a modified Stirling cycle device originally designed for automotive use. Also considered are thermal buffer energy storage and thermochemical transport and storage.

Side-by-side comparisons of evacuated compound parabolic concentrator and flat plate solar collector systems at temperatures of 90 to 100C

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, J. W.; Schertz, W. W.; Wantroba, A. S.

1987-03-01

This collector system study is an extension of a previous system study in which Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) compared the performance of three solar energy systems operated side by side for over a year. In the present system study, four solar energy systems were operated side by side for part of a year. Two of the collector systems used commercially available compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) collectors, one used a commercially available flat plate collector, and one used an experimental CPC collector built by The University of Chicago. The collectors were mounted in fixed positions; they did not track the Sun, and their tilt angles were not seasonally adjusted. All of the collector arrays faced south and were tilted at 42 deg with respect to the horizon (to match the 42 deg N latitude at ANL). All four collector systems started each day with their storage temperatures at 90 C. During the day, each system was operated by its own solar controller. At the end of the day, the tanks were mixed and the temperature changes in the tanks were measured. The change in storage energy was calculated from the temperature change, the heat capacity of the storage system, and the pump energy.

Two non-tracking solar collectors: Design criteria and performance analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ratismith, Wattana; Inthongkhum, Anusorn; Briggs, John

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A collector module designed to capture solar radiation efficiently is proposed. • Two different compound parabolic trough designs are examined and tested. • A novel design with a flat base trough and vertical absorber operates efficiently in direct and diffuse sunlight. - Abstract: We propose fixed (non-tracking) configurations of solar light collector modules which are designed to operate efficiently throughout the day, i.e. for varying incident angles of direct sunlight, and in conditions of diffuse solar irradiation. We present two trough designs of compound parabolic collector (CPC) type. One, a more conventional double-parabolic trough, has the absorber plate perpendicular to the vertical axis of the trough cross-section. The other, of a new flat-base shape, has the absorber plate parallel. The collectors have two novel features appropriate to non-tracking. The first is a smoothing of the power output over the day by the simple expedient of arranging three troughs tilted at different angles. The second is the original design of the flat-base trough allowing optimal interception of the caustic surfaces of this non-focussing device. By ray-tracing analysis of the different trough shapes and absorber plate orientation, we emphasise the design criteria for achievement of a high intercept factor throughout the day without tracking and demonstrate the superiority of the flat-base collector over the double-parabolic design. In test experiments we show that the high temperatures (≈180 °C) necessary for some industrial process heat applications can be achieved. Also test results of the efficiency of the proposed systems are presented which indicate that the flat-base trough with vertical absorber plate is superior to the double-parabolic trough with horizontal absorber plate

Exergy analysis of parabolic trough solar collectors integrated with combined steam and organic Rankine cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Sulaiman, Fahad A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • As the solar irradiation increases, the exergetic efficiency increases. • The R134a combined cycle has best exergetic performance, 26%. • The R600a combined cycle has the lowest exergetic efficiency, 20%. • The main source of exergy destruction is the solar collector. • There is an exergetic improvement potential of 75% in the systems considered. - Abstract: In this paper, detailed exergy analysis of selected thermal power systems driven by parabolic trough solar collectors (PTSCs) is presented. The power is produced using either a steam Rankine cycle (SRC) or a combined cycle, in which the SRC is the topping cycle and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is the bottoming cycle. Seven refrigerants for the ORC were examined: R134a, R152a, R290, R407c, R600, R600a, and ammonia. Key exergetic parameters were examined: exergetic efficiency, exergy destruction rate, fuel depletion ratio, irreversibility ratio, and improvement potential. For all the cases considered it was revealed that as the solar irradiation increases, the exergetic efficiency increases. Among the combined cycles examined, the R134a combined cycle demonstrates the best exergetic performance with a maximum exergetic efficiency of 26% followed by the R152a combined cycle with an exergetic efficiency of 25%. Alternatively, the R600a combined cycle has the lowest exergetic efficiency, 20–21%. This study reveals that the main source of exergy destruction is the solar collector where more than 50% of inlet exergy is destructed, or in other words more than 70% of the total destructed exergy. In addition, more than 13% of the inlet exergy is destructed in the evaporator which is equivalent to around 19% of the destructed exergy. Finally, this study reveals that there is an exergetic improvement potential of 75% in the systems considered

Experimental Analysis of the Thermo-Hydraulic Performance on a Cylindrical Parabolic Concentrating Solar Water Heater with Twisted Tape Inserts in an Absorber Tube

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Birendra; Nayak, Rajen Kumar; Singh, S. N.

2018-05-01

A twisted tape inserted in an absorber tube may be an excellent option to enhance the performance of a cylindrical parabolic concentrating solar collector (CPC). The present work is an experimental study of the flow and heat transfer with and without twisted tape inserts in the absorber tube of a CPC. Results are presented for mass flow rates of water, ṁ=0.0198-0.0525 kg/s, twist ratio, y=5-10 and Reynolds number, Re=2577.46-6785.55. In the present study, we found that the outlet water temperature, collector efficiency and Nusselt number (Nu) are higher in the twisted tapes as compared to those without the twisted tape inserts in the absorber tube of the CPC. For fixed mass flow rate of water ṁ, the To and η increased with the decrease in twist ratio, y, and is higher in lower twist ratio, y=5, of the twisted tapes. The whole experiment was performed at the Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) in Dhanbad, India during the months of March-April 2017. Based on the experimental data, the correlations for the Nu and friction factor were also developed.

Dynamic modeling of a solar ORC with compound parabolic collectors: Annual production and comparison with steady-state simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baccioli, A.; Antonelli, M.; Desideri, U.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A small scale solar ORC was investigated during a year-long simulation. • The system was operated without a thermal storage. • High flexibility thanks to a sliding-velocity control and volumetric expander. • Influence of ORC and solar field parameters considered. • Strong influence of concentration factor and system inertia. - Abstract: In this paper the dynamic behavior of a small low-concentration solar plant with static Compound Parabolic Collectors (CPC) and an ORC power unit with rotary volumetric expander has been analyzed. The plant has been simulated in transient conditions for a year-long operation and for three different sites respectively located in northern, central and southern Italy, in order to evaluate the influence of the latitude on the production. Hourly discretized data for solar radiation and for ambient temperature have been used. The adoption of a sliding-velocity control strategy, has allowed to operate without any storage system with a solar multiple (S.M.) of 1, reducing the amplitude of the solar field and simplifying the control system. Different collectors tilt angles and concentration factors, as well as thermodynamic parameters of the cycle have been tested, to evaluate the optimal working conditions for each locality. Results highlighted that specific production increased with the concentration ratio, and with the decrease of latitude. The comparison with the steady-state analysis showed that this type of control strategy is suited for those configurations having a smaller number of collectors, since the thermal inertia of the solar field is not recovered at all during the plant shut-down phase.

Performance study on evacuated tube solar collector using therminol D-12 as heat transfer fluid coupled with parabolic trough

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Selvakumar, P.; Somasundaram, P.; Thangavel, P.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Instant hot water at temperatures between 40 °C and 68 °C in the low solar radiation range of 240–540 W/m 2 . • Usage of therminol D-12 and parabolic trough in low temperature application. • Stability of thermal and flow properties of therminol D-12 are studied. - Abstract: Fossil fuels and electrical energy are widely used for instant hot water generation in rural and urban areas. Also, conventional solar water heaters do not support instant hot water generation because of various problems. A new system with evacuated tube collector using synthetic oil as heat transfer fluid coupled with parabolic trough is developed and studied experimentally for instant hot water generation in the presence of low solar irradiance. Among the different grades of therminol, therminol D-12 is chosen for the study because of its thermal stability. Parabolic trough is coupled to evacuated tube to enhance the flow as well as heating characteristics of therminol. Heating efficiency and temperature characteristics are determined for the newly developed system under low solar irradiance conditions. Instant hot water can be produced by the new system at a temperature of 60 °C in the presence of low solar radiation. This newly developed system has the ability to check the fossil fuel consumption and electrical energy consumption for instant hot water generation in household applications. The stability of the heat transfer fluid is also ensured by repeated experiments

Wind load design methods for ground-based heliostats and parabolic dish collectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peterka, J A; Derickson, R G [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States). Fluid Dynamics and Diffusion Lab.

1992-09-01

The purpose of this design method is to define wind loads on flat heliostat and parabolic dish collectors in a simplified form. Wind loads are defined for both mean and peak loads accounting for the protective influence of upwind collectors, wind protective fences, or other wind-blockage elements. The method used to define wind loads was to generalize wind load data obtained during tests on model collectors, heliostats or parabolic dishes, placed in a modeled atmospheric wind in a boundary-layer wind-tunnel at Colorado State University. For both heliostats and parabolic dishes, loads are reported for solitary collectors and for collectors as elements of a field. All collectors were solid with negligible porosity; thus the effects of porosity in the collectors is not addressed.

Outdoor Performance Analysis of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) Collector with Jet Impingement and Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC)

OpenAIRE

Ahed Hameed Jaaz; Husam Abdulrasool Hasan; Kamaruzzaman Sopian; Abdul Amir H. Kadhum; Tayser Sumer Gaaz; Ahmed A. Al-Amiery

2017-01-01

This paper discusses the effect of jet impingement of water on a photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collector and compound parabolic concentrators (CPC) on electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency and power production of a PVT system. A prototype of a PVT solar water collector installed with a jet impingement and CPC has been designed, fabricated and experimentally investigated. The efficiency of the system can be improved by using jet impingement of water to decrease the temperature of the solar ce...

Thermodynamic model to study a solar collector for its application to Stirling engines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdollahpour, Amir; Ahmadi, Mohammad H.; Mohammadi, Amir H.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A thermodynamic model is presented to study a solar collector for its application to Stirling engines. • The parabolic collector is analyzed based on optical and thermal. • Effects of changing some conditions and parameters are studied. - Abstract: Energy production through clean and green sources has been paid attention over the last decades owing to high energy consumption and environmental emission. Solar energy is one of the most useful energy sources. Due to high investment cost of centralized generation of electricity and considerable loss in the network, it is necessary to look forward to decentralized electricity generation technologies. Stirling engines have high efficiency and are able to be coupled with solar energy which cannot be applied in internal combustion engines. Solar Stirling engines can be commercialized and used to generate decentralized electricity in small to medium levels. One of the most important steps to set up an efficient solar Stirling engine is choosing and designing the collector. In this study, a solar parabolic collector with 3500 W of power for its application to Stirling engines was designed and analyzed (It is the thermal inlet power for a Stirling engine). We studied the parabolic collector based on optical and thermal analysis. In this case, solar energy is focused by a concentrating mirror and transferred to a pipe containing fluid. MATLAB software was used for obtaining the parameters of the collector, with respect to the geographic, temporal, and environmental conditions, fluid inlet temperature and some other considerations. After obtaining the results of the design, we studied the effects of changing some conditions and parameters such as annular space pressure, type of the gas, wind velocity, environment temperature and absorber pipe coating

Bilinear Approximate Model-Based Robust Lyapunov Control for Parabolic Distributed Collectors

KAUST Repository

Elmetennani, Shahrazed

2016-11-09

This brief addresses the control problem of distributed parabolic solar collectors in order to maintain the field outlet temperature around a desired level. The objective is to design an efficient controller to force the outlet fluid temperature to track a set reference despite the unpredictable varying working conditions. In this brief, a bilinear model-based robust Lyapunov control is proposed to achieve the control objectives with robustness to the environmental changes. The bilinear model is a reduced order approximate representation of the solar collector, which is derived from the hyperbolic distributed equation describing the heat transport dynamics by means of a dynamical Gaussian interpolation. Using the bilinear approximate model, a robust control strategy is designed applying Lyapunov stability theory combined with a phenomenological representation of the system in order to stabilize the tracking error. On the basis of the error analysis, simulation results show good performance of the proposed controller, in terms of tracking accuracy and convergence time, with limited measurement even under unfavorable working conditions. Furthermore, the presented work is of interest for a large category of dynamical systems knowing that the solar collector is representative of physical systems involving transport phenomena constrained by unknown external disturbances.

Exergy Analyses of Fabricated Compound Parabolic Solar Collector with Evacuated Tubes at Different Operating Conditions: Indore (India)

Science.gov (United States)

Geete, Ankur; Dubey, Akash; Sharma, Ankush; Dubey, Anshul

2018-05-01

In this research work, compound parabolic solar collector (CPC) with evacuated tubes is fabricated. Main benefit of CPC is that there is no requirement of solar tracking system. With fabricated CPC; outlet temperatures of flowing fluid, instantaneous efficiencies, useful heat gain rates and inlet exergies (with and without considering Sun's cone angle) are experimentally found. Observations are taken at different time intervals (1200, 1230, 1300, 1330 and 1400 h), mass flow rates (1.15, 0.78, 0.76, 0.86 and 0.89 g/s), ambient temperatures and with various dimensions of solar collector. This research work is concluded as; maximum instantaneous efficiency is 69.87% which was obtained with 0.76 g/s flow rate of water at 1300 h and 42°C is the maximum temperature difference which was also found at same time. Maximum inlet exergies are 139.733 and 139.532 kW with and without considering Sun's cone angle at 1300 h, respectively. Best thermal performance from the fabricated CPC with evacuated tubes is found at 1300 h. Maximum inlet exergy is 141.365 kW which was found at 1300 h with 0.31 m aperture width and 1.72 m absorber pipe length.

Modeling and simulations of a 30 MWe solar electric generating system using parabolic trough collectors in Turkey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Usta, Yasemin [Anyl Asansor Ltd (Turkey)], email: syusta@gmail.com; Baker, Derek [Middle East Technical University (Turkey)], email: dbaker@metu.edu.tr; Kaftanoglu, Bilgin [Atilim University (Turkey)], email: bilgink@atilim.edu.tr

2011-07-01

With the energy crisis and the increasing concerns about climate change, the interest in concentrating solar power (CSP) systems is growing in Turkey. The aim of this paper is to develop a model of a CSP system using a field of parabolic trough collectors and to assess the predicted performance of the system. A model was developed for a 30MWe solar generating system in Antalya, Turkey, using TRNSYS software, the solar thermal electric components library and information on an existing system in Kramer Junction, California, United States. Annual simulations were then performed for both systems in Antalya and California using weather data. It was found that the predictions were in good agreement with published data. In addition results showed that Antalya's system would generate 30% less than Kramer Junction's system on an annual basis. This paper provides useful information on modeling and simulation of CSP systems.

An air-based corrugated cavity-receiver for solar parabolic trough concentrators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bader, Roman; Pedretti, Andrea; Barbato, Maurizio; Steinfeld, Aldo

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We analyze a novel tubular cavity-receiver for solar parabolic trough collectors. • Four-fold solar concentration ratio is reached compared to conventional receivers. • Efficient operation at up to 500 °C is possible. • The pumping power requirement is found to be acceptably low. - Abstract: A tubular cavity-receiver that uses air as the heat transfer fluid is evaluated numerically using a validated heat transfer model. The receiver is designed for use on a large-span (9 m net concentrator aperture width) solar parabolic trough concentrator. Through the combination of a parabolic primary concentrator with a nonimaging secondary concentrator, the collector reaches a solar concentration ratio of 97.5. Four different receiver configurations are considered, with smooth or V-corrugated absorber tube and single- or double-glazed aperture window. The collector’s performance is characterized by its optical efficiency and heat loss. The optical efficiency is determined with the Monte Carlo ray-tracing method. Radiative heat exchange inside the receiver is calculated with the net radiation method. The 2D steady-state energy equation, which couples conductive, convective, and radiative heat transfer, is solved for the solid domains of the receiver cross-section, using finite-volume techniques. Simulations for Sevilla/Spain at the summer solstice at solar noon (direct normal solar irradiance: 847 W m −2 , solar incidence angle: 13.9°) yield collector efficiencies between 60% and 65% at a heat transfer fluid temperature of 125 °C and between 37% and 42% at 500 °C, depending on the receiver configuration. The optical losses amount to more than 30% of the incident solar radiation and constitute the largest source of energy loss. For a 200 m long collector module operated between 300 and 500 °C, the isentropic pumping power required to pump the HTF through the receiver is between 11 and 17 kW

Thermodynamic analysis and optimization of an integrated Rankine power cycle and nano-fluid based parabolic trough solar collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toghyani, Somayeh; Baniasadi, Ehsan; Afshari, Ebrahim

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The performance of an integrated nano-fluid based solar Rankine cycle is studied. • The effect of solar intensity, ambient temperature, and volume fraction is evaluated. • The concept of Finite Time Thermodynamics is applied. • It is shown that CuO/oil nano-fluid has the best performance from exergy perspective. - Abstract: In this paper, the performance of an integrated Rankine power cycle with parabolic trough solar system and a thermal storage system is simulated based on four different nano-fluids in the solar collector system, namely CuO, SiO_2, TiO_2 and Al_2O_3. The effects of solar intensity, dead state temperature, and volume fraction of different nano-particles on the performance of the integrated cycle are studied using second law of thermodynamics. Also, the genetic algorithm is applied to optimize the net output power of the solar Rankine cycle. The solar thermal energy is stored in a two-tank system to improve the overall performance of the system when sunlight is not available. The concept of Finite Time Thermodynamics is applied for analyzing the performance of the solar collector and thermal energy storage system. This study reveals that by increasing the volume fraction of nano-particles, the exergy efficiency of the system increases. At higher dead state temperatures, the overall exergy efficiency is increased, and higher solar irradiation leads to considerable increase of the output power of the system. It is shown that among the selected nano-fluids, CuO/oil has the best performance from exergy perspective.

Air-borne shape measurement of parabolic trough collector fields

Science.gov (United States)

Prahl, Christoph; Röger, Marc; Hilgert, Christoph

2017-06-01

The optical and thermal efficiency of parabolic trough collector solar fields is dependent on the performance and assembly accuracy of its components such as the concentrator and absorber. For the purpose of optical inspection/approval, yield analysis, localization of low performing areas, and optimization of the solar field, it is essential to create a complete view of the optical properties of the field. Existing optical measurement tools are based on ground based cameras, facing restriction concerning speed, volume and automation. QFly is an airborne qualification system which provides holistic and accurate information on geometrical, optical, and thermal properties of the entire solar field. It consists of an unmanned aerial vehicle, cameras and related software for flight path planning, data acquisition and evaluation. This article presents recent advances of the QFly measurement system and proposes a methodology on holistic qualification of the complete solar field with minimum impact on plant operation.

Optical design of two-axes parabolic trough collector and two-section Fresnel lens for line-to-spot solar concentration.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramírez, Carlos; León, Noel; García, Héctor; Aguayo, Humberto

2015-06-01

Solar tracking concentrators are optical systems that collect the solar energy flux either in a line or spot using reflective or refractive surfaces. The main problem with these surfaces is their manufacturing complexity, especially at large scales. In this paper, a line-to-spot solar tracking concentrator is proposed. Its configuration allows for a low-cost solar concentrator system. It consists of a parabolic trough collector (PTC) and a two-section PMMA Fresnel lens (FL), both mounted on a two-axis solar tracker. The function of the PTC is to reflect the incoming solar radiation toward a line. Then, the FL, which is placed near the focus, transforms this line into a spot by refraction. It was found that the system can achieve a concentration ratio of 100x and concentrate an average solar irradiance of 518.857W/m2 with an average transmittance of 0.855, taking into account the effect of the chromatic aberration.

Federal technology alert. Parabolic-trough solar water heating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-04-01

Parabolic-trough solar water heating is a well-proven renewable energy technology with considerable potential for application at Federal facilities. For the US, parabolic-trough water-heating systems are most cost effective in the Southwest where direct solar radiation is high. Jails, hospitals, barracks, and other facilities that consistently use large volumes of hot water are particularly good candidates, as are facilities with central plants for district heating. As with any renewable energy or energy efficiency technology requiring significant initial capital investment, the primary condition that will make a parabolic-trough system economically viable is if it is replacing expensive conventional water heating. In combination with absorption cooling systems, parabolic-trough collectors can also be used for air-conditioning. Industrial Solar Technology (IST) of Golden, Colorado, is the sole current manufacturer of parabolic-trough solar water heating systems. IST has an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) of the US Department of Energy (DOE) to finance and install parabolic-trough solar water heating on an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) basis for any Federal facility that requests it and for which it proves viable. For an ESPC project, the facility does not pay for design, capital equipment, or installation. Instead, it pays only for guaranteed energy savings. Preparing and implementing delivery or task orders against the IDIQ is much simpler than the standard procurement process. This Federal Technology Alert (FTA) of the New Technology Demonstration Program is one of a series of guides to renewable energy and new energy-efficient technologies.

Simulation of the parabolic trough solar energy generation system with Organic Rankine Cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Ya-Ling; Mei, Dan-Hua; Tao, Wen-Quan; Yang, Wei-Wei; Liu, Huai-Liang

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A parabolic trough solar power generation system with ORC is numerically simulated. ► The effects of key parameters on collector field and system performance are studied. ► Collector heat loss increases with small absorber and glass tube interlayer pressure. ► Heat collecting efficiency increases with initial increase of absorber HTO flow rate. ► Recommended thermal storage system volumes are different in year four typical days. -- Abstract: A model for a typical parabolic trough solar thermal power generation system with Organic Rankine Cycle (PT-SEGS–ORC) was built within the transient energy simulation package TRNSYS, which is formed by integrating several submodels for the trough collector system, the single-tank thermal storage system, the auxiliary power system and the heat-electricity conversion system. With this model, the effects of several key parameters, including the interlayer pressure between the absorber tube and the glass tube (p inter ), the flow rate of high temperature oil in the absorber tube (v), solar radiation intensity (I dn ) and incidence angle (θ), on the performance of the parabolic trough collector field based on the meteorological data of Xi’an city were examined. The study shows that the heat loss of the solar collector (q loss ) increases sharply with the increase in p inter at beginning and then reaches to an approximately constant value. The variation of heat collecting efficiency (η hc ) with v is quite similar to the variation of q loss with p inter . However, I dn and θ exhibit opposite effect on η hc . In addition, it is found that the optimal volume of the thermal storage system is sensitively dependent on the solar radiation intensity. The optimal volumes are 100, 150, 50, and 0 m 3 for spring equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox and winter solstice, respectively.

Thermodynamic analysis of a new design of temperature controlled parabolic trough collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ceylan, İlhan; Ergun, Alper

2013-01-01

Highlights: • This new design parabolic trough collector has been made as temperature control. • The TCPTC system is very appropriate for the industrial systems which require high temperatures. • With TCPTC can provide hot water with low solar radiation. • TCPTC system costs are cheaper than other systems (thermo siphon systems, pomp systems, etc.). - Abstract: Numerous types of solar water heater are used throughout the world. These heaters can be classified into two groups as pumped systems and thermo siphon systems. However, water temperature cannot be controlled by these systems. In this study, a new temperature-controlled parabolic trough collector (TCPTC) was designed and analyzed experimentally. The analysis was made at a temperature range of 40–100 °C, with at intervals of 10 °C. A detailed analysis was performed by calculating energy efficiencies, exergy efficiencies, water temperatures and water amounts. The highest energy efficiency of TCPTC was calculated as 61.2 for 100 °C. As the set temperature increased, the energy efficiency increased as well. The highest exergy efficiency was calculated as 63 for 70 °C. However, as the set temperature increased, the exergy efficiency did not increase. Optimum exergy efficiency was obtained for 70 °C

Feasibility Study on the Use of a Solar Thermoelectric Cogenerator Comprising a Thermoelectric Module and Evacuated Tubular Collector with Parabolic Trough Concentrator

Science.gov (United States)

Miao, L.; Zhang, M.; Tanemura, S.; Tanaka, T.; Kang, Y. P.; Xu, G.

2012-06-01

We have designed a new solar thermoelectric cogeneration system consisting of an evacuated tubular solar collector (ETSC) with a parabolic trough concentrator (PTC) and thermoelectric modules (TEMs) to supply both thermal energy and electricity. The main design concepts are (1) the hot side of the TEM is bonded to the solar selective absorber installed in an evacuated glass tube, (2) the cold side of the TEM is also bonded to the heat sink, and (3) the outer circulated water is heated by residual solar energy after TEM generation. We present an example solar thermal simulation based on energy balance and heat transfer as used in solar engineering to predict the electrical conversion efficiency and solar thermal conversion efficiency for different values of parameters such as the solar insolation, concentration ratio, and TEM ZT values.

Analysis of solar water heater with parabolic dish concentrator and conical absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Rajamohan, G.; Kumar, P.; Anwar, M.; Mohanraj, T.

2017-06-01

This research focuses on developing novel technique for a solar water heating system. The novel solar system comprises a parabolic dish concentrator, conical absorber and water heater. In this system, the conical absorber tube directly absorbs solar radiation from the sun and the parabolic dish concentrator reflects the solar radiations towards the conical absorber tube from all directions, therefore both radiations would significantly improve the thermal collector efficiency. The working fluid water is stored at the bottom of the absorber tubes. The absorber tubes get heated and increases the temperature of the working fluid inside of the absorber tube and causes the working fluid to partially evaporate. The partially vaporized working fluid moves in the upward direction due to buoyancy effect and enters the heat exchanger. When fresh water passes through the heat exchanger, temperature of the vapour decreases through heat exchange. This leads to condensation of the vapour and forms liquid phase. The working fluid returns to the bottom of the collector absorber tube by gravity. Hence, this will continue as a cyclic process inside the system. The proposed investigation shows an improvement of collector efficiency, enhanced heat transfer and a quality water heating system.

Performance analysis of solar parabolic trough collectors driven combined supercritical CO2 and organic Rankine cycle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harwinder Singh

2018-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, attempts have been made on the detailed energy and exergy analysis of solar parabolic trough collectors (SPTCs driven combined power plant. The combination of supercritical CO2 (SCO2 cycle and organic Rankine cycle (ORC integrated with SPTCs has been used to produce power, in which SCO2 cycle and ORC are arranged as a topping and bottoming cycle. Five organic working fluids like R134a, R1234yf, R407c, R1234ze, and R245fa were selected for a low temperature bottoming ORC. Five key exergetic parameters such as exergetic efficiency, exergy destruction rate, fuel depletion ratio, irreversibility ratio, and improvement potential were also examined. It was revealed that exergetic and thermal efficiency of all the combined cycles enhances as the direct normal irradiance increases from 0.5 kW/m2 to 0.95 kW/m2. As can be seen, R407c combined cycle has the maximum exergetic as well as thermal efficiency which is around 78.07% at 0.95 kW/m2 and 43.49% at 0.95 kW/m2, respectively. Alternatively, the R134a and R245fa combined cycle yields less promising results with the marginal difference in their performance. As inferred from the study that SCO2 turbine and evaporator has a certain amount of exergy destruction which is around 9.72% and 8.54% of the inlet exergy, and almost 38.10% of the total exergy destruction in case of R407c combined cycle. Moreover, the maximum amount of exergy destructed by the solar collector field which is more than 25% of the solar inlet exergy and around 54% of the total destructed exergy. Finally, this study concludes that R407c combined cycle has a minimum fuel depletion ratio of 0.2583 for a solar collector and possess the highest power output of 3740 kW. Keywords: Supercritical CO2cycle, Organic Rankine cycle, Exergetic performance, SPTCs, Organic fluids

Phase 0: goal study for the technical and economic evaluation of the Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) concept applied to solar thermal and photovoltaic collectors. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1975-06-01

This report presents the results of a quick, six-week technical and economic evaluation of the compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) solar collector. The purpose of this effort was to provide an initial phase of a goals study that is directed toward recommending relative priorities for development of the compound parabolic concentrator concept. The findings of this study are of a very preliminary nature. Conclusions based on study findings at this depth should be considered preliminary and subject to revision and review in later phases.

A non-linear steady state characteristic performance curve for medium temperature solar energy collectors

Science.gov (United States)

Eames, P. C.; Norton, B.

A numerical simulation model was employed to investigate the effects of ambient temperature and insolation on the efficiency of compound parabolic concentrating solar energy collectors. The limitations of presently-used collector performance characterization curves were investigated and a new approach proposed.

Exergetic and Thermoeconomic Analyses of Solar Air Heating Processes Using a Parabolic Trough Collector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Ángel Hernández-Román

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a theoretical and practical analysis of the application of the thermoeconomic method. A furnace for heating air is evaluated using the methodology. The furnace works with solar energy, received from a parabolic trough collector and with electricity supplied by an electric power utility. The methodology evaluates the process by the first and second law of thermodynamics as the first step then the cost analysis is applied for getting the thermoeconomic cost. For this study, the climatic conditions of the city of Queretaro (Mexico are considered. Two periods were taken into account: from July 2006 to June 2007 and on 6 January 2011. The prototype, located at CICATA-IPN, Qro, was analyzed in two different scenarios i.e., with 100% of electricity and 100% of solar energy. The results showed that thermoeconomic costs for the heating process with electricity, inside the chamber, are less than those using solar heating. This may be ascribed to the high cost of the materials, fittings, and manufacturing of the solar equipment. Also, the influence of the mass flow, aperture area, length and diameter of the receiver of the solar prototype is a parameter for increasing the efficiency of the prototype in addition to the price of manufacturing. The optimum design parameters are: length is 3 to 5 m, mass flow rate is 0.03 kg/s, diameter of the receiver is around 10 to 30 mm and aperture area is 3 m2.

Solar powered adsorption refrigerator with CPC collection system: Collector design and experimental test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, Manuel I.; Rodriguez, Luis R.

2007-01-01

Solar adsorption cooling systems are usually based on the flat plate collector, whereas little attention has been paid to concentrating collectors. Compound parabolic concentrators (CPC) are a versatile class of solar collectors that can be adapted to a large variety of applications and geometries. This work presents a CPC collector whose tubular receiver contains the sorption bed and where only a portion of the receiver is exposed to sunlight. Geometric characteristics of the proposed CPC, such as the profile, the length and the height of the reflective sheet are given. A prototype of a solar adsorption chiller using this type of collector and the activated carbon-methanol working pair is described, and typical experimental results are reported. In particular, the measured solar COP ranges from 0.078 to 0.096

Optimization of a Solar-Driven Trigeneration System with Nanofluid-Based Parabolic Trough Collectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evangelos Bellos

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work was to optimize and to evaluate a solar-driven trigeneration system which operates with nanofluid-based parabolic trough collectors. The trigeneration system includes an organic Rankine cycle (ORC and an absorption heat pump operating with LiBr-H2O which is powered by the rejected heat of the ORC. Toluene, n-octane, Octamethyltrisiloxane (MDM and cyclohexane are the examined working fluids in the ORC. The use of CuO and Al2O3 nanoparticles in the Syltherm 800 (base fluid is investigated in the solar field loop. The analysis is performed with Engineering Equation Solver (EES under steady state conditions in order to give the emphasis in the exergetic optimization of the system. Except for the different working fluid investigation, the system is optimized by examining three basic operating parameters in all the cases. The pressure in the turbine inlet, the temperature in the ORC condenser and the nanofluid concentration are the optimization variables. According to the final results, the combination of toluene in the ORC with the CuO nanofluid is the optimum choice. The global maximum exergetic efficiency is 24.66% with pressure ratio is equal to 0.7605, heat rejection temperature 113.7 °C and CuO concentration 4.35%.

A finite-volume model of a parabolic trough photovoltaic/thermal collector: Energetic and exergetic analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calise, Francesco; Palombo, Adolfo; Vanoli, Laura

2012-01-01

This paper presents a detailed finite-volume model of a concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) solar collector. The PVT solar collector consists in a parabolic trough concentrator and a linear triangular receiver. The bottom surfaces of the triangular receiver are equipped with triple-junction cells whereas the top surface is covered by an absorbing surface. The cooling fluid (water) flows inside a channel along the longitudinal direction of the PVT collector. The system was discretized along its axis and, for each slice of the discretized computational domain, mass and energy balances were considered. The model allows one to evaluate both thermodynamic and electrical parameters along the axis of the PVT collector. Then, for each slice of the computational domain, exergy balances were also considered in order to evaluate the corresponding exergy destruction rate and exergetic efficiency. Therefore, the model also calculates the magnitude of the irreversibilities inside the collector and it allows one to detect where these irreversibilities occur. A sensitivity analysis is also performed with the scope to evaluate the effect of the variation of the main design/environmental parameters on the energetic and exergetic performance of the PVT collector. -- Highlights: ► The paper investigates an innovative concentrating photovoltaic thermal solar collector. ► The collector is equipped with triple-junction photovoltaic layers. ► A local exergetic analysis is performed in order to detect sources of irreversibilities. ► Irreversibilities are mainly due to the heat transfer between sun and PVT collector.

Performance Evaluation of a Solar Adsorption Refrigeration System with a Wing Type Compound Parabolic Concentrator

OpenAIRE

Umair, Muhammad; Akisawa, Atsushi; Ueda, Yuki

2014-01-01

Simulation study of a solar adsorption refrigeration system using a wing type compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) is presented. The system consists of the wing type collector set at optimum angles, adsorption bed, a condenser and a refrigerator. The wing type collector captures the solar energy efficiently in the morning and afternoon and provides the effective temperature for a longer period of time compared to that achieved by a linear collector. The objectives of the study were to evalua...

Optical performance effects of the misalignment of nonimaging optics solar collectors

Science.gov (United States)

Ferry, Jonathan; Ricketts, Melissa; Winston, Roland

2017-09-01

The use of non-imaging optics in the application of high temperature solar thermal collectors can be extremely advantageous in eliminating the need to track the sun. The stationary nature of non-imaging optics collectors, commonly called compound parabolic concentrators (CPC's), present a unique design challenge when orienting them to collect sunlight. Many facilities throughout the world that adopt CPCs are not situated to orient the collectors in the ideal angle facing the sun. This East-West misalignment can adversely affect the optical and power performance of the CPC collector. To characterize how this misalignment effects CPCs, reverse raytracing simulations are conducted for varying offset angles of the collectors from solar South. Optical performance is analyzed for an ideal East-West oriented CPC with a 40-degree acceptance angle. Direction cosine plots are used to develop a ratio of annual solar collection by the CPC over the total annual solar input. From these simulations, average annual collector performance is given for offset angles ranging from 0 to 90 degrees for different Earth Latitudes in 10 degree increments.

Preliminary experimental study of post-combustion carbon capture integrated with solar thermal collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Fu; Zhao, Jun; Li, Hailong; Deng, Shuai; Yan, Jinyue

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A solar assisted chemical absorption pilot system with two types of collectors (parabolic trough and linear Fresnel reflector) has been constructed. • Performance of two types of solar collectors has been investigated and compared at steady and transient states. • The operations of the pilot system with and without solar assisted have been tested. • The pilot system responds to the temperature of the heat transfer fluid regularly. - Abstract: The amine-based chemical absorption for CO_2 capture normally needs to extract steam from the steam turbine cycle for solvent regeneration. Integrating solar thermal energy enables the reduction of steam extraction and therefore, can reduce the energy penalty caused by CO_2 capture. In this paper, a pilot system of the solar thermal energy assisted chemical absorption was built to investigate the system performance. Two types of solar thermal energy collectors, parabolic trough and linear Fresnel reflector, were tested. It was found that the values of operation parameters can meet the requirements of designed setting parameters, and the solar collectors can provide the thermal energy required by the reboiler, while its contribution was mainly determined by solar irradiation. The solvent regeneration was investigated by varying the heat input. The results show that the response time of the reboiler heat duty is longer than those of the reboiler temperature and desorber pressure. This work provides a better understanding about the overall operation and control of the system.

Truncation of CPC solar collectors and its effect on energy collection

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, M. J.; Collares-Pereira, M.; Gordon, J. M.; Rabl, A.

1985-01-01

Analytic expressions are derived for the angular acceptance function of two-dimensional compound parabolic concentrator solar collectors (CPC's) of arbitrary degree of truncation. Taking into account the effect of truncation on both optical and thermal losses in real collectors, the increase in monthly and yearly collectible energy is also evaluated. Prior analyses that have ignored the correct behavior of the angular acceptance function at large angles for truncated collectors are shown to be in error by 0-2 percent in calculations of yearly collectible energy for stationary collectors.

Year-round performance assessment of a solar parabolic trough collector under climatic condition of Bhiwani, India: A case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Devander; Kumar, Sudhir

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Year-round performance of SPTC under the various climatic conditions is presented. • A detailed thermo-optical model for PTC system is developed. • A comparison of developed thermal model is done with experimental data of SNL. • Developed model is very helpful and effective tool in analyzing the PTC system. • Enlightens the importance of mini-level SPTC as a promising system to fulfill the energy demands. - Abstract: Solar parabolic trough collector (SPTC) is a well-known solar thermal system applied for solar electric generation. Nowadays, major attention is directed toward improving the performance of solar thermal systems with optimization of solar field production. In this research work, a comprehensive thermo-optical modeling has been proposed to evaluate the performance of a mini-level SPTC considering various heat equilibriums with the environment. Here, receiver wall temperature is considered as the base for modeling. Collector consists of a non-evacuated receiver tube with black paint coating and enveloped with glass cover. Available meteorological data in terms of global and diffuse solar insolations, air temperatures and wind speeds have been used as inputs for performance evaluation of SPTC with horizontal and inclined aperture planes. The validation of the proposed analytical model is justified with existing experimental results and yielded a close agreement. The developed model is successfully applied to a SPTC in order to estimate the through-out year performance characteristics in terms of water temperature rise, heat energy generation, optical and thermal efficiency for the climactic conditions of Bhiwani. The results enlighten that using 0.010 kg/s mass flow rate of water and aperture area of around 1.34 m"2, collector achieved maximum rise in water temperature 11.1 °C and 12.2 °C on horizontal and inclined planes, respectively in the month of April. The uppermost heat energy generation is found to be 2.38 kW h/day in May

Optical and Structural Characterization of Nickel Coatings for Solar Collector Receivers

OpenAIRE

Pratesi, S.; Sani, E.; De Lucia, M.

2014-01-01

The development of spectrally selective materials is gaining an increasing role in solar thermal technology. The ideal spectrally selective solar absorber requires high absorbance at the solar spectrum wavelengths and low emittance at the wavelengths of thermal spectrum. Selective coating represents a promising route to improve the receiver efficiency for parabolic trough collectors (PTCs). In this work, we describe an intermediate step in the fabrication of black-chrome based solar absorbers...

A thermal-optical analysis comparison between symmetric tubular absorber compound parabolic concentrating solar collector with and without envelope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tchinda, R.

2005-11-01

Equations describing the heat transfer in symmetric, compound parabolic concentrating solar collectors (CPCs) with and without envelope have been established. The model takes into account the non linear behavior of these two systems. A theoretical numerical model has been developed to outline the effect of the envelope on the thermal and optical performance of CPCs. The effects of the flow rate, the plate length, the selective coating, etc. are studied. The over-all thermal loss coefficient and the enclosure absorption factor for both types are defined. It is found that the efficient configuration has an envelope. Theoretical computed values are in good agreement with the experimental values published in the literature. (author)

An evaluation of the performance of an integrated solar combined cycle plant provided with air-linear parabolic collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amelio, Mario; Ferraro, Vittorio; Marinelli, Valerio; Summaria, Antonio

2014-01-01

An evaluation of the performance of an innovative solar system integrated in a combined cycle plant is presented, in which the heat transfer fluid flowing in linear parabolic collectors is the same oxidant air that is introduced into the combustion chamber of the plant. This peculiarity allows a great simplification of the plant. There is a 22% saving of fossil fuel results in design conditions and 15.5% on an annual basis, when the plant works at nominal volumetric flow rate in the daily hours. The net average year efficiency is 60.9% against the value of 51.4% of a reference combined cycle plant without solar integration. Moreover, an economic evaluation of the plant is carried out, which shows that the extra-cost of the solar part is recovered in about 5 years. - Highlights: • A model to calculate an innovative ISCCS (Integrated solar Combined Cycle Systems) solar plant is presented. • The plant uses air as heat transfer fluid as well as oxidant in the combustor. • The plant presents a very high thermodynamic efficiency. • The plant is very simple in comparison with existing ISCCS

The thermal solar energy - September 2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acket, C.

2010-01-01

The author first notices that the use of solar heat to produce electricity is much lesser known than the production of electricity by photovoltaic effect. He also notices that few efforts have been made in France to develop this technology (thermal solar energy, also called helio-thermodynamics). He evokes the Themis project and also some initiatives in Spain and in California. He recalls some data about solar heat, presents the solar concentration technique which either uses a parabolic configuration (point focus concentration) or a cylindrical and parabolic configuration (line concentration system). He briefly presents the different techniques used to transform solar heat into electricity and to store the electricity. He briefly presents different solutions which have been tested over the past years in France, Germany, Spain, California and Israel (tower and air, gas and Stirling cycle, tower and direct vapour production, cylindrical-parabolic collector). He discusses the effect of intermittency and the French context, and questions and discusses the choice between thermal and photovoltaic solar energy (advantages and drawbacks)

Double-pass photovoltaic / thermal (PV/T) solar collector with advanced heat transfer features

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Nazari Abu Bakar; Baharudin Yatim; Mohd Yusof Othman; Kamaruzzaman Sopian

2006-01-01

The use of PV/T in combination with concentrating reflectors has a potential to significantly increase power production from a given solar cell area. A prototype double-pass photovoltaic-thermal solar air collector with CPR and fins has been designed and fabricated and its performance over a range of operating conditions was studied. The absorber of the hybrid photovoltaic / thermal (PV/T) collector under investigation consists of an array of solar cells for generating electricity, compound parabolic concentrator (CPR) to increase the radiation intensity falling on the solar cells and fins attached to the back side of the absorber plate to improve heat transfer to the flowing air. The thermal, electrical and combined electrical and thermal efficiencies of the collector are presented and discussed

Converting PETAL, the 25m solar collector, into an astronimcal research facility

Science.gov (United States)

Ribak, Erez N.; Laor, Ari; Faiman, David; Biyukov, Sergy; Brosch, Noah

2003-02-01

We propose to modify the solar collector PETAL (Photon Energy Transformation &Astrophysics Laboratory) for astronomy. The mirror is a segmented parabolic dish collector, which has a relatively poor imaging quality. The conversion can be done by either of two principal methods: (1) phasing the surface of the collector itself or significant sections thereof; (2) transforming the structure into an optical interferometer by mounting small telescopes around its rim, and using fiber optics to combine the light at a common focus.

Connectable solar air collectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oestergaard Jensen, S.; Bosanac, M.

2002-02-01

The project has proved that it is possible to manufacture solar air collector panels, which in an easy way can be connected into large collector arrays with integrated ducting without loss of efficiency. The developed connectable solar air collectors are based on the use of matrix absorbers in the form of perforated metal sheets. Three interconnected solar air collectors of the above type - each with an transparent area of approx. 3 m{sup 2} - was tested and compared with parallel tests on two single solar air collectors also with a transparent area of approx. 3 m{sup 2} One of the single solar air collectors has an identical absorber as the connectable solar air collectors while the absorber of the other single solar air collector was a fibre cloth. The efficiency of the three solar air collectors proved to be almost identical in the investigated range of mass flow rates and temperature differences. The solar air collectors further proved to be very efficient - as efficient as the second most efficient solar air collectors tested in the IEA task 19 project Solar Air Systems. Some problems remain although to be solved: the pressure drop across especially the connectable solar air collectors is too high - mainly across the inlets of the solar air collectors. It should, however, be possible to considerably reduce the pressure losses with a more aerodynamic design of the inlet and outlet of the solar air collectors; The connectable solar air collectors are easy connectable but the air tightness of the connections in the present form is not good enough. As leakage leads to lower efficiencies focus should be put on making the connections more air tight without loosing the easiness in connecting the solar air collectors. As a spin off of the project a simple and easy way to determine the efficiency of solar, air collectors for pre-heating of fresh air has been validated. The simple method of determining the efficiency has with success been compared with an advance method

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF PARABOLIC SOLAR COLLECTOR WATER HEATER SYSTEM FITTED WITH NAIL TWISTED TAPES ABSORBER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. SYED JAFAR

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the experimental heat transfer, friction loss and thermal performance data for water flowing through the absorber tube fitted with two different twisted tape configurations in parabolic trough collector (PTC are presented. In the present work, a relative experimental study is carried out to investigate the performance of a PTC influenced by heat transfer through fluidabsorber wall mixing mechanism. The major findings of this experiment show that heat transport enhancement in the nail twisted tape collector perform significantly better than plain twisted tapes and also show that the smallest twisted tape ratio enhances the system performance remarkably maximizing the collector efficiency. The results suggest that the twisted tape and nail twisted tape would be a better option for high thermal energy collection in laminar region of the PTC system.

Small-Sized Parabolic Trough Collector System for Solar Dehumidification Application: Design, Development, and Potential Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ghulam Qadar Chaudhary

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The current study presents a numerical and real-time performance analysis of a parabolic trough collector (PTC system designed for solar air-conditioning applications. Initially, a thermodynamic model of PTC is developed using engineering equation solver (EES having a capacity of around 3 kW. Then, an experimental PTC system setup is established with a concentration ratio of 9.93 using evacuated tube receivers. The experimental study is conducted under the climate of Taxila, Pakistan in accordance with ASHRAE 93-1986 standard. Furthermore, PTC system is integrated with a solid desiccant dehumidifier (SDD to study the effect of various operating parameters such as direct solar radiation and inlet fluid temperature and its impact on dehumidification share. The experimental maximum temperature gain is around 5.2°C, with the peak efficiency of 62% on a sunny day. Similarly, maximum thermal energy gain on sunny and cloudy days is 3.07 kW and 2.33 kW, respectively. Afterwards, same comprehensive EES model of PTC with some modifications is used for annual transient analysis in TRNSYS for five different climates of Pakistan. Quetta revealed peak solar insolation of 656 W/m2 and peak thermal energy 1139 MJ with 46% efficiency. The comparison shows good agreement between simulated and experimental results with root mean square error of around 9%.

Development of compound parabolic concentrators for solar energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Gallagher, J.; Winston, R.

1983-10-01

The compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) is not a specific collector, but a family of collectors based on a general design principle for maximizing the geometric concentration, C, for radiation within a given acceptance half angle = thetac. This maximum limit exceeds by a factor of 2 to 4 that attainable by systems using focussing optics. The wide acceptance angles permitted using these techniques have several unique advantages for solar concentrators including the elimination of the diurnal tracking requirement at intermediate concentrations (up to about 10x), collection of circumsolar and some diffuse radiation and relaxed tolerances. Because of these advantages, CPC type concentrators have applications in solar energy wherever concentration is desired, e.g., for a wide variety of both thermal and photovoltaic uses. The basic principles of nonimaging optical design are reviewed. Selected configurations for both non-evacuated and evacuated thermal collector applications are discussed with particular emphasis on the most recent advances. The use of CPC type elements as secondary concentrators is illustrated in the context of higher concentration photovoltaic applications.

Design and performance characteristics of solar adsorption refrigeration system using parabolic trough collector: Experimental and statistical optimization technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abu-Hamdeh, Nidal H.; Alnefaie, Khaled A.; Almitani, Khalid H.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The successes of using olive waste/methanol as an adsorbent/adsorbate pair. • The experimental gross cycle coefficient of performance obtained was COP a = 0.75. • Optimization showed expanding adsorbent mass to a certain range increases the COP. • The statistical optimization led to optimum tank volume between 0.2 and 0.3 m 3 . • Increasing the collector area to a certain range increased the COP. - Abstract: The current work demonstrates a developed model of a solar adsorption refrigeration system with specific requirements and specifications. The recent scheme can be employed as a refrigerator and cooler unit suitable for remote areas. The unit runs through a parabolic trough solar collector (PTC) and uses olive waste as adsorbent with methanol as adsorbate. Cooling production, COP (coefficient of performance, and COP a (cycle gross coefficient of performance) were used to assess the system performance. The system’s design optimum parameters in this study were arrived to through statistical and experimental methods. The lowest temperature attained in the refrigerated space was 4 °C and the equivalent ambient temperature was 27 °C. The temperature started to decrease steadily at 20:30 – when the actual cooling started – until it reached 4 °C at 01:30 in the next day when it rose again. The highest COP a obtained was 0.75

Genesis Solar Wind Science Canister Components Curated as Potential Solar Wind Collectors and Reference Contamination Sources

Science.gov (United States)

Allton, J. H.; Gonzalez, C. P.; Allums, K. K.

2016-01-01

The Genesis mission collected solar wind for 27 months at Earth-Sun L1 on both passive and active collectors carried inside of a Science Canister, which was cleaned and assembled in an ISO Class 4 cleanroom prior to launch. The primary passive collectors, 271 individual hexagons and 30 half-hexagons of semiconductor materials, are described in. Since the hard landing reduced the 301 passive collectors to many thousand smaller fragments, characterization and posting in the online catalog remains a work in progress, with about 19% of the total area characterized to date. Other passive collectors, surfaces of opportunity, have been added to the online catalog. For species needing to be concentrated for precise measurement (e.g. oxygen and nitrogen isotopes) an energy-independent parabolic ion mirror focused ions onto a 6.2 cm diameter target. The target materials, as recovered after landing, are described in. The online catalog of these solar wind collectors, a work in progress, can be found at: http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/gencatalog/index.cfm This paper describes the next step, the cataloging of pieces of the Science Canister, which were surfaces exposed to the solar wind or component materials adjacent to solar wind collectors which may have contributed contamination.

Evaluation of the solar water disinfection process (SODIS) against Cryptosporidium parvum using a 25-L static solar reactor fitted with a compound parabolic collector (CPC).

Science.gov (United States)

Fontán-Sainz, María; Gómez-Couso, Hipólito; Fernández-Ibáñez, Pilar; Ares-Mazás, Elvira

2012-02-01

Water samples of 0, 5, and 30 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU) spiked with Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts were exposed to natural sunlight using a 25-L static solar reactor fitted with a compound parabolic collector (CPC). The global oocyst viability was calculated by the evaluation of the inclusion/exclusion of the fluorogenic vital dye propidium iodide and the spontaneous excystation. After an exposure time of 8 hours, the global oocyst viabilities were 21.8 ± 3.1%, 31.3 ± 12.9%, and 45.0 ± 10.0% for turbidity levels of 0, 5, and 30 NTU, respectively, and these values were significantly lower (P 10 times).

Project, fabrication, assembly and tests of different prototypes for CPS compound parabolic solar collectors; Projeto, fabricacao, montagem e testes de diferentes prototipos de coletores solares parabolicos compostos CPCs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neto, Jose H.M. [Centro Federal de Educacao Tecnologica de Minas Gerais (CEFET), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Mecanica]. E-mail: henrique@daem.des.cefemg.br

2000-07-01

This work presents the results of the experiment involving the design, fabrication, assembly and tests of composite parabolic solar collectors prototypes with acceptance half-angles of 3 deg C, 6.5 deg C, 11 deg C, 14 deg C and 19.5 deg C of the tube type absorber and 14 deg C rectangular absorber. Field test were performed on all the prototypes for determination of thermal efficiency, time constants and optical efficiencies represented by the modified incidence angles. Tests were performed for the determination of the heat transfer global coefficients on each prototype. (author)

Tracking local control of a parabolic trough collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ajona, J.I.; Alberdi, J.; Gamero, E.; Blanco, J.

1992-01-01

In the local control, the sun position related to the trough collector is measured by two photo-resistors. The provided electronic signal is then compared with reference levels in order to get a set of B logical signals which form a byte. This byte and the commands issued by a programmable controller are connected to the inputs of o P.R.O.M. memory which is programmed with the logical equations of the control system. The memory output lines give the control command of the parabolic trough collector motor. (Author)

Thermal behaviour of solar air heater with compound parabolic concentrator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tchinda, Rene

2008-01-01

A mathematical model for computing the thermal performance of an air heater with a truncated compound parabolic concentrator having a flat one-sided absorber is presented. A computer code that employs an iterative solution procedure is constructed to solve the governing energy equations and to estimate the performance parameters of the collector. The effects of the air mass flow rate, the wind speed and the collector length on the thermal performance of the present air heater are investigated. Predictions for the performance of the solar heater also exhibit reasonable agreement, with experimental data with an average error of 7%

Theoretical investigation of solar humidification-dehumidification desalination system using parabolic trough concentrators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, A.M.I.; El-Minshawy, N.A.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We evaluated the performance of sea water HDD system powered by solar PTC. → The proposed design to the expected desalination plant performance was introduced. → The collector thermal efficiency was a function of solar radiation value. → The highest fresh water productivity is found to be in the summer season. → The production time reaches 42% of the day time in the summer season. - Abstract: This paper deals with the status of solar energy as a clean and renewable energy applications in desalination. The object of this research is to theoretically investigate the principal operating parameters of a proposed desalination system based on air humidification-dehumidification principles. A parabolic trough solar collector is adapted to drive and optimize the considered desalination system. A test set-up of the desalination system was designed and a theoretical simulation model was constructed to evaluate the performance and productivity of the proposed solar humidification-dehumidification desalination system. The theoretical simulation model was developed in which the thermodynamic models of each component of the considered were set up respectively. The study showed that, parabolic trough solar collector is the suitable to drive the proposed desalination system. A comparison study had been presented to show the effect of the different parameters on the performance and the productivity of the system. The productivity of the proposed system showed also an increase with the increase of the day time till an optimum value and then decreased. The highest fresh water productivity is found to be in the summer season, when high direct solar radiation and long solar time are always expected. The production time reaches a maximum value in the summer season, which is 42% of the day.

Field test of thermoelectric generator using parabolic trough solar concentrator for power generation

Science.gov (United States)

Viña, Rommel R.; Alagao, Feliciano B.

2018-03-01

A 2.4587 square meter effective area cylindrical parabolic solar concentrator was fabricated. The trough concentrator is a 4-ft by 8-ft metal sheet with solar mirror film adhered on it and it is laid on a frame with steel tubes bent in a shape of a parabola. On the focal region of the parabolic trough is the 1.22-m by 0.10-m absorber plate made of copper and coated flat black. This plate served as high temperature reservoir of the eight equally spaced TEC1-12710T125 thermoelectric modules. On the cold side of the modules is a 2.5-in. by 1-in. rectangular aluminum tube with coolant flowing inside. The coolant loop included a direct contact cooling tower which maintained the module cold side assembly inlet temperature of about 28°C. Collector temperature was also kept below the 125°C module maximum operating temperature by controlling the effective area. This was accomplished by adjusting the reflector covering. Using a dummy load and with 8 modules in series, tests results indicated current readings up to 179.4 mA with a voltage of 10.6 VDC and 27% of reflector area or voltage reading up to 12.7 VDC with a current of 165 mA. A steady voltage of 12 VDC was achieved with the use of a voltage regulator. A voltage above 12 VDC will be required to charge a storage battery. Overall results showed the potential of thermoelectric generator (TEG) in combination with solar energy in power generation.

Heat transfer analysis and the effect of CuO/Water nanofluid on direct absorption concentrating solar collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menbari, Amir; Alemrajabi, Ali Akbar; Rezaei, Amin

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The effect of CuO/Water on a direct absorption parabolic collector is investigated. • The power-law is used for simulating the turbulent flow into the receiver pipe. • In this collector the solar irradiance is absorbed directly and converted to heat. • Nanofluid as the working fluid improves the thermal efficiency of the collector. - Abstract: Direct absorption solar collectors (DASCs) form a new class of collectors that directly harvest sun beams via a working fluid. They offer several advantages over their conventional surface absorption counterparts such as reduced surface heat loss and increased solar irradiance absorption. The optical and thermo-physical properties of the working fluid may be improved and system efficiency may be enhanced in direct absorption solar collectors (DASCs) by introducing nanoparticles into the base fluid. The present study investigates, both analytically and experimentally, the effects of CuO/Water nanofluid on the efficiency of a direct absorption parabolic trough collector (DAPTC). The theoretical analysis of DAPTC is based on the power-law with the objective of simulating a turbulent flow into the receiver pipe. Comparison of the results obtained from the model and the experimental measurements reveals a good agreement between the two sets of data, indicating that they can be exploited to validate the numerical solution. Moreover, modeling results indicate that the average radial temperature and energy generation terms due to the solar irradiance absorbed and scattered by the nanoparticles decrease with increasing distance from the receiver pipe wall. It is also found that the solar irradiance is absorbed and converted into a significant amount of sensible heat along the length of the receiver pipe. Finally, the results of both the numerical and the experimental investigations of the DAPTC collector show that the thermal efficiency of the system improves as a result of increased nanoparticle volume fraction

Dielectric compound parabolic concentrating solar collector with frustrated total internal reflection absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Hull, J. R.

Since its introduction, the concept of nonimaging solar concentrators, as exemplified by the compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) design, has greatly enhanced the ability to collect solar energy efficiently in thermal and photovoltaic devices. When used as a primary concentrator, a CPC can provide significant concentration without the complication of a tracking mechanism and its associated maintenance problems. When used as a secondary, a CPC provides higher total concentration, or for a fixed concentration, tolerates greater tracking error in the primary.

Outdoor Performance Analysis of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) Collector with Jet Impingement and Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC).

Science.gov (United States)

Jaaz, Ahed Hameed; Hasan, Husam Abdulrasool; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman; Kadhum, Abdul Amir H; Gaaz, Tayser Sumer; Al-Amiery, Ahmed A

2017-08-01

This paper discusses the effect of jet impingement of water on a photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collector and compound parabolic concentrators (CPC) on electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency and power production of a PVT system. A prototype of a PVT solar water collector installed with a jet impingement and CPC has been designed, fabricated and experimentally investigated. The efficiency of the system can be improved by using jet impingement of water to decrease the temperature of the solar cells. The electrical efficiency and power output are directly correlated with the mass flow rate. The results show that electrical efficiency was improved by 7% when using CPC and jet impingement cooling in a PVT solar collector at 1:00 p.m. (solar irradiance of 1050 W/m² and an ambient temperature of 33.5 °C). It can also be seen that the power output improved by 36% when using jet impingement cooling with CPC, and 20% without CPC in the photovoltaic (PV) module at 1:30 p.m. The short-circuit current I SC of the PV module experienced an improvement of ~28% when using jet impingement cooling with CPC, and 11.7% without CPC. The output of the PV module was enhanced by 31% when using jet impingement cooling with CPC, and 16% without CPC.

Adaptive Energy-based Bilinear Control of First-Order 1-D Hyperbolic PDEs: Application to a One-Loop Parabolic Solar Collector Trough

KAUST Repository

Mechhoud, Sarra; Laleg-Kirati, Taous-Meriem

2017-01-01

In this paper, the adaptive bilinear control of a first-order 1-D hyperbolic partial differential equation (PDE) with an unknown time-varying source term is investigated where only boundary measurements are available. By means of boundary injection, the bilinear adaptive law is developed in the Lyapunov approach. It consists of a state observer and an input adaptation law combined with a bilinear control method derived using an energy-like principle. Both global asymptotic practical convergence of the tracking error and input-to-state stability of the system are guaranteed. A potential application of this control strategy is the one-loop solar collector parabolic trough where the solar irradiance is the unknown input (source term) and the flow rate is the control variable. The objective is to drive the boundary temperature at the outlet to track a desired profile. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the performance of the proposed method.

Adaptive Energy-based Bilinear Control of First-Order 1-D Hyperbolic PDEs: Application to a One-Loop Parabolic Solar Collector Trough

KAUST Repository

Mechhoud, Sarra

2017-12-14

In this paper, the adaptive bilinear control of a first-order 1-D hyperbolic partial differential equation (PDE) with an unknown time-varying source term is investigated where only boundary measurements are available. By means of boundary injection, the bilinear adaptive law is developed in the Lyapunov approach. It consists of a state observer and an input adaptation law combined with a bilinear control method derived using an energy-like principle. Both global asymptotic practical convergence of the tracking error and input-to-state stability of the system are guaranteed. A potential application of this control strategy is the one-loop solar collector parabolic trough where the solar irradiance is the unknown input (source term) and the flow rate is the control variable. The objective is to drive the boundary temperature at the outlet to track a desired profile. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the performance of the proposed method.

The impact of internal longitudinal fins in parabolic trough collectors operating with gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bellos, Evangelos; Tzivanidis, Christos; Daniil, Ilias; Antonopoulos, Kimon A.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • In this study, the impact of internal fins in PTC operating with gases is presented. • Air, helium and CO_2 are tested in smooth absorber and with fins of 5–10 mm and 15 mm. • Greater fin length leads to higher thermal efficiency and 10 mm is the optimum length exergetically. • Helium is the best working fluid exergetically, with CO_2 and air to follow. • Up to 290 °C, helium performs better energetically, while CO_2 in higher temperatures. - Abstract: In this study, the use of internal fins in parabolic trough collectors operating with gas working fluids is examined. Air, helium and carbon dioxide are the investigated working fluids, while Eurotrough ET-150 is the examined solar collector. The design and the simulation of this solar collector are performed with the commercial software Solidworks Flow Simulation. The internal fins lead to higher thermal efficiency but also to higher pressure losses; something very important for the solar fields of Concentrated Power Plants. Thus, the collector is examined energetically and exergetically in order to take into account the increase in the useful output with the simultaneous greater need of pumping power. Various fin lengths are examined and finally the fin of 10 mm was proved to be the most appropriate exergetically. In working fluid comparison, helium is the most efficient working fluid exergetically for all the examined cases. In the thermal efficiency comparison, helium performs better up to 290 °C, while carbon dioxide is the best choice in higher temperature levels. Moreover, the optimum mass flow rate for the helium was proved to be 0.03 kg/s and for the other working fluids the value of 0.015 kg/s seems to lead to the most satisfying results.

Model and control scheme for recirculation mode direct steam generation parabolic trough solar power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Su; Liu, Deyou; Chen, Xingying; Chu, Yinghao; Xu, Chang; Liu, Qunming; Zhou, Ling

2017-01-01

Highlights: •A nonlinear dynamic model of recirculation DSG parabolic trough is developed. •Collector row, water separator and spray attemperator are modeled, respectively. •The dynamic behaviors of the collector field are simulated and analyzed. •Transfer functions of water level and outlet fluid temperature are derived. •Multi-model switching generalized predictive control strategy is developed. -- Abstract: This work describes and evaluates a new nonlinear dynamic model, and a new generalized predictive control scheme for a collector field of direct steam generation parabolic troughs in recirculation mode. Modeling the dynamic behaviors of collector fields is essential to design, testing and validation of automatic control systems for direct steam generation parabolic troughs. However, the behaviors of two-phase heat transfer fluids impose challenges to simulating and developing process control schemes. In this work, a new nonlinear dynamic model is proposed, based on the nonlinear distributed parameter and the nonlinear lumped parameter methods. The proposed model is used to simulate and analyze the dynamic behaviors of the entire collector field for recirculation mode direct steam generation parabolic troughs under different weather conditions, without excessive computational costs. Based on the proposed model, transfer functions for both the water level of the separator and outlet steam temperatures are derived, and a new multi-model switching generalized predictive control scheme is developed for simulated control of the plant behaviors for a wide region of operational conditions. The proposed control scheme achieves excellent control performance and robustness for systems with long delay, large inertia and time-varying parameters, and efficiently solves the model mismatching problem in direct steam generation parabolic troughs. The performances of the model and control scheme are validated with design data from the project of Integration of Direct

Evaluation of the optical quality of compound parabolic concentrator solar collectors; Avaliacao da qualidade otica de coletores solares concentradores parabolicos compostos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beyer, P.O.; Krenzinger, A. [Rio Grande do Sul Univ., Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil). Programa de Pos-graduacao em Engenharia Mecanica

1990-12-31

This work presents a simulation of solar compound parabolic concentrators using the ray tracing technique. The program can be used as a computer aided design and quality control applications for parabolic mirrors. (author). 4 refs., 8 figs.

Improvement Design of Parabolic Trough

Science.gov (United States)

Ihsan, S. I.; Safian, M. A. I. M.; Taufek, M. A. M.; Mohiuddin, A. K. M.

2017-03-01

The performance of parabolic trough solar collector (PTSC) has been evaluated using different heat transfer working fluids; namely water and SAE20 W50 engine oil. New and slightly improved PTSC was developed to run the experimental study. Under the meteorological conditions of Malaysia, authors found that PTSC can operate at a higher temperature than water collector but the performance efficiency of collector using engine oil is much lower than the water collector.

Thermal behaviour of a solar air heater with a compound parabolic concentrator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tchinda, R.

2005-11-01

A mathematical model for computing the thermal performance of an air heater with a truncated compound parabolic concentrator having a flat one-sided absorber is presented. A computed code that employs an iterative solution procedure is constructed to solve the governing energy equations and to estimate the performance parameters of the collector. The effects of the air mass flow rate, the wind speed and the collector length on the thermal performance of the present air heater are investigated. Prediction for the performance of the solar heater also exhibits reasonable agreement with experimental data with an average error of 7%. (author)

Performance Study of a Cylindrical Parabolic Concentrating Solar Water Heater with Nail Type Twisted Tape Inserts in the Copper Absorber Tube

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amit K. Bhakta

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reports the overall thermal performance of a cylindrical parabolic concentrating solar water heater (CPCSWH with inserting nail type twisted tape (NTT in the copper absorber tube for the nail twist pitch ratios, 4.787, 6.914 and 9.042, respectively. The experiments are conducted for a constant volumetric water flow rate and during the time period 9:00 a.m. to 15:00 p.m. The useful heat gain, hourly solar energy collected and hourly solar energy stored in this solar water heater were found to be higher for the nail twist pitch ratio 4.787. The above said parameters were found to be at a peak at noon and observed to follow the path of variation of solar intensity. At the start of the experiment, the value of charging efficiency was observed to be maximum, whereas the maximum values of instantaneous efficiency and overall thermal efficiency were observed at noon. The key finding is that the nail twist pitch ratio enhances the overall thermal performance of the CPCSWH.

Thermal performance of an open thermosyphon using nanofluid for evacuated tubular high temperature air solar collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Zhen-Hua; Hu, Ren-Lin; Lu, Lin; Zhao, Feng; Xiao, Hong-shen

2013-01-01

Highlights: • A novel solar air collector with simplified CPC and open thermosyphon is designed and tested. • Simplified CPC has a much lower cost at the expense of slight efficiency loss. • Nanofluid effectively improves thermal performance of the above solar air collector. • Solar air collector with open thermosyphon is better than that with concentric tube. - Abstract: A novel evacuated tubular solar air collector integrated with simplified CPC (compound parabolic concentrator) and special open thermosyphon using water based CuO nanofluid as the working fluid is designed to provide air with high and moderate temperature. The experimental system has two linked panels and each panel includes an evacuated tube, a simplified CPC and an open thermosyphon. Outdoor experimental study has been carried out to investigate the actual solar collecting performance of the designed system. Experimental results show that air outlet temperature and system collecting efficiency of the solar air collector using nanofluid as the open thermosyphon’s working fluid are both higher than that using water. Its maximum air outlet temperature exceeds 170 °C at the air volume rate of 7.6 m 3 /h in winter, even though the experimental system consists of only two collecting panels. The solar collecting performance of the solar collector integrated with open thermosyphon is also compared with that integrated with common concentric tube. Experimental results show that the solar collector integrated with open thermosyphon has a much better collecting performance

Outdoor Performance Analysis of a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT Collector with Jet Impingement and Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahed Hameed Jaaz

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the effect of jet impingement of water on a photovoltaic thermal (PVT collector and compound parabolic concentrators (CPC on electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency and power production of a PVT system. A prototype of a PVT solar water collector installed with a jet impingement and CPC has been designed, fabricated and experimentally investigated. The efficiency of the system can be improved by using jet impingement of water to decrease the temperature of the solar cells. The electrical efficiency and power output are directly correlated with the mass flow rate. The results show that electrical efficiency was improved by 7% when using CPC and jet impingement cooling in a PVT solar collector at 1:00 p.m. (solar irradiance of 1050 W/m2 and an ambient temperature of 33.5 °C. It can also be seen that the power output improved by 36% when using jet impingement cooling with CPC, and 20% without CPC in the photovoltaic (PV module at 1:30 p.m. The short-circuit current ISC of the PV module experienced an improvement of ~28% when using jet impingement cooling with CPC, and 11.7% without CPC. The output of the PV module was enhanced by 31% when using jet impingement cooling with CPC, and 16% without CPC.

Design of a nanopatterned long focal-length planar focusing collector for concentrated solar power

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Qing; Choubal, Aakash; Toussaint, Kimani C.

2017-02-01

Concentrated solar power (CSP) facilities heavily utilize parabolic troughs to collect and concentrate sunlight onto receivers that deliver solar thermal energy to heat engines for generating electricity. However, parabolic troughs are bulky and heavy and result in a large capital investment for CSP plants, thereby making it difficult for CSP technology to be competitive with photovoltaics. We present the design of a planar focusing collector (PFC) with focal length beyond the micron scale. The PFC design is based on the use of a nanostructured silver surface for linearly polarized singlewavelength light. The designed PFC consists of metallic nanogrooves on a dielectric substrate. The geometric properties, namely the width and depth, of a single-unit nanogroove allows for full control of the optical phase at desired spatial coordinates along the nanogroove short-axis for a single wavelength. Moreover, we show numerically that such phase control can be used to construct a phase front that mimics that of a cylindrical lens. In addition, we determine the concentration ratio by comparing the width of our PFC design to the cross-sectional width of its focal spot. We also determine the conversion efficiency at long focal lengths by evaluating the ratio of the collected optical power to the incoming optical power. Finally, we examine the focusing behavior across multiple wavelengths and angles of incidence. Our work shows how nano-optics and plasmonics could contribute to this important area of CSP technology.

Performance evaluation and simulation of a Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) trough Solar Thermal Power Plant in Puerto Rico under solar transient conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Feliciano-Cruz, Luisa I.

The increasing fossil fuel costs as well as the need to move in a somewhat sustainable future has led the world in a quest for exploiting the free and naturally available energy from the Sun to produce electric power, and Puerto Rico is no exception. This thesis proposes the design of a simulation model for the analysis and performance evaluation of a Solar Thermal Power Plant in Puerto Rico and suggests the use of the Compound Parabolic Concentrator as the solar collector of choice. Optical and thermal analysis of such collectors will be made using local solar radiation data for determining the viability of this proposed project in terms of the electric power produced and its cost.

Study of the electrical and thermal performances of photovoltaic thermal collector-compound parabolic concentrated

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahed Hameed Jaaz

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The importance of utilizing the solar energy as a very suitable source among multi-source approaches to replace the conventional energy is on the rise in the last four decades. The invention of the photovoltaic module (PV could be the corner stone in this process. However, the limited amount of energy obtained from PV was and still the main challenge of full utilization of the solar energy. In this paper, the use of the compound parabolic concentrator (CPC along with the thermal photovoltaic module (PVT where the cooling process of the CPC is conducted using a novel technique of water jet impingement has applied experimentally and physically tested. The test includes the effect of water jet impingement on the total power, electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency, and total efficiency on CPC-PVT system. The cooling process at the maximum irradiation by water jet impingement resulted in improving the electrical efficiency by 7%, total output power by 31% and the thermal efficiency by 81%. These results outperform the recent highest results recorded by the most recent work. Keywords: Photovoltaic thermal collectors, Electrical performance, Thermal performance, Compound parabolic concentrator, Jet impingement

Solar Heating Systems with Evacuated Tubular Solar Collector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qin, Lin; Furbo, Simon

1998-01-01

Recently different designed evacuated tubular solar collectors were introduced on the market by different Chinese companies. In the present study, investigations on the performance of four different Chinese evacuated tubular collectors and of solar heating systems using these collectors were...... carried out, employing both laboratory test and theoretical calculations. The collectors were tested in a small solar domestic hot water (SDHW) system in a laboratory test facility under realistic conditions. The yearly thermal performance of solar heating systems with these evacuated tubular collectors......, as well as with normal flat-plate collectors was calculated under Danish weather conditions. It is found that, for small SDHW systems with a combi tank design, an increase of 25% -55% net utilized solar energy can be achieved by using these evacuated tubular collectors instead of normal flat...

Rothe's method for parabolic equations on non-cylindrical domains

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Dasht, J.; Engström, J.; Kufner, Alois; Persson, L.E.

2006-01-01

Roč. 1, č. 1 (2006), s. 59-80 ISSN 0973-2306 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : parabolic equations * non-cylindrical domains * Rothe's method * time-discretization Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics

High-performance, low-cost solar collectors for disinfection of contaminated water.

Science.gov (United States)

Vidal, A; Diaz, A I

2000-01-01

Although the germicidal action of sunlight has long been recognized, its potential for practical applications has to be researched more thoroughly. This paper summarizes the progress made toward a commercially practical collector for solar disinfection applications. Nontracking compound parabolic collectors (CPCs), developed originally for capturing solar photons for thermal energy applications, were examined as potential solar photoreactors. A field demonstration of solar disinfection treatment using commercially manufactured solar reactors was conducted. Field tests showed successful destruction of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis and have provided data for full-scale design of water treatment systems. From above observations, a throughput value of 50 L/m2 h for the low-cost CPC reactor tested was estimated. For a 190 m3/d (0.05 MGD) facility, the estimated total costs for disinfection using UV-A is U.S. $0.19/m3 ($0.70/1000 gal). The use of near-UV sunlight to disinfect water supplies seems promising in rural communities of developing countries where treated water is unavailable.

Integrated function nonimaging concentrating collector tubes for solar thermal energy

Science.gov (United States)

Winston, R.; Ogallagher, J. J.

1982-09-01

A substantial improvement in optical efficiency over contemporary external reflector evacuated tube collectors has been achieved by integrating the reflector surface into the outer glass envelope. Described are the design fabrication and test results for a prototype collector based on this concept. A comprehensive test program to measure performance and operational characteristics of a 2 sq m panel (45 tubes) has been completed. Efficiencies above 50% relative to beam at 200 C have been repeatedly demonstrated. Both the instantaneous and long term average performance of this totally stationary solar collector are comparable to those for tracking line focus parabolic troughs. The yield, reliability and stability of performance achieved have been excellent. Subcomponent assemblies and fabrication procedures have been used which are expected to be compatible with high volume production. The collector has a wide variety of applications in the 100 to 300 C range including industrial progress heat, air conditioning and Rankine engine operation.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF SOLAR COLLECTORS USING A SOLAR SIMULATOR

OpenAIRE

M. Norhafana; Ahmad Faris Ismail; Z. A. A. Majid

2015-01-01

Solar water heating systems is one of the applications of solar energy. One of the components of a solar water heating system is a solar collector that consists of an absorber. The performance of the solar water heating system depends on the absorber in the solar collector. In countries with unsuitable weather conditions, the indoor testing of solar collectors with the use of a solar simulator is preferred. Thus, this study is conducted to use a multilayered absorber in the solar collector of...

Solar collector manufacturing activity, 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The Solar Collector Manufacturing Activity 1990 report prepared by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) presents summary and detailed data provided by domestic manufacturers on shipments of solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic cells and modules. Summary data on solar thermal collector shipments are presented for the period 1974 through 1990. Summary data on photovoltaic cell and module shipments are presented for the period 1982 through 1990. Detailed information for solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic cells and modules are presented for 1990

Performance of double -pass solar collector with CPC and fins for heat transfer enhancement

Science.gov (United States)

Alfegi, Ebrahim M. A.; Abosbaia, Alhadi A. S.; Mezughi, Khaled M. A.; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman

2013-06-01

The temperature of photovoltaic modules increases when it absorbs solar radiation, causing a decrease in efficiency. This undesirable effect can be partially avoided by applying a heat recovery unit with fluid circulation (air or water) with the photovoltaic module. Such unit is called photovoltaic / thermal collector (pv/t) or hybrid (pv/t). In this unit, photovoltaic cells were pasted directly on the flat plate absorber. An experimental study of a solar air heater with photovoltaic cell located at the absorber with fins and compound parabolic collector for heat transfer enhancement and increasing the number of reflection on the cells have been conducted. The performance of the photovoltaic, thermal, and combined pv/t collector over range of operating conditions and the results was discussed. Results at solar irradiance of 500 W/m2 show that the combined pv/t efficiency is increasing from 37.28 % to 81.41 % at mass flow rates various from 0.029 to 0.436 kg/s.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF SOLAR COLLECTORS USING A SOLAR SIMULATOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Norhafana

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Solar water heating systems is one of the applications of solar energy. One of the components of a solar water heating system is a solar collector that consists of an absorber. The performance of the solar water heating system depends on the absorber in the solar collector. In countries with unsuitable weather conditions, the indoor testing of solar collectors with the use of a solar simulator is preferred. Thus, this study is conducted to use a multilayered absorber in the solar collector of a solar water heating system as well as to evaluate the performance of the solar collector in terms of useful heat of the multilayered absorber using the multidirectional ability of a solar simulator at several values of solar radiation. It is operated at three variables of solar radiation of 400 W/m2, 550 W/m2 and 700 W/m2 and using three different positions of angles at 0º, 45º and 90º. The results show that the multilayer absorber in the solar collector is only able to best adapt at 45° of solar simulator with different values of radiation intensity. At this angle the maximum values of useful heat and temperature difference are achieved. KEYWORDS: solar water heating system; solar collector; multilayered absorber; solar simulator; solar radiation 

Thermodynamic performance assessment of an integrated geothermal powered supercritical regenerative organic Rankine cycle and parabolic trough solar collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cakici, Duygu Melek; Erdogan, Anil; Colpan, Can Ozgur

2017-01-01

In this study, the thermodynamic performance of an integrated geothermal powered supercritical regenerative organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and parabolic trough solar collectors (PTSC) is assessed. A thermal model based on the principles of thermodynamics (mass, energy, and exergy balances) and heat transfer is first developed for the components of this integrated system. This model gives the performance assessment parameters of the system such as the electrical and exergetic efficiencies, total exergy destruction and loss, productivity lack, fuel depletion ratio, and improvement potential rate. To validate this model, the data of an existing geothermal power plant based on a supercritical ORC and literature data for the PTSC are used. After validation, parametric studies are conducted to assess the effect of some of the important design and operating parameters on the performance of the system. As a result of these studies, it is found that the integration of ORC and PTSC systems increases the net power output but decreases the electrical and exergetic efficiencies of the integrated system. It is also shown that R134a is the most suitable working fluid type for this system; and the PTSCs and air cooled condenser are the main sources of the exergy destructions. - Highlights: • A geothermal power plant integrated with PTSC is investigated. • Different approaches for defining the exergetic efficiency are used. • The PTSCs and ACC are the main sources of the exergy destructions. • R134a gives the highest performance for any number of collectors studied.

Hybrid solar collector using nonimaging optics and photovoltaic components

Science.gov (United States)

Winston, Roland; Yablonovitch, Eli; Jiang, Lun; Widyolar, Bennett K.; Abdelhamid, Mahmoud; Scranton, Gregg; Cygan, David; Kozlov, Alexandr

2015-08-01

The project team of University of California at Merced (UC-M), Gas Technology Institute, and Dr. Eli Yablonovitch of University of California at Berkeley developed a novel hybrid concentrated solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) collector using nonimaging optics and world record single-junction Gallium arsenide (GaAs) PV components integrated with particle laden gas as thermal transfer and storage media, to simultaneously generate electricity and high temperature dispatchable heat. The collector transforms a parabolic trough, commonly used in CSP plants, into an integrated spectrum-splitting device. This places a spectrum-sensitive topping element on a secondary reflector that is registered to the thermal collection loop. The secondary reflector transmits higher energy photons for PV topping while diverting the remaining lower energy photons to the thermal media, achieving temperatures of around 400°C even under partial utilization of the solar spectrum. The collector uses the spectral selectivity property of Gallium arsenide (GaAs) cells to maximize the exergy output of the system, resulting in an estimated exergy efficiency of 48%. The thermal media is composed of fine particles of high melting point material in an inert gas that increases heat transfer and effectively stores excess heat in hot particles for later on-demand use.

EXERGY AND CARBON CREDITS FOR SERIES CONNECTED N PHOTOVOLTAIC THERMAL - COMPOUND PARABOLIC CONCENTRATOR (PVT-CPC) COLLECTOR: AT CONSTANT OUTLET TEMPERATURE

OpenAIRE

Rohit Tripathi 1,*, G. N. Tiwari 2

2017-01-01

In the present study, overall energy and exergy performance of partially covered N photovoltaic thermal - compound parabolic concentrators (PVT-CPC) (25% covered by glass to glass PV module) collector connected in series have been carried out at constant outlet temperature mode. Further, comparison in performance for partially covered N photovoltaic thermal - compound parabolic concentrators (PVT-CPC) [case (i)] and N compound parabolic concentrators (CPC) collector [case (ii)] connected in s...

Novel double-stage high-concentrated solar hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector with nonimaging optics and GaAs solar cells reflector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdelhamid, Mahmoud; Widyolar, Bennett K.; Jiang, Lun; Winston, Roland; Yablonovitch, Eli; Scranton, Gregg; Cygan, David; Abbasi, Hamid; Kozlov, Aleksandr

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A novel hybrid concentrating photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) collector is developed. • Thermal component achieves 60× concentration using nonimaging optics. • GaAs solar cells used as spectrally selective mirrors for low energy photons. • Thermal efficiencies of 37% at 365 °C and electrical efficiencies of 8% achieved. • Combined electric efficiency reaches 25% of DNI for system cost of $283.10/m"2". - Abstract: A novel double stage high-concentration hybrid solar photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) collector using nonimaging optics and world record thin film single-junction gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar cells has been developed. We present a detailed design and simulation of the system, experimental setup, prototype, system performance, and economic analysis. The system uses a parabolic trough (primary concentrator) to focus sunlight towards a secondary nonimaging compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) to simultaneously generate electricity from single junction GaAs solar cells, as well as high temperature dispatchable heat. This study is novel in that (a) the solar cells inside the vacuum tube act as spectrally selective mirrors for lower energy photons to maximize the system exergy, and (b) secondary concentrator allows the thermal component to reach a concentration ratio ∼60×, which is significantly higher than conventional PV/T concentration ratios. The maximum outlet temperature reached was 365 °C, and on average the thermal efficiency of the experiment was around 37%. The maximum electrical efficiency was around 8%. The total system electricity generation is around 25% of incoming DNI, by assuming the high temperature stream is used to power a steam turbine. The installed system cost per unit of parabolic trough aperture area is $283.10 per m"2.

Performance of double –pass solar collector with CPC and fins for heat transfer enhancement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alfegi, Ebrahim M A; Abosbaia, Alhadi A S; Mezughi, Khaled M A; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman

2013-01-01

The temperature of photovoltaic modules increases when it absorbs solar radiation, causing a decrease in efficiency. This undesirable effect can be partially avoided by applying a heat recovery unit with fluid circulation (air or water) with the photovoltaic module. Such unit is called photovoltaic / thermal collector (pv/t) or hybrid (pv/t). In this unit, photovoltaic cells were pasted directly on the flat plate absorber. An experimental study of a solar air heater with photovoltaic cell located at the absorber with fins and compound parabolic collector for heat transfer enhancement and increasing the number of reflection on the cells have been conducted. The performance of the photovoltaic, thermal, and combined pv/t collector over range of operating conditions and the results was discussed. Results at solar irradiance of 500 W/m 2 show that the combined pv/t efficiency is increasing from 37.28 % to 81.41 % at mass flow rates various from 0.029 to 0.436 kg/s.

Thermo-economic design optimization of parabolic trough solar plants for industrial process heat applications with memetic algorithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, R.; Berenguel, M.; Pérez, M.; Fernández-Garcia, A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A thermo-economic optimization of a parabolic-trough solar plant for industrial process heat applications is developed. • An analysis of the influence of economic cost functions on optimal design point location is presented. • A multi-objective optimization approach to the design routine is proposed. • A sensitivity analysis of the optimal point location to economic, operational, and ambient conditions is developed. • Design optimization of a parabolic trough plant for a reference industrial application is developed. - Abstract: A thermo-economic design optimization of a parabolic trough solar plant for industrial processes with memetic algorithms is developed. The design domain variables considered in the optimization routine are the number of collectors in series, number of collector rows, row spacing, and storage volume. Life cycle savings, levelized cost of energy, and payback time objective functions are compared to study the influence on optimal design point location. Furthermore a multi-objective optimization approach is proposed to analyze the design problem from a multi-economic criteria point of view. An extensive set of optimization cases are performed to estimate the influence of fuel price trend, plant location, demand profile, operation conditions, solar field orientation, and radiation uncertainty on optimal design. The results allow quantifying as thermo-economic design optimization based on short term criteria as the payback time leads to smaller plants with higher solar field efficiencies and smaller solar fractions, while the consideration of optimization criteria based on long term performance of the plants, as life cycle savings based optimization, leads to the reverse conclusion. The role of plant location and future evolution of gas prices in the thermo-economic performance of the solar plant has been also analyzed. Thermo-economic optimization of a parabolic trough solar plant design for the reference industrial

Investigations on efficiencies of HT solar collectors for different flow rates and collector tilts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Ziqian; Perers, Bengt; Furbo, Simon

2013-01-01

Two HT solar collectors for solar heating plants from Arcon Solvarme A/S are tested in a laboratory test facility for solar collectors at Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The collectors are designed in the same way. However, one solar collector is equipped with an ETFE foil between the abso......Two HT solar collectors for solar heating plants from Arcon Solvarme A/S are tested in a laboratory test facility for solar collectors at Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The collectors are designed in the same way. However, one solar collector is equipped with an ETFE foil between...... the absorber and the cover glass and the other is without ETFE foil. The efficiencies for the collectors are tested at different flow rates and tilt. On the basis of the measured efficiencies, the efficiencies for the collectors as functions of flow rates are obtained. The calculated efficiencies are in good...

Integration between direct steam generation in linear solar collectors and supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton power cycles

OpenAIRE

Coco Enríquez, Luis; Muñoz Antón, Javier; Martínez-Val Peñalosa, José María

2015-01-01

Direct Steam Generation in Parabolic Troughs or Linear Fresnel solar collectors is a technology under development since beginning of nineties (1990's) for replacing thermal oils and molten salts as heat transfer fluids in concentrated solar power plants, avoiding environmental impacts. In parallel to the direct steam generation technology development, supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton power cycles are maturing as an alternative to traditional Rankine cycles for increasing net plant efficie...

Solar collector overheating protection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slaman, M.J.; Griessen, R.P.

Prismatic structures in a thermal solar collector are used as overheating protection. Such structures reflect incoming light efficiently back whenever less thermal power is extracted from the solar collector. Maximum thermal power is generated when the prismatic structure is surrounded by a

Photovoltaic applications of Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC)

Science.gov (United States)

Winston, R.

1975-01-01

The use of a compound parabolic concentrator as field collector, in conjunction with a primary focusing concentrator for photovoltaic applications is studied. The primary focusing concentrator can be a parabolic reflector, an array of Fresnel mirrors, a Fresnel lens or some other lens. Silicon solar cell grid structures are proposed that increase efficiency with concentration up to 10 suns. A ray tracing program has been developed to determine energy distribution at the exit of a compound parabolic concentrator. Projected total cost of a CPC/solar cell system will be between 4 and 5 times lower than for flat plate silicon cell arrays.

Adoption of nanofluids in low-enthalpy parabolic trough solar collectors: Numerical simulation of the yearly yield

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coccia, Gianluca; Di Nicola, Giovanni; Colla, Laura; Fedele, Laura; Scattolini, Mauro

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Nanofluids could be adopted to increase the efficiency of low-enthalpy PTCs. • We present the results of a numerical simulation performed on a nanofluid-based PTC. • Six water-based nanofluids at different weight concentrations were investigated. • The simulation was validated by experimental tests on two prototypes of PTC. • Results are compared with water: only four concentrations gave better efficiency. - Abstract: Energy demand in the world is continuously increasing and fossil fuels resources must be replaced by renewable resources with lower environmental risk factors, in particular CO_2 emissions. Concentrating solar collectors appear to be very promising for that purpose. Thus, this work presents a numerical analysis for the evaluation of the yearly yield of a low-enthalpy parabolic trough solar collector (PTC). To increase the thermal efficiency of such systems, six water-based nanofluids at different weight concentrations are investigated: Fe_2O_3 (5, 10, 20 wt%), SiO_2 (1, 5, 25 wt%), TiO_2 (1, 10, 20, 35 wt%), ZnO (1, 5, 10 wt%), Al_2O_3 (0.1, 1, 2 wt%), and Au (0.01 wt%). The simulation environment was validated by experimental tests using water as heat transfer fluid, in two prototypes of PTC located in the city of Ancona (central Italy), while the convective heat transfer coefficient of nanofluids was measured through a dedicated apparatus. A typical meteorological year was built to perform the simulation, which presents a time-resolution of one hour. A specific arrangement for the PTC was defined, while different inlet fluid temperatures were considered at a mass flow rate of 0.50 kg/s: 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80 °C. For this last temperature, the variation in flow rate was also studied (at 1 kg/s and 1.5 kg/s). Results show that only Au, TiO_2, ZnO, and Al_2O_3 nanofluids at the lower concentrations, present very small improvements compared to the use of water, while increasing the concentration of nanoparticles no advantage

Design, simulation and optimization of a solar dish collector with spiral-coil thermal absorber

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavlović Saša R.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The efficient conversion of solar radiation into heat at high temperature levels requires the use of concentrating solar collectors. The goal of this paper is to present the optical and the thermal analysis of a parabolic dish concentrator with a spiral coil receiver. The parabolic dish reflector consists of 11 curvilinear trapezoidal reflective petals constructed by PMMA with silvered mirror layer and has a diameter of 3.8 m, while its focal distance is 2.26m. This collector is designed with commercial software SolidWorks and simulated, optically and thermally in its Flow Simulation Studio. The optical analysis proved that the ideal position of the absorber is at 2.1m from the reflector in order to maximize the optical efficiency and to create a relative uniform heat flux over the absorber. In thermal part of the analysis, the energetic efficiency was calculated approximately 65%, while the exergetic efficiency is varied from 4% to 15% according to the water inlet temperature. Moreover, other important parameters as the heat flux and temperature distribution over the absorber are presented. The pressure drop of the absorber coil is calculated at 0.07bar, an acceptable value.

Simulation of a solar collector array consisting of two types of solar collectors, with and without convection barrier

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bava, Federico; Furbo, Simon; Perers, Bengt

2015-01-01

The installed area of solar collectors in solar heating fields is rapidly increasing in Denmark. In this scenario even relatively small performance improvements may lead to a large increase in the overall energy production. Both collectors with and without polymer foil, functioning as convection...... barrier, can be found on the Danish market. Depending on the temperature level at which the two types of collectors operate, one can perform better than the other. This project aimed to study the behavior of a 14 solar collector row made of these two different kinds of collectors, in order to optimize...... the composition of the row. Actual solar collectors available on the Danish market (models HT-SA and HT-A 35-10 manufactured by ARCON Solar A/S) were used for this analysis. To perform the study, a simulation model in TRNSYS was developed based on the Danish solar collector field in Braedstrup. A parametric...

Modeling of a Parabolic Trough Solar Field for Acceptance Testing: A Case Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wagner, M. J.; Mehos, M. S.; Kearney, D. W.; McMahan, A. C.

2011-01-01

As deployment of parabolic trough concentrating solar power (CSP) systems ramps up, the need for reliable and robust performance acceptance test guidelines for the solar field is also amplified. Project owners and/or EPC contractors often require extensive solar field performance testing as part of the plant commissioning process in order to ensure that actual solar field performance satisfies both technical specifications and performance guaranties between the involved parties. Performance test code work is currently underway at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in collaboration with the SolarPACES Task-I activity, and within the ASME PTC-52 committee. One important aspect of acceptance testing is the selection of a robust technology performance model. NREL1 has developed a detailed parabolic trough performance model within the SAM software tool. This model is capable of predicting solar field, sub-system, and component performance. It has further been modified for this work to support calculation at subhourly time steps. This paper presents the methodology and results of a case study comparing actual performance data for a parabolic trough solar field to the predicted results using the modified SAM trough model. Due to data limitations, the methodology is applied to a single collector loop, though it applies to larger subfields and entire solar fields. Special consideration is provided for the model formulation, improvements to the model formulation based on comparison with the collected data, and uncertainty associated with the measured data. Additionally, this paper identifies modeling considerations that are of particular importance in the solar field acceptance testing process and uses the model to provide preliminary recommendations regarding acceptable steady-state testing conditions at the single-loop level.

Optimized concentrating/passive tracking solar collector. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sterne, K E; Johnson, A L; Grotheer, R H

1979-01-01

A concentrating solar collector having about half the material cost of other collectors with similar performance is described. The selected design is a Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) which concentrates solar energy throughout the year without requiring realignment. Output is a fluid heated to 100/sup 0/C with good efficiency. The optical design of the reflector surface was optimized, yielding a 2.0:1 concentration ratio with a 60/sup 0/C acceptance angle and a low profile. Double glazing was chosen consisting of a polyester film outer glazing and an inner glazing of glass tubes around the absorbers. The selectively coated steel absorber tubes are connected in series with flexible plastic tubing. Much development effort went into the materials for the reflector subassembly. A laminate of metalized plastic film over plaster was chosen for the reflective surface. The reflector is rigidized by attaching filled epoxy header plates at each end. Aluminum side rails and an insulating back complete the structure. The finished design resulted in a material cost of $21.40 per square meter in production quantities. Performance testing of a prototype produced a 50% initial efficiency rating. This is somewhat lower than expected, and is due to materials and processes used in the prototype for the outer glazing, reflective surface and absorber coating. However, the efficiency curve drops only slightly with increasing temperature differential, showing the inherent advantage of the concentrator over flat plate collectors.

Design of optimal and ideal 2-D concentrators with the collector immersed in a dielectric tube

Science.gov (United States)

Minano, J. C.; Ruiz, J. M.; Luque, A.

1983-12-01

A method is presented for designing ideal and optimal 2-D concentrators when the collector is placed inside a dielectric tube, for the particular case of a bifacial solar collector. The prototype 2-D (cylindrical geometry) concentrator is the compound parabolic concentrator or CPC, and from the beginning of development, it was found by Winston (1978) that filling up the concentrator with a transparent dielectric medium results in a big improvement of the optical properties. The method reported here is based on the extreme ray principle of design and avoids the use of differential equations by means of a proper appliction of Fermat's principle. One advantage of these concentrators is that they allow the size to be small compared with classical CPCs.

Exergy analysis of photovoltaic solar collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sopian, K.; Othman, M.Y.Hj.

1998-01-01

The exergy analysis (availability or second law analysis) is applied to the photovoltaic thermal solar collector. Photovoltaic thermal collector is a special type of solar collector where electricity and heat are produced simultaneously. The electricity produced from the photovoltaic thermal collector is all converted into useful work. The available quantity of the heat collected can readily be determined by taking into account both the quantity (heat quantity) and quality ( a function of temperature) of the thermal energy. Therefore, using the concept of exergy allows heat produced from the thermal collector and the electricity generated from the photovoltaic cells to be compared or to be evaluated on the basis of a common measure such as the effectiveness on solar energy collection or the total amount of available energy. In this paper, the effectiveness of solar energy collection is called combined photovoltaic thermal exergy efficiency. An experimental setup of a double pas photovoltaic thermal solar collector has been deigned, fabricated and tested. (author)

Numerical and experimental analysis of a point focus solar collector using high concentration imaging PMMA Fresnel lens

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie, W.T.; Dai, Y.J.; Wang, R.Z.

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → We studied a point focus Fresnel solar collector using different cavity receivers. → The collector heat removal factors are derived to find the optimal cavity shape. → Numerical and experimental analysis shows that the conical cavity is optimum. -- Abstract: A high concentration imaging Fresnel solar collector provided with different cavity receivers was developed and its behavior was investigated. Round copper pipes winded into different spring shapes were used as receiver by placing in the cylindrical cavity to absorb concentrated solar energy and transfer it to a heat transfer fluid (HTF). The collector efficiency factor and collector heat removal factor were derived for the cavity receivers to find out heat transfer mechanism and to propose an effective way for evaluating the performance of Fresnel solar collector and determining the optimal cavity structure. The problem of Fresnel solar collector with synthetic heat transfer oil flow was simulated and analyzed to investigate heat loss from different cavity receivers. Solar irradiation as well as convection and heat transfer in the circulating fluid and between the internal surfaces of the cavity and the environment are considered in the model. The temperature distribution over its area as well as the collector thermal efficiency at nominal flow rate was used in order to validate the simulation results. It was found that the simulated temperature distribution during operation and the average collector efficiency are in good agreement with the experimental data. Finally, the optimal shape of solar cavity receiver, as well as its thermal performance, are deeply analyzed and discussed.

Evaluation of Test Method for Solar Collector Efficiency

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fan, Jianhua; Shah, Louise Jivan; Furbo, Simon

The test method of the standard EN12975-2 (European Committee for Standardization, 2004) is used by European test laboratories to determine the efficiency of solar collectors. In the test methods the mean solar collector fluid temperature in the solar collector, Tm is determined by the approximat...... and the sky temperature. Based on the investigations, recommendations for change of the test methods and test conditions are considered. The investigations are carried out within the NEGST (New Generation of Solar Thermal Systems) project financed by EU.......The test method of the standard EN12975-2 (European Committee for Standardization, 2004) is used by European test laboratories to determine the efficiency of solar collectors. In the test methods the mean solar collector fluid temperature in the solar collector, Tm is determined by the approximated...... equation where Tin is the inlet temperature to the collector and Tout is the outlet temperature from the collector. The specific heat of the solar collector fluid is in the test method as an approximation determined as a constant equal to the specific heat of the solar collector fluid at the temperature Tm...

Preliminary design package for solar collector and solar pump

Science.gov (United States)

1978-01-01

A solar-operated pump using an existing solar collector, for use on solar heating and cooling and hot water systems is described. Preliminary design criteria of the collector and solar-powered pump is given including: design drawings, verification plans, and hazard analysis.

Behavior of a solar collector loop during stagnation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Ziqian; Dragsted, Janne; Furbo, Simon

2015-01-01

A mathematical model simulating the emptying behavior of a pressurized solar collector loop with solar collectors with a good emptying behavior is developed and validated with measured data. The calculated results are in good agreement with the measured results. The developed simulation model...... is therefore suitable to determine the behavior of a solar collector loop during stagnation. A volume ratio R, which is the ratio of the volume of the vapour in the upper pipes of the solar collector loop during stagnation and the fluid content of solar collectors, is introduced to determine the mass...... of the collector fluid pushed into the expansion vessel during stagnation, Min. A correlation function for the mass Min and the volume ratio R for solar collector loops is obtained. The function can be used to determine a suitable size of expansion vessels for solar collector loops....

Equipment for increasing the efficiency of a CPC-solar energy collector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chao, Bei Tse; Rabl, Ari

1977-01-13

The invention concerns a cylindrical reflector with concentrators, which concentrate the solar radiation on a small surface, in whose area the actual absorber is fitted. To improve the efficiency of the collector there is provision for using the solar energy absorbed by the reflecting walls. For this purpose conducting channels are fitted on the back of the reflectors, through which a heat transport medium flows and takes away the absorbed energy. This energy can be used directly or the channels can be connected in series with the main absorber.

Solar energy collector

Science.gov (United States)

Brin, Raymond L.; Pace, Thomas L.

1978-01-01

The invention relates to a solar energy collector comprising solar energy absorbing material within chamber having a transparent wall, solar energy being transmitted through the transparent wall, and efficiently absorbed by the absorbing material, for transfer to a heat transfer fluid. The solar energy absorbing material, of generally foraminous nature, absorbs and transmits the solar energy with improved efficiency.

The effects of regional insolation differences upon advanced solar thermal electric power plant performance and energy costs

Science.gov (United States)

Latta, A. F.; Bowyer, J. M.; Fujita, T.

1979-01-01

This paper presents the performance and cost of four 10-MWe advanced solar thermal electric power plants sited in various regions of the continental United States. Each region has different insolation characteristics which result in varying collector field areas, plant performance, capital costs, and energy costs. The paraboloidal dish, central receiver, cylindrical parabolic trough, and compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) comprise the advanced concepts studied. This paper contains a discussion of the regional insolation data base, a description of the solar systems' performances and costs, and a presentation of a range for the forecast cost of conventional electricity by region and nationally over the next several decades.

Performance Evaluation of a Solar Adsorption Refrigeration System with a Wing Type Compound Parabolic Concentrator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Umair

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Simulation study of a solar adsorption refrigeration system using a wing type compound parabolic concentrator (CPC is presented. The system consists of the wing type collector set at optimum angles, adsorption bed, a condenser and a refrigerator. The wing type collector captures the solar energy efficiently in the morning and afternoon and provides the effective temperature for a longer period of time compared to that achieved by a linear collector. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the system behavior, the effect of wing length, and to compare the performance of the systems with wing type and linear CPCs. A detailed dynamic simulation model was developed based on mass and energy balance equations. The simulation results show that the system performance with wing type CPC increases by up to 6% in the summer and up to 2% in the winter, compared to the performance with a linear CPC having same collector length. The ice production also increases up to 13% in the summer with the wing type CPC. This shows that the wing type CPC is helpful to increase the performance of the system compared to the linear CPC with the same collector length and without the need for tracking.

New fuzzy approximate model for indirect adaptive control of distributed solar collectors

KAUST Repository

Elmetennani, Shahrazed

2014-06-01

This paper studies the problem of controlling a parabolic solar collectors, which consists of forcing the outlet oil temperature to track a set reference despite possible environmental disturbances. An approximate model is proposed to simplify the controller design. The presented controller is an indirect adaptive law designed on the fuzzy model with soft-sensing of the solar irradiance intensity. The proposed approximate model allows the achievement of a simple low dimensional set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations that reproduces the dynamical behavior of the system taking into account its infinite dimension. Stability of the closed loop system is ensured by resorting to Lyapunov Control functions for an indirect adaptive controller.

New fuzzy approximate model for indirect adaptive control of distributed solar collectors

KAUST Repository

Elmetennani, Shahrazed; Laleg-Kirati, Taous-Meriem

2014-01-01

This paper studies the problem of controlling a parabolic solar collectors, which consists of forcing the outlet oil temperature to track a set reference despite possible environmental disturbances. An approximate model is proposed to simplify the controller design. The presented controller is an indirect adaptive law designed on the fuzzy model with soft-sensing of the solar irradiance intensity. The proposed approximate model allows the achievement of a simple low dimensional set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations that reproduces the dynamical behavior of the system taking into account its infinite dimension. Stability of the closed loop system is ensured by resorting to Lyapunov Control functions for an indirect adaptive controller.

Movable air solar collector and its efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lauva, A.; Aboltinš, A.; Palabinskis, J.; Karpova Sadigova, N.

2008-01-01

Implementing the guidelines of the Latvian National Programme for Energy in the field of alternative energy, intensive research shall be carried on regarding the use of solar energy, as it can be successfully used not only for the purposes of water heating and production of electrical energy, but also for air warming. The amount of heat necessary for the drying of rough forage and grain drying by active aeration in June, July and August can be obtained using solar radiation. The Latvian Guidelines for the Energy Development 2006-2016 state that the solar radiance in Latvia is of quite low intensity. The total amount of solar energy is 1109 kWh m -2 per year. The period of usage of the solar thermal energy is beginning from the last decade of April, when the intensity of radiation is 120 kWh m -2 , until the first decade of September. Within this period (approximately 1800 hours), it is possible to use the solar thermal energy by placing solar collectors. The usage of solar collectors for in drying of agricultural production is topical from the viewpoint of decreasing the consumption of energy used for the drying, as electrical energy and fossil energy resources become more expensive and tend to run out. In the processes that concern drying of agricultural production, efficiently enough solar radiation energy can be used. Due to this reason researching continues and expands in the field of usage of solar energy for the processes of drying and heating. The efficiency factor of the existing solar collectors is not high, but they are of simple design and cheep for production and exploitation. By improving the design of the solar collectors and choosing modern materials that absorb the solar radiation energy, it is possible the decrease the efficiency factor of solar collectors and decrease the production costs. In the scientific laboratory of grain drying and storage of Latvia University of Agriculture, a pilot device movable folding solar collector pilot device

Fuzzy Universal Model Approximator for Distributed Solar Collector Field Control

KAUST Repository

Elmetennani, Shahrazed

2014-07-01

This paper deals with the control of concentrating parabolic solar collectors by forcing the outlet oil temperature to track a set reference. A fuzzy universal approximate model is introduced in order to accurately reproduce the behavior of the system dynamics. The proposed model is a low order state space representation derived from the partial differential equation describing the oil temperature evolution using fuzzy transform theory. The resulting set of ordinary differential equations simplifies the system analysis and the control law design and is suitable for real time control implementation. Simulation results show good performance of the proposed model.

Development of Molten-Salt Heat Transfer Fluid Technology for Parabolic Trough Solar Power Plants - Public Final Technical Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grogan, Dylan C. P.

2013-08-15

Executive Summary This Final Report for the "Development of Molten-Salt Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) Technology for Parabolic Trough Solar Power Plants” describes the overall project accomplishments, results and conclusions. Phase 1 analyzed the feasibility, cost and performance of a parabolic trough solar power plant with a molten salt heat transfer fluid (HTF); researched and/or developed feasible component options, detailed cost estimates and workable operating procedures; and developed hourly performance models. As a result, a molten salt plant with 6 hours of storage was shown to reduce Thermal Energy Storage (TES) cost by 43.2%, solar field cost by 14.8%, and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) by 9.8% - 14.5% relative to a similar state-of-the-art baseline plant. The LCOE savings range met the project’s Go/No Go criteria of 10% LCOE reduction. Another primary focus of Phase 1 and 2 was risk mitigation. The large risk areas associated with a molten salt parabolic trough plant were addressed in both Phases, such as; HTF freeze prevention and recovery, collector components and piping connections, and complex component interactions. Phase 2 analyzed in more detail the technical and economic feasibility of a 140 MWe,gross molten-salt CSP plant with 6 hours of TES. Phase 2 accomplishments included developing technical solutions to the above mentioned risk areas, such as freeze protection/recovery, corrosion effects of applicable molten salts, collector design improvements for molten salt, and developing plant operating strategies for maximized plant performance and freeze risk mitigation. Phase 2 accomplishments also included developing and thoroughly analyzing a molten salt, Parabolic Trough power plant performance model, in order to achieve the project cost and performance targets. The plant performance model and an extensive basic Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) quote were used to calculate a real levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of 11.50�

EFFICIENCY AND LIFETIME OF SOLAR COLLECTORS FOR SOLAR HEATING PLANTS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The 12.5 m² flat plate solar collector HT, today marketed by Arcon Solvarme A/S, has been used in solar heating plants in Scandinavia since 1983. The collector is designed to operate in a temperature interval between 40°C and 90°C. The efficiency of the collector has been strongly improved since...... it was introduced on the market. The paper will present the increase of the efficiency of the collector due to technical improvements since 1983. Further, measurements from the spring of 2009 of the efficiency of two HT collectors, which have been in operation in the solar heating plant Ottrupgaard, Skørping......, Denmark since 1994 with a constant high flow rate and in the solar heating plant Marstal, Denmark since 1996 with a variable flow rate, will be presented. The efficiencies will be compared to the efficiencies of the collectors when they were first installed in the solar heating plants. The measurements...

EFFICIENCY AND LIFETIME OF SOLAR COLLECTORS FOR SOLAR HEATING PLANTS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fan, Jianhua; Chen, Ziqian; Furbo, Simon

2009-01-01

The 12.5 m² flat plate solar collector HT, today marketed by Arcon Solvarme A/S, has been used in solar heating plants in Scandinavia since 1983. The collector is designed to operate in a temperature interval between 40°C and 90°C. The efficiency of the collector has been strongly improved since...... it was introduced on the market. The paper will present the increase of the efficiency of the collector due to technical improvements since 1983. Further, measurements from the spring of 2009 of the efficiency of two HT collectors, which have been in operation in the solar heating plant Ottrupgaard, Skørping......, Denmark since 1994 with a constant high flow rate and in the solar heating plant Marstal, Denmark since 1996 with a variable flow rate, will be presented. The efficiencies will be compared to the efficiencies of the collectors when they were first installed in the solar heating plants. The measurements...

Optimal nonimaging integrated evacuated solar collector

Science.gov (United States)

Garrison, John D.; Duff, W. S.; O'Gallagher, Joseph J.; Winston, Roland

1993-11-01

A non imaging integrated evacuated solar collector for solar thermal energy collection is discussed which has the lower portion of the tubular glass vacuum enveloped shaped and inside surface mirrored to optimally concentrate sunlight onto an absorber tube in the vacuum. This design uses vacuum to eliminate heat loss from the absorber surface by conduction and convection of air, soda lime glass for the vacuum envelope material to lower cost, optimal non imaging concentration integrated with the glass vacuum envelope to lower cost and improve solar energy collection, and a selective absorber for the absorbing surface which has high absorptance and low emittance to lower heat loss by radiation and improve energy collection efficiency. This leads to a very low heat loss collector with high optical collection efficiency, which can operate at temperatures up to the order of 250 degree(s)C with good efficiency while being lower in cost than current evacuated solar collectors. Cost estimates are presented which indicate a cost for this solar collector system which can be competitive with the cost of fossil fuel heat energy sources when the collector system is produced in sufficient volume. Non imaging concentration, which reduces cost while improving performance, and which allows efficient solar energy collection without tracking the sun, is a key element in this solar collector design.

Thermal performance of a transpired solar collector updraft tower

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eryener, Dogan; Hollick, John; Kuscu, Hilmi

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Transpired solar collector updraft tower has been studied experimentally. • Transpired solar collector updraft tower efficiency ranges from 60 to 80%. • A comparison has been made with other SUT prototypes. • Three times higher efficiency compared to the glazed collectors of conventional solar towers. - Abstract: A novel solar updraft tower prototype, which consists of transpired solar collector, is studied, its function principle is described and its experimental thermal performance is presented for the first time. A test unit of transpired solar collector updraft tower was installed at the campus of Trakya University Engineering Faculty in Edirne-Turkey in 2014. Solar radiation, ambient temperature, collector cavity temperatures, and chimney velocities were monitored during summer and winter period. The results showed that transpired solar collector efficiency ranges from 60% to 80%. The maximum temperature rise in the collector area is found to be 16–18 °C on the typical sunny day. Compared to conventional solar tower glazed collectors, three times higher efficiency is obtained. With increased thermal efficiency, large solar collector areas for solar towers can be reduced in half or less.

Air solar collectors in building use - A review

Science.gov (United States)

Bejan, Andrei-Stelian; Labihi, Abdelouhab; Croitoru, Cristiana; Catalina, Tiberiu

2018-02-01

In the current energy and environmental context it is imperative to implement systems based on renewable energy sources in order to reduce energy consumptions worldwide. Solar collectors are studied by many years and many researchers are focusing their attention in order to increase their efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Water solar collectors are often implemented for domestic hot water, heating or industrial processes and already have a place on the market. A promising system which is not yet widely known is represented by air solar collectors that could represent an efficient way to use the solar energy with a lower investment cost, a system that can be used in order to preheat the fresh air required for heating, drying, or to maintain a minimum temperature during winter. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review on air solar collectors used mainly in buildings, acting as a solar wall. Air solar collectors are roughly classified into two types: glazed and opaque. The present study comprises the solar collector classification, applications and their main parameters with a special focus on opaque solar collectors.

Air solar collectors in building use - A review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bejan Andrei-Stelian

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In the current energy and environmental context it is imperative to implement systems based on renewable energy sources in order to reduce energy consumptions worldwide. Solar collectors are studied by many years and many researchers are focusing their attention in order to increase their efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Water solar collectors are often implemented for domestic hot water, heating or industrial processes and already have a place on the market. A promising system which is not yet widely known is represented by air solar collectors that could represent an efficient way to use the solar energy with a lower investment cost, a system that can be used in order to preheat the fresh air required for heating, drying, or to maintain a minimum temperature during winter. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review on air solar collectors used mainly in buildings, acting as a solar wall. Air solar collectors are roughly classified into two types: glazed and opaque. The present study comprises the solar collector classification, applications and their main parameters with a special focus on opaque solar collectors.

COMPARATIVE FIELD EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS OF DIFFERENT FLAT PLATE SOLAR COLLECTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guangming Chen

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Full-scale traditional metal solar collectors and solar collector specimens fabricated from polymeric materials were investigated in the present study. A polymeric collector is 67.8% lighter than a traditional metal solar collector, and a metal solar collector with transparent plastic covering is 40.3% lighter than a traditional metal solar collector. Honeycomb multichannel plates made from polycarbonate were chosen to create a polymeric solar collector. A test rig for the natural circulation of the working fluid in a solar collector was built for a comparative experimental investigation of various solar collectors operating at ambient conditions. It was shown experimentally that the efficiency of a polymeric collector is 8–15% lower than the efficiency of a traditional collector.

ANALYSIS AND MODELING OF SOLAR EVAPORATOR-COLLECTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zakaria Mohd. Amin

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Solar energy is considered a sustainable resource that poses little to no harmful effects on the environment. The performance of a solar system depends to a great extent on the collector used for the conversion of solar radiant energy to thermal energy. A solar evaporator-collector (SEC is basically an unglazed flat plate collector where refrigerants, such as R134a is used as the working fluid. As the operating temperature of the SEC is very low, it utilizes both solar irradiation and ambient energy leading to a much higher efficiency than the conventional collectors. This capability of SECs to utilize ambient energy also enables the system to operate at night. This type of collector can be locally made and is relatively much cheaper than the conventional collector.   At the National University of Singapore, the evaporator-collector was integrated to a heat pump and the performance was investigated for several thermal applications: (i water heating, (ii drying and (iii desalination. A 2-dimensional transient mathematical model of this system was developed and validated by experimental data. The present study provides a comprehensive study of performance. KEYWORDS: heat pump; evaporator-collector.

Effect of openings collectors and solar irradiance on the thermal efficiency of flat plate-finned collector for indirect-type passive solar dryer

Science.gov (United States)

Batubara, Fatimah; Dina, Sari Farah; Klaudia Kathryn Y., M.; Turmuzi, M.; Siregar, Fitri; Panjaitan, Nora

2017-06-01

Research on the effect of openings solar collector and solar irradiance to thermal efficiency has been done. Solar collector by flat plate-finned type consists of 3 ply insulator namely wood, Styrofoam and Rockwool with thickness respectively are 10 mm, 25 mm and 50 mm. Absorber plate made of aluminum sheet with thickness of 0.30 mm, painted by black-doff. Installation of 19 units fins (length x height x thickness: 1000x20x10 mm) on the collector will increase surface area of absorber so it can receive much more solar energy. The solar collector cover is made of glass (thickness of 5 mm). During the research, the solar irradiance and temperature of collector are measured and recorded every five minutes. Temperature measurement performed on the surface of the absorber plate, inside of collector, surface cover and the outer side insulator (plywood). This data is used to calculate the heat loss due to conduction, convection and radiation on the collector. Openings of collectors vary as follows: 100%, 75%, 15% and 0% (total enclosed). The data collecting was conducted from 09.00 am to 17.00 pm and triplicates. The collector thermal efficiency calculated based on the ratio of the amount of heat received to the solar irradiance absorbed. The results show that each of openings solar collector has different solar irradiance (because it was done on a different day) which is in units of W/m2: 390 (100% open), 376 (75% open), 429 (15% open), and 359 (totally enclosed). The highest thermal efficiency is in openings variation of 15% opened. These results indicate that the efficiency of the collector is influenced by the solar irradiance received by the collector and the temperature on the collector plate. The highest thermal efficiency is in variation of openings 15%. These indicate that the efficiency of the collector was influenced by solar irradiance received by the collector and openings of the collector plate.

Design experiences of the first solar parabolic thermal power plant for various regions in Iran

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azizian, K.; Yaghoubi, M.; Kenary, A.

2002-01-01

The basic design is made for a 250 kw solar power plant. The main element of the plant is the collectors. Base on system simulation, a parabolic collector constructed and tested for one year. The model is first validated with experimental measurement and a detail numerical model is also developed to study effects of various optical properties of mirrors and receiver on the thermal performance of the collectors. It is observed that due to poor optical properties of the present collector, it would not be able to produce hot oil with desired temperature. Improving the material of the mirrors and the receiver tube, thermal performances exceed substantially from the design conditions. By considering available optical properties simulation is made to estimate yearly steady and unsteady behavior and the performance of the power plant for three locations: Shiraz, Yazd and Lar in Iran. Comparison of the yearly performance of the cycle shows that unsteady behavior reveals different results and simulations approach a reliable technique to study such cycle

Comparison of the optics of non-tracking and novel types of tracking solar thermal collectors for process heat applications up to 300{sup o}C

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grass, C.; Schoelkopf, W.; Staudacher, L.; Hacker, Z. [Bavarian Centre for Applied Energy Research, ZAE Bayern Division 4, Garching (Germany)

2004-03-01

Evacuated CPC (compound parabolic concentrator) collectors with non-tracking reflectors are compared with two novel tracking collectors: a parabolic trough and an evacuated tube collector with integrated tracking reflector. Non-tracking low concentrating CPC collectors are mostly mounted in east-west direction with a latitude dependent slope angle. They are suitable at most for working temperatures up to 200-250 {sup o}C. We present a tracking evacuated tube-collector with a trough-like concentrating mirror. Single-axis tracking of the mirror is realized with a magnetic mechanism. The mirror is mounted inside the evacuated tube and hence protected from environmental influences. One axis tracking in combination with a small acceptance angle allows for higher concentration as compared to non-tracking concentrating collectors. Ray-tracing analysis shows a half acceptance angle of about 5.7{sup o} at geometrical concentration ratio of 3.2. Losses of well constructed evacuated tube collectors (heat conductivity through the manifolds inside the thermally insulated terminating housing are low) are dominated by radiation losses of the absorber. Hence, reducing the absorber size can lead to higher efficiencies at high operating temperature levels. With the presented collector we aim for operating temperatures up to 350 {sup o}C. At temperatures of 300 {sup o}C we expect with anti-reflective coating of the glass tube and a selective absorber coating efficiencies of 0.65. This allows for application in industrial process heat generation, high efficient solar cooling and power generation. A first prototype, equipped with a standard glass tube and a black paint absorber coating, was tested at ZAE Bayern. The optical efficiency was measured to be 0.71. This tube-collector is compared by ray-tracing with non-tracking market available tube-collectors with geometrical concentration ratios up to 1.1 and with a low cost parabolic trough collector of Industrial Solar Technology (IST

Tube collector with integrated tracking parabolic concentrator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grass, C.; Benz, N.; Hacker, Z.; Timinger, A. [ZAE Bayern, Bavarian Centre for Applied Energy Research, Muenchen (Germany)

2000-07-01

Low concentrating CPC collectors usually do not track the sun and are mounted in east-west direction with a latitude dependent slope angle. They are most suitable for maximum working temperatures up to 200 250 deg. C. We present a novel evacuated tube-collector with a trough-like concentrating mirror. Single-axis tracking of the mirror is realized with a magnetic mechanism. The mirror is mounted inside the evacuated tube and hence protected from environmental influences. One axis tracking in combination with a small acceptance angle allows for higher concentration as compared to non-tracking concentrating collectors. Ray-tracing analysis shows a half acceptance angle of about 5 deg. at a geometrical concentration ratio of 3.2. The losses of evacuated tube collectors are dominated by the radiation losses of the absorber. Hence, reducing the absorber size can lead to higher efficiencies at high operating temperature levels. With the presented collector we aim for operating temperatures up to 400 deg. C. At temperatures of 300 deg. C we expect efficiencies of 65 %. This allows for application in industrial process heat generation, high efficient solar cooling and power generation. A first prototype was tested at the ZAE Bayern. The optical efficiency was measured to be 75 %. (au)

A solar collector for air-conditioning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kose, E. [Microtherm Energietechnik GmbH, 25 - Lods (France)

1999-03-01

A high performance Compound Parabolic Concentrator (CPC) collector is presented. It comprises dewar type tubular vacuum tubes with an absorber coating of very low emittance, a moderately concentrating reflector and a simple thermosyphon heat removal system. The reflectors car be designed with respect to the specific needs; reflector material, concentration, truncation and symmetry car be chosen freely. The collector allows the construction of cooling systems with higher COP's without using tracking systems. Land use and costs are greatly reduced. For a certain application (optimum yearly gain in Munich with a constant collector temperature of 180 deg C) the reflector was optimized, it is a fairly asymmetrical design. A symmetrical design with a similar performance has been tested, the results are shown. (author)

Solar collector array

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, John Champlin; Martins, Guy Lawrence

2015-09-06

A method and apparatus for efficient manufacture, assembly and production of solar energy. In one aspect, the apparatus may include a number of modular solar receiver assemblies that may be separately manufactured, assembled and individually inserted into a solar collector array housing shaped to receive a plurality of solar receivers. The housing may include optical elements for focusing light onto the individual receivers, and a circuit for electrically connecting the solar receivers.

Development of 12.5 m² Solar Collector Panel for Solar Heating Plants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vejen, Niels Kristian; Furbo, Simon; Shah, Louise Jivan

2004-01-01

and large solar heating systems. Based on the theoretical findings a prototype of an improved HT solar collector was built and tested side-by-side with the original HT solar collector. The improved HT collector makes use of a changed insulation material, an absorber with improved absorptance and emittance......Theoretical and experimental investigations have elucidated how different changes in the design of the 12.5 m(2) HT flat-plate solar collector from the Danish company ARCON Solvarme A/S influence the solar collector efficiency and the yearly thermal performance. The collector is designed for medium...

Prototype Development and Evaluation of Self-Cleaning Concentrated Solar Power Collectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mazumder, Malay K. [Boston Univ., MA (United States); Horenstein, Mark N. [Boston Univ., MA (United States); Joglekar, Nitin R. [Boston Univ., MA (United States)

2015-03-31

The feasibility of integrating and retrofitting transparent electrodynamic screens (EDS) on the front surfaces of solar collectors was established as a means to provide active self-cleaning properties for parabolic trough and heliostat reflectors, solar panels, and Fresnel lenses. Prototype EDS-integrated solar collectors, including second-surface glass mirrors, metallized Acrylic-film mirrors, and dielectric mirrors, were produced and tested in environmental test chambers for removing the dust layer deposited on the front surface of the mirrors. The evaluation of the prototype EDS-integrated mirrors was conducted using dust and environmental conditions that simulate the field conditions of the Mojave Desert. Test results showed that the specular reflectivity of the mirrors could be maintained at over 90% over a wide range of dust loadings ranging from 0 to 10 g/m², with particle diameter varying from 1 to 50 μm. The measurement of specular reflectivity (SR) was performed using a D&S Reflectometer at wavelength 660 nm. A non-contact reflectometer was designed and constructed for rapid measurement of specular reflectivity at the same wavelength. The use of this new noncontact instrument allowed us to measure SR before and after EDS activation. Several EDS prototypes were constructed and evaluated with different electrode configurations, electrode materials, and encapsulating dielectric materials.

Hybrid solar-electric oven construction prototype; Construccion de prototipo de horno hibrido solar-electrico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hernandez Roman, M. A; Pineda Pinon, J; Arcos Pichardo, A [CICATA, Santiago de Queretaro, Queretaro (Mexico)

2013-03-15

The oven construction consists of a solar collector system of cylindrical parabolic type, a heating through electrical resistance and a curing chamber. The warm fluid is air, which is injected into the chamber through forced draft. The temperature required in the system is within a range of 150 to 300 degrees Celsius. [Spanish] La construccion del horno consta de un sistema de captacion solar del tipo cilindrico parabolico, un sistema de calentamiento a traves de resistencias electricas y una camara de curado. El fluido a calentar es aire, el cual es inyectado dentro de la camara a traves de tiro forzado. La temperatura solicitada en el sistema es dentro de un rango de 150 a 300 grados centigrados.

Experimental analysis of distinct design of a batch solar water heater with integrated collector storage system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Varghese Jaji

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The performance of a new design of batch solar water heater has been studied. In this system, the collector and storage were installed in one unit. Unlike the conventional design consisting of small diameter water tubes, it has a single large diameter drum which serves the dual purpose of absorber tube and storage tank. In principle it is a compound parabolic collector. The drum is sized to have a storage capacity of 100 liter to serve a family of four persons. The tests were carried out with a single glass cover and two glass covers. The tests were repeated for several days. Performance analysis of the collector has revealed that it has maximum mean daily efficiency with two glass covers as high as 37.2%. The maximum water temperature in the storage tank of 60°C has been achieved for a clear day operation at an average solar beam radiation level of 680 W/m2 and ambient temperature of 32°C. To judge the operating characteristics and to synchronize utility pattern of the collector, the different parameters such as efficiency, mean plate temperature and mass flow rate has been investigated.

Solar collector design with respect to moisture problems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holck, Ole; Svendsen, Svend; Brunold, Stefan

2003-01-01

more ventilation openings should be made and what influence the insulation material has. Guidelines for collector designers are proposed. The design guidelines provide some suggestions to be considered during the design of solar collectors.The work was carried out within the framework of the working...... group Materials in Solar Thermal Collectors of the International Energy Agency-Solar Heating and Cooling Programme....... the design of the collector, the location and size of ventilation holes, properties of the insulation materials and dimension of the solar collector box are parameters that have to be taken into account for the optimisation in order to achieve the most favourable microclimate to prevent corrosion...

Solar Heating of Buildings and Domestic Hot Water. Revision.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-05-01

tracking mechanism and can collect only direct radiation. Figure 2-9(c) shows a compound parabolic mirror collector . The design of the mirrors allow the...linear-trough, fresnel lens tube collector (c compound parabolic mirror IFigurc 2-9. Cirnicntrating coll’ectors lr solar cncrgy. Direct radiation is...the parabolic trough, the linear-trough fresnel lens, and the compound parabolic mirror. -Figure 2-9(a) shows a linear concentrating or parabolic

Performance analysis of an Integrated Solar Combined Cycle using Direct Steam Generation in parabolic trough collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montes, M.J.; Rovira, A.; Munoz, M.; Martinez-Val, J.M.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Solar hybridization improves the performance of CCGT in a very hot and dry weather. → The scheme analyzed is a DSG parabolic trough field coupled to the Rankine cycle. → An annual simulation has been carried out for two locations: Almeria and Las Vegas. → Economical analysis shows that this scheme is a cheaper way to exploit solar energy. → For that, solar hybridization must be limited to a small fraction of the CCGT power. - Abstract: The contribution of solar thermal power to improve the performance of gas-fired combined cycles in very hot and dry environmental conditions is analyzed in this work, in order to assess the potential of this technique, and to feature Direct Steam Generation (DSG) as a well suited candidate for achieving very good results in this quest. The particular Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) power plant proposed consists of a DSG parabolic trough field coupled to the bottoming steam cycle of a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power plant. For this analysis, the solar thermal power plant performs in a solar dispatching mode: the gas turbine always operates at full load, only depending on ambient conditions, whereas the steam turbine is somewhat boosted to accommodate the thermal hybridization from the solar field. Although the analysis is aimed to studying such complementary effects in the widest perspective, two relevant examples are given, corresponding to two well-known sites: Almeria (Spain), with a mediterranean climate, and Las Vegas (USA), with a hot and dry climate. The annual simulations show that, although the conventional CCGT power plant works worse in Las Vegas, owing to the higher temperatures, the ISCC system operates better in Las Vegas than in Almeria, because of solar hybridization is especially well coupled to the CCGT power plant in the frequent days with great solar radiation and high temperatures in Las Vegas. The complementary effect will be clearly seen in these cases, because the thermal

Means of increasing efficiency of CPC solar energy collector

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, B.T.; Rabl, A.

1975-06-27

A device is provided for improving the thermal efficiency of a cylindrical radiant energy collector. A channel is placed next to and in close proximity to the nonreflective side of an energy reflective wall of a cylindrical collector. A coolant is piped through the channel and removes a portion of the nonreflective energy incident on the wall which is absorbed by the wall. The energy transferred to the coolant may be utilized in a useful manner.

Modeling, Simulation and Performance Evaluation of Parabolic Trough

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mekuannint

Mekuannint Mesfin and Abebayehu Assefa. Department of Mechanical Engineering. Addis Ababa University ... off design weather conditions as well. Keywords: Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC);. Heat Transfer ... of a conventional Rankine cycle power plant with solar fields that are used to increase the temperature of heat ...

Efficiency improvement of flat plate solar collector using reflector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Himangshu Bhowmik

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Solar collectors are the main components of a solar heating system. The collectors collect the sun’s energy, transform this radiation into heat, and then transfer this heat into a fluid, water or air, which has many household or industrial applications. This paper introduces a new technology to improve the performance of the solar thermal collectors. The solar reflector used here with the solar collector to increase the reflectivity of the collector. Thus, the reflector concentrates both direct and diffuse radiation of the sun toward the collector. To maximize the intensity of incident radiation, the reflector was allowed to change its angle with daytime. The radiations coming from the sun’s energy were converted into heat, and then this heat was transferred to the collector fluid, water. A prototype of a solar water heating system was constructed and obtained the improvement of the collector efficiency around 10% by using the reflector. Thus, the present solar water heating systems having the best thermal performance compared to the available systems.

Performance of evaporator-collector and air collector in solar assisted heat pump dryer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hawlader, M.N.A.; Rahman, S.M.A.; Jahangeer, K.A.

2008-01-01

A solar assisted heat pump dryer has been designed, fabricated and tested. This paper presents the performance of the evaporator-collector and the air collector when operated under the same meteorological conditions. ASHRAE standard procedure for collector testing has been followed. The evaporator-collector of the heat pump is acting directly as the solar collector, and the temperature of the refrigerant at the inlet to the evaporator-collector always remained below the ambient temperature. Because of the rejection of sensible and latent heats of air at the dehumidifier, the temperature at the inlet to the air collector is lower than that of the ambient air. Hence, the thermal efficiency of the air collector also increases due to a reduction of losses from the collector. The efficiencies of the evaporator-collector and the air collector were found to vary between 0.8-0.86 and 0.7-0.75, respectively, when operated under the meteorological conditions of Singapore

Real-time dynamic analysis for complete loop of direct steam generation solar trough collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Su; Liu, Deyou; Chu, Yinghao; Chen, Xingying; Shen, Bingbing; Xu, Chang; Zhou, Ling; Wang, Pei

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A nonlinear distribution parameter dynamic model has been developed. • Real-time local heat transfer coefficient and friction coefficient are adopted. • The dynamic behavior of the solar trough collector loop are simulated. • High-frequency chattering of outlet fluid flow are analyzed and modeled. • Irradiance disturbance at subcooled water region generates larger influence. - Abstract: Direct steam generation is a potential approach to further reduce the levelized electricity cost of solar trough. Dynamic modeling of the collector loop is essential for operation and control of direct steam generation solar trough. However, the dynamic behavior of fluid based on direct steam generation is complex because of the two-phase flow in the pipeline. In this work, a nonlinear distribution parameter model has been developed to model the dynamic behaviors of direct steam generation parabolic trough collector loops under either full or partial solar irradiance disturbance. Compared with available dynamic model, the proposed model possesses two advantages: (1) real-time local values of heat transfer coefficient and friction resistance coefficient, and (2) considering of the complete loop of collectors, including subcooled water region, two-phase flow region and superheated steam region. The proposed model has shown superior performance, particularly in case of sensitivity study of fluid parameters when the pipe is partially shaded. The proposed model has been validated using experimental data from Solar Thermal Energy Laboratory of University of New South Wales, with an outlet fluid temperature relative error of only 1.91%. The validation results show that: (1) The proposed model successfully outperforms two reference models in predicting the behavior of direct steam generation solar trough. (2) The model theoretically predicts that, during solar irradiance disturbance, the discontinuities of fluid physical property parameters and the moving back and

Cylindrically symmetric Fresnel lens for high concentration photovoltaic

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Yu-Ting; Su, Guo-Dung

2009-08-01

High concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) utilizes point-focus cost-effective plastic Fresnel lens. And a millimeter-sized Ill-V compound multi-junction solar cell is placed underneath focusing optics which can achieve cell efficiency potential of up to 40.7 %. The advantage of HCPV makes less solar cell area and higher efficiency; however, the acceptance angle of HCPV is about +/-1°, which is very small and the mechanical tracking of the sun is necessary. In order to reduce the power consumption and the angle tracking error of tracking systems, a light collector model with larger acceptance angle is designed with ZEMAX®. In this model, the original radially symmetric Fresnel lens of HCPV is replaced by cylindrically symmetric Fresnel lens and a parabolic reflective surface. Light is collected in two dimensions separately. And a couple of lenses and a light pipe are added before the solar cell chip in order to collect more light when sun light deviates from incident angle of 00. An acceptance angle of +/-10° is achieved with GCR 400.

Flat solar collector an approach to its evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sonino, T [Israel Atomic Energy Commission, Yavne. Soreq Nuclear Research Center

1977-01-01

The flat solar collector is the most widely used device for the utilization of solar energy, but its energetic and economic values are still debated. A preliminary energy and economic analysis is presented. The energy analysis indicates that the energy needed to produce one solar collector is equivalent to the electricity consumed by an electric water heater in roughly three months. The economic analysis indicates that the pay-back time for a solar collector varies from 5.5 to 7.7 yr. according to the discount rate. The economic analysis from a national point of view indicates that the use of solar collectors for domestic purposes could only reduce electricity consumption in Israel by 10%.

Principles of solar engineering

CERN Document Server

Goswami, D Yogi

2015-01-01

Introduction to Solar Energy ConversionGlobal Energy Needs and ResourcesSolar EnergyEnergy StorageEconomics of Solar SystemsSummary of RE ResourcesForecast of Future Energy MixReferencesFundamentals of Solar RadiationThe Physics of the Sun and Its Energy TransportThermal Radiation FundamentalsSun-Earth Geometric RelationshipSolar RadiationEstimation of Terrestrial Solar RadiationModels Based on Long-Term Measured Horizontal Solar RadiationMeasurement of Solar RadiationSolar Radiation Mapping Using Satellite DataReferencesSuggested ReadingsSolar Thermal CollectorsRadiative Properties and Characteristics of MaterialsFlat-Plate CollectorsTubular Solar Energy CollectorsExperimental Testing of CollectorsConcentrating Solar CollectorsParabolic Trough ConcentratorCompound-Curvature Solar ConcentratorsCentral Receiver CollectorFresnel Reflectors and LensesSolar Concentrator SummaryReferencesSuggested ReadingThermal Energy Storage and TransportThermal Energy StorageTypes of TESDesign of Storage SystemEnergy Transport ...

Control scheme for direct steam generation in parabolic troughs under recirculation operation mode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valenzuela, L.; Zarza, E. [CIEMAT, Plataforma Solar de Almeria, Ctra. Senes s/n, P.O. Box 22, E-04200 Tabernas, Almeria (Spain); Berenguel, M. [Universidad de Almeria, Dpto. Lenguajes y Computacion, Ctra. Sacramento s/n, E-04120 Almeria (Spain); Camacho, E.F. [Universidad de Sevilla, Dpto. de Ingenieria de Sistemas y Automatica, Camino de los Descubrimientos s/n, E-41092 Sevilla (Spain)

2006-01-15

Electricity production using solar thermal energy is one of the main research areas at present in the field of renewable energies, these systems being characterised by the need of reliable control systems aimed at maintaining desired operating conditions in the face of changes in solar radiation, which is the main source of energy. A new prototype of solar system with parabolic trough collectors was implemented at the Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA, South-East Spain) to investigate the direct steam generation process under real solar conditions in the parabolic solar collector field of a thermal power plant prototype. This paper presents details and some results of the application of a control scheme designed and tested for the recirculation operation mode, for which the main objective is to obtain steam at constant temperature and pressure at the outlet of the solar field, so that changes produced in the inlet water conditions and/or solar radiation will only affect the amount of steam produced by the solar field. The steam quality and consequently the nominal efficiency of the plant are thus maintained. (author)

Shaping of parabolic cylindrical membrane reflectors for the Dart Precision Test Bed

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, R.; Agnes, Gregory S.; Dragovan, M.; Barber, D.; Marcin, M.; White, C.; Dooley, J.; Hatheway, A.

2004-01-01

The DART is a new telescope architecture consisting of a single aperture formed from two cylindrical parabolic reflectors. The system is ideally suited to using tensioned membranes for the reflective surfaces, owing to the zero Gaussian curvature of a cylindrical parabola. In this paper, we present experimental measurements for shaping the membranes by using curved boundary elements to achieve coarse shaping, and a pair of precision rails shaped by moments and forces at the ends, and lightly pushed into the surface, to provide fine shape control.

Performance Analysis and Optimization of a Parabolic Trough Solar Power Plant in the Middle East Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Praveen R. P.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The Middle East is one among the areas of the world that receive high amounts of direct solar radiation. As such, the region holds a promising potential to leverage clean energy. Owing to rapid urbanization, energy demands in the region are on the rise. Along with the global push to curb undesirable outcomes such as air pollution, emissions of greenhouse gases, and climate change, an urgent need has arisen to explore and exploit the abundant renewable energy sources. This paper presents the design, performance analysis and optimization of a 100 MWe parabolic trough collector Solar Power Plant with thermal energy storage intended for use in the Middle Eastern regions. Two representative sites in the Middle East which offer an annual average direct normal irradiance (DNI of more than 5.5 kWh/m2/day has been chosen for the analysis. The thermodynamic aspect and annual performance of the proposed plant design is also analyzed using the System Advisor Model (SAM version 2017.9.5. Based on the analysis carried out on the initial design, annual power generated from the proposed concentrating solar power (CSP plant design in Abu Dhabi amounts to 333.15 GWh whereas that in Aswan recorded a value of 369.26 GWh, with capacity factors of 38.1% and 42.19% respectively. The mean efficiency of the plants in Abu Dhabi and Aswan are found to be 14.35% and 14.98% respectively. The optimization of the initial plant design is also carried out by varying two main design parameters, namely the solar multiple and full load hours of thermal energy storage (TES. Based on the findings of the study, the proposed 100 MW parabolic trough collector solar power plant with thermal energy storage can contribute to the sustainable energy future of the Middle East with reduced dependency on fossil fuels.

Cheap effective thermal solar-energy collectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Highgate, D.J.; Probert, S.D. [Cranfield University, Bedford (United Kingdom). Dept. of Applied Energy

1996-04-01

A light-weight flexible solar-collector, with a wavelength-selective absorption surface and an insolation-transparent thermal-insulation protecter for its aperture, was built and tested. Its cheapness and high performance, relative to a conventional flat-plate solar-collector, provide a prima-facie case for the more widespread adoption of its design. (author)

Solar parabolic dish technology evaluation report

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas, J. W.

1984-01-01

The activities of the JPL Solar Thermal Power Systems Parabolic Dish Project for FY 1983 are summarized. Included are discussions on designs of module development including concentrator, receiver, and power conversion subsystems together with a separate discussion of field tests, Small Community Experiment system development, and tests at the Parabolic Dish Test Site.

Optimum solar collector fluid flow rates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Furbo, Simon; Shah, Louise Jivan

1996-01-01

Experiments showed that by means of a standard electronically controlled pump, type UPE 2000 from Grundfos it is possible to control the flow rate in a solar collector loop in such a way that the flow rate is strongly influenced by the temperature of the solar collector fluid passing the pump....... The flow rate is increasing for increasing temperature.The flow rate at the high temperature level is typically 70 % greater than the flow rate at the low temperature level.Further, the energy consumption for the electronically controlled pump in a solar heating system will be somewhat smaller than...... the energy consumption of a normal ciculation pump in the solar heating system.Calculations showed that the highest thermal performances for small SDHW systems based on mantle tanks with constant volume flow rates in the solar collector loops are achieved if the flow rate is situated in the interval from 0...

Investigating the collector efficiency of silver nanofluids based direct absorption solar collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Meijie; He, Yurong; Zhu, Jiaqi; Wen, Dongsheng

2016-01-01

Highlights: • An analysis coupled with Radiation transfer, Maxwell and Energy equation is developed. • Plasmonic Au and Ag nanofluids show better photo-thermal conversion properties. • Collector height and particle concentration exist optimum solutions for efficiency. - Abstract: A one-dimensional transient heat transfer analysis was carried out to analyze the effects of the Nanoparticle (NP) volume fraction, collector height, irradiation time, solar flux, and NP material on the collector efficiency. The numerical results were compared with the experimental results obtained by silver nanofluids to validate the model, and good agreement was obtained. The numerical results show that the collector efficiency increases as the collector height and NP volume fraction increase and then reaches a maximum value. An optimum collector height (∼10 mm) and particle concentration (∼0.03%) achieving a collector efficiency of 90% of the maximum efficiency can be obtained under the conditions used in the simulation. However, the collector efficiency decreases as the irradiation time increases owing to the increased heat loss. A high solar flux is desirable to maintain a high efficiency over a wide temperature range, which is beneficial for subsequent energy utilization. The modeling results also show silver and gold nanofluids obtain higher photothermal conversion efficiencies than the titanium dioxide nanofluid because their absorption spectra are similar to the solar radiation spectrum.

Heat Pumps With Direct Expansion Solar Collectors

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Sadasuke

In this paper, the studies of heat pump systems using solar collectors as the evaporators, which have been done so far by reserchers, are reviwed. Usually, a solar collector without any cover is preferable to one with ac over because of the necessity of absorbing heat from the ambient air when the intensity of the solar energy on the collector is not enough. The performance of the collector depends on its area and the intensity of the convective heat transfer on the surface. Fins are fixed on the backside of the collector-surface or on the tube in which the refrigerant flows in order to increase the convective heat transfer. For the purpose of using a heat pump efficiently throughout year, a compressor with variable capacity is applied. The solar assisted heat pump can be used for air conditioning at night during the summer. Only a few groups of people have studied cooling by using solar assisted heat pump systems. In Japan, a kind of system for hot water supply has been produced commercially in a company and a kind of system for air conditioning has been installed in buildings commercially by another company.

Study on radiation flux of the receiver with a parabolic solar concentrator system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mao, Qianjun; Shuai, Yong; Yuan, Yuan

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The idea of integral dish and multi-dishes in a parabolic solar collector has been proposed. • The impacts of three factors of the receiver have been investigated. • The radiation flux distribution can benefit from a large system error. - Abstract: The solar receiver plays a key role in the performance of a solar dish electric generator. Its radiation flux distribution can directly affect the efficiency of the parabolic solar concentrator system. In this paper, radiation flux distribution of the receiver is simulated successfully using MCRT method. The impacts of incident solar irradiation, aspect ratio (the ratio of the receiver height to the receiver diameter), and system error on the radiation flux of the receiver are investigated. The parameters are studied in the following ranges: incident solar irradiation from 100 to 1100 W/m 2 , receiver aspect ratio from 0.5 to 1.5, and the system error from 0 to 10 mrad. A non-dimensional parameter Θ is defined to represent the ratio of radiation flux to incident solar irradiation. The results show that the maximum of Θ is about 200 in simulation conditions. The aspect ratio and system error have a significant impact on the radiation flux. The optimal receiver aspect ratio is 1.5 at a constant incident solar irradiation, and the maximum of radiation flux increases with decreasing system error, however, the radiation flux distribution can benefit from a large system error. Meanwhile, effects of integral dish and multi-dishes on the radiation flux distribution have been investigated. The results show that the accuracy of two cases can be ignored within the same parameters

Two-axis movable concentrating solar energy collector

Science.gov (United States)

Perkins, G. S.

1977-01-01

Proposed solar-tracker collector assembly with boiler in fixed position, allows use of hard line connections, capable of withstanding optimum high temperature fluid flow. System thereby eliminates need for flexible or slip connection previously used with solar collector systems.

Performance tests and efficiency analysis of Solar Invictus 53S - A parabolic dish solar collector for direct steam generation

Science.gov (United States)

Jamil, Umer; Ali, Wajahat

2016-05-01

This paper presents the results of performance tests conducted on Solar Invictus 53S `system'; an economically effective solar steam generation solution designed and developed by ZED Solar Ltd. The system consists of a dual axis tracking parabolic solar dish and bespoke cavity type receiver, which works as a Once Through Solar Steam Generator `OTSSG' mounted at the focal point of the dish. The overall performance and efficiency of the system depends primarily on the optical efficiency of the solar dish and thermal efficiency of the OTSSG. Optical testing performed include `on sun' tests using CCD camera images and `burn plate' testing to evaluate the sunspot for size and quality. The intercept factor was calculated using a colour look-back method to determine the percentage of solar rays focused into the receiver. Solar dish tracking stability tests were carried out at different times of day to account for varying dish elevation angles and positions, movement of the sunspot centroid was recorded and logged using a CCD camera. Finally the overall performance and net solar to steam efficiency of the system was calculated by experimentally measuring the output steam parameters at varying Direct Normal Insolation (DNI) levels at ZED Solar's test facility in Lahore, Pakistan. Thermal losses from OTSSG were calculated using the known optical efficiency and measured changes in output steam enthalpy.

Design of a solar-assisted drying system using the double-pass solar collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sopian, K.; Daud, W.R.; Supranto; Othman, M.Y.; Yatim, B.

2000-01-01

A solar-assisted drying system that uses the double-pass solar collector with porous media in the second channel has been designed and constructed at the Solar Energy Research Park, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The drying system has a total of six double-pass solar collectors. Each collector has a length of 240 cm and a width of 120 cm. The upper channel depth is 3.5 cm and the lower channel depth is 10.5 cm. The lower channel is filled up with steel wool as the porous media. The solar collectors are arranged as 2 banks of 3 collectors each in series. Internal manifold are used to connect the collectors. An auxiliary heater source is installed to supply heat under unfavourable solar radiation conditions. An on/off controller is used to control the startup and shutdown of the auxiliary heater. An outlet temperature of 80-90 0 C can be achieved at a solar radiation range of 800-900 W/m 3 , ambient temperature of 29 degree C and flow rate of O.20 kg/s. (Author)

An improved dynamic test method for solar collectors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kong, Weiqiang; Wang, Zhifeng; Fan, Jianhua

2012-01-01

A comprehensive improvement of the mathematical model for the so called transfer function method is presented in this study. This improved transfer function method can estimate the traditional solar collector parameters such as zero loss coefficient and heat loss coefficient. Two new collector...... parameters t and mfCf are obtained. t is a time scale parameter which can indicate the heat transfer ability of the solar collector. mfCf can be used to calculate the fluid volume content in the solar collector or to validate the regression process by comparing it to the physical fluid volume content...... for the second-order differential term with 6–9min as the best averaging time interval. The measured and predicted collector power output of the solar collector are compared during a test of 13days continuously both for the ITF method and the QDT method. The maximum and averaging error is 53.87W/m2 and 5.22W/m2...

A Novel Parabolic Trough Concentrating Solar Heating for Cut Tobacco Drying System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiang Tao Liu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A novel parabolic trough concentrating solar heating for cut tobacco drying system was established. The opening width effect of V type metal cavity absorber was investigated. A cut tobacco drying mathematical model calculated by fourth-order Runge-Kutta numerical solution method was used to simulate the cut tobacco drying process. And finally the orthogonal test method was used to optimize the parameters of cut tobacco drying process. The result shows that the heating rate, acquisition factor, and collector system efficiency increase with increasing the opening width of the absorber. The simulation results are in good agreement with experimental data for cut tobacco drying process. The relative errors between simulated and experimental values are less than 8%, indicating that this mathematical model is accurate for the cut tobacco airflow drying process. The optimum preparation conditions are an inlet airflow velocity of 15 m/s, an initial cut tobacco moisture content of 26%, and an inlet airflow temperature of 200°C. The thermal efficiency of the dryer and the final cut tobacco moisture content are 66.32% and 14.15%, respectively. The result shows that this parabolic trough concentrating solar heating will be one of the heat recourse candidates for cut tobacco drying system.

The effect and contribution of wind generated rotation on outlet temperature and heat gain of LS-2 parabolic trough solar collector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sadaghiyani Omid Karimi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The Monte Carlo ray tracing method is applied and coupled with finite volume numerical methods to study effect of rotation on outlet temperature and heat gain of LS-2 parabolic trough concentrator (PTC. Based on effect of sunshape, curve of mirror and use of MCRT, heat flux distribution around of inner wall of evacuated tube is calculated. After calculation of heat flux, the geometry of LS-2 Luz collector is created and finite volume method is applied to simulate. The obtained results are compared with Dudley et al test results for irrotational cases to validate these numerical solving models. Consider that, for rotational models ,the solving method separately with K.S. Ball's results. In this work, according to the structure of mentioned collector, we use plug as a flow restriction. In the rotational case studies, the inner wall rotates with different angular speeds. We compare results of rotational collector with irrotational. Also for these two main states, the location of plug changed then outlet temperature and heat gain of collector are studied. The results show that rotation have positive role on heat transfer processing and the rotational plug in bottom half of tube have better effectual than upper half of tube. Also the contribution of rotation is calculated in the all of case studies. Working fluid of these study is one of the oil derivatives namely Syltherm-800. The power of wind can be used to rotate tube of collector.

Development of a Polymer-carbon Nanotubes based Economic Solar Collector

OpenAIRE

Kim, S. I.; Kissick, John; Spence, Stephen; Boyle, Christine

2014-01-01

A low cost solar collector was developed by using polymeric components as opposed to metal and glass components of traditional solar collectors. In order to utilize polymers for the absorber of the solar collector, Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) has been added as a filler to improve the thermal conductivity and the solar absorptivity of polymers. The solar collector was designed as a multi-layer construction with considering the economic manufacturing. Through the mathematical heat transfer analysis,...

THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF FLAT PLATE SOLAR COLLECTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TABET I.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a theoretical and experimental studyof flat platesolar water collector with reflectors.A mathematical model based on energy balance equations saw the thermal behavior of the collector is investigated. The experimental test was made at the unit research applies in renewable energy (URAER located in southern Algeria.An increase of 23% for solar radiation incident on the collector surface with the addition of the planers reflectors in the day of May, this increase causes an improvement of the performance of the collector,the fluid temperature increases with an average of 5%. Thetests conducted on the flat plate solar water collector in open circuit enabled the determination of thermal performance of the collector by estimating the daily output The thermal efficiency of the collector ranges from 1% -63% during the day, a mean value of 36%obtained.

Optimized reflectors for non-tracking solar collectors with tubular absorbers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muschaweck, Julius [Optics and Energy Consulting, Munich (Germany); Spirkl, Wolfgang [Ludwig-Maximilians Univ., Sektion Physik, Munich (Germany); Timinger, Andreas [Optics and Energy Consulting, Munich (Germany); ZAE Bayern, Solar Thermal and Biomass Dept., Munich (Germany); Benz, Nikolaus; Doerfler, Michael; Gut, Martin [ZAE Bayern, Solar Thermal and Biomass Dept., Munich (Germany); Kose, Erwin [microtherm Energietecjnik GmbH, Lods, 25 (France)

2000-07-01

We present an approach to find optimal reflector shapes for non-tracking solar collectors under practical constraints. We focus on cylindrical absorbers and reflectors with translational symmetry. Under idealised circumstances, edge ray reflectors are well known to be optimal. However, it is not clear how optimal reflectors should be shaped in order to obtain maximum utilisable energy for given operating temperatures under practical constraints like reflectivity less than unity, real radiation data, size limits, and gaps between the reflector and the absorber. For a prototype collector with a symmetric edge ray reflector and a tubular absorber, we derive from calorimetric measurements under outdoor conditions the optical efficiency as a function of the incidence angle. Using numerical optimisation and raytracing, we compare truncated symmetric edge ray reflectors, truncated asymmetric edge ray reflectors and free forms parametrized by Bezier splines. We find that asymmetric edge ray reflectors are optimal. For reasonable operating conditions, truncated asymmetric edge ray reflectors allow much better land use and easily adapt to a large range of roof tilt angles with marginal changes in collector construction. Except near the equator, they should increase the yearly utilisable energy per absorber tube by several percent as compared to the prototype collector with symmetric reflectors. (Author)

Turning collectors for solar radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Barak, Amitzur Z.

1976-01-01

A device is provided for turning a solar collector about the polar axis so that the collector is directed toward the sun as the sun tracks the sky each day. It includes two heat-expansive elements and a shadow plate. In the morning a first expansive element is heated, expands to turn the collector to face the sun, while the second expansive element is shaded by the plate. In the afternoon the second element is heated, expands to turn the collector to face the sun, while the first is shaded by the plate.

Exergy Analysis of a Pilot Parabolic Solar Dish-Stirling System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ehsan Gholamalizadeh

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Energy and exergy analyses were carried out for a pilot parabolic solar dish-Stirling System. The system was set up at a site at Kerman City, located in a sunny desert area of Iran. Variations in energy and exergy efficiency were considered during the daytime hours of the average day of each month in a year. A maximum collector energy efficiency and total energy efficiency of 54% and 12.2%, respectively, were predicted in July, while during the period between November and February the efficiency values were extremely low. The maximum collector exergy efficiency was 41.5% in July, while the maximum total exergy efficiency reached 13.2%. The values of energy losses as a percentage of the total losses of the main parts of the system were also reported. Results showed that the major energy and exergy losses occurred in the receiver. The second biggest portion of energy losses occurred in the Stirling engine, while the portion of exergy loss in the concentrator was higher compared to the Stirling engine. Finally, the performance of the Kerman pilot was compared to that of the EuroDish project.

Solar Thermal Utilization: Past, Present and Future

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-01

SO•C NON-FOCUSSING FLAT PLATE / (FPC) 100- 150•C For low temperature 50- 200•C COMPOUND applications PARABOLIC EVACUATED CONCENTRATOR ~ (ETC...2030 Ø 200GW BY 2050 Ø 20 MILLION SQ.METER SOLAR THERMAL COLLECTORS (20GW power) Ø 20 MILLION SOLAR LIGHTS LAUNCHING OF SOLAR INDIA SOLAR THERMAL...Temperature (20oC- 80oC) NALSUN ApplicationsThermal Conversion range SOLAR ENERGY COLLECTORS 40- GO•C UNGLAZED COLLECTORS 60- 90•C SOLAR POND 60

Sensitivity analysis on the effect of key parameters on the performance of parabolic trough solar collectors

Science.gov (United States)

Muhlen, Luis S. W.; Najafi, Behzad; Rinaldi, Fabio; Marchesi, Renzo

2014-04-01

Solar troughs are amongst the most commonly used technologies for collecting solar thermal energy and any attempt to increase the performance of these systems is welcomed. In the present study a parabolic solar trough is simulated using a one dimensional finite element model in which the energy balances for the fluid, the absorber and the envelope in each element are performed. The developed model is then validated using the available experimental data . A sensitivity analysis is performed in the next step in order to study the effect of changing the type of the working fluid and the corresponding Reynolds number on the overall performance of the system. The potential improvement due to the addition of a shield on the upper half of the annulus and enhancing the convection coefficient of the heat transfer fluid is also studied.

Sensitivity analysis on the effect of key parameters on the performance of parabolic trough solar collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhlen, Luis S W; Najafi, Behzad; Rinaldi, Fabio; Marchesi, Renzo

2014-01-01

Solar troughs are amongst the most commonly used technologies for collecting solar thermal energy and any attempt to increase the performance of these systems is welcomed. In the present study a parabolic solar trough is simulated using a one dimensional finite element model in which the energy balances for the fluid, the absorber and the envelope in each element are performed. The developed model is then validated using the available experimental data . A sensitivity analysis is performed in the next step in order to study the effect of changing the type of the working fluid and the corresponding Reynolds number on the overall performance of the system. The potential improvement due to the addition of a shield on the upper half of the annulus and enhancing the convection coefficient of the heat transfer fluid is also studied.

Colored solar collectors - Annual report 2006

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schueler, A.; Chambrier, E. De; Roecker, Ch.; Scartezzini, J.-L.

2007-12-15

The architectural integration of thermal solar collectors into buildings is often limited by their black color, and the visibility of tubes and corrugations of the absorber sheets. A certain freedom in color choice would be desirable, but the colored appearance should not cause an excessive degradation of the collector efficiency. Multilayered thin film interference filters on the collector glazing can produce a colored reflection, hiding the corrugated metal sheet, while transmitting the non-reflected radiation entirely to the absorber. These interference filters are designed and optimized by numerical simulation, and are manufactured by sol-gel dip-coating or magnetron sputtering. The novel colored glazed solar collectors will be ideally suited for architectural integration into buildings, e.g. as solar active glass facades. Due to the tunability of the refractive index, nanostructured materials such as SiO{sub 2}:TiO{sub 2} composites and porous SiO{sub 2} are very useful for application in multilayer interference stacks. Novel quaternary Mg-F-Si-O films exhibit a surprisingly low refractive index and are therefore promising candidates for highly transparent coatings on solar collector glazing. The nanostructure of these thin films is studied by transmission electron microscopy, while the optical constants are measured precisely by ellipsometry. For a convincing demonstration, sufficiently large samples of high quality are imperatively needed. The fabrication of nanocomposite SiO{sub 2}:TiO{sub 2} films has been demonstrated by sol-gel dip-coating of A4-sized glass panes. The produced coatings exhibit a colored reflection in combination with a high solar transmittance, a homogenous appearance, and are free of visible defects. Film hardening by UV exposure will result in speeding up the sol-gel process and saving energy, thereby reducing costs significantly. The infrastructure for UV-curing has been established. A UV C radiation source can now be attached to the

Degradation of pharmaceutical beta-blockers by electrochemical advanced oxidation processes using a flow plant with a solar compound parabolic collector.

Science.gov (United States)

Isarain-Chávez, Eloy; Rodríguez, Rosa María; Cabot, Pere Lluís; Centellas, Francesc; Arias, Conchita; Garrido, José Antonio; Brillas, Enric

2011-08-01

The degradation of the beta-blockers atenolol, metoprolol tartrate and propranolol hydrochloride was studied by electro-Fenton (EF) and solar photoelectro-Fenton (SPEF). Solutions of 10 L of 100 mg L⁻¹ of total organic carbon of each drug in 0.1 M Na₂SO₄ with 0.5 mM Fe²⁺ of pH 3.0 were treated in a recirculation flow plant with an electrochemical reactor coupled with a solar compound parabolic collector. Single Pt/carbon felt (CF) and boron-doped diamond (BDD)/air-diffusion electrode (ADE) cells and combined Pt/ADE-Pt/CF and BDD/ADE-Pt/CF cells were used. SPEF treatments were more potent with the latter cell, yielding 95-97% mineralization with 100% of maximum current efficiency and energy consumptions of about 0.250 kWh g TOC⁻¹. However, the Pt/ADE-Pt/CF cell gave much lower energy consumptions of about 0.080 kWh g TOC⁻¹ with slightly lower mineralization of 88-93%, then being more useful for its possible application at industrial level. The EF method led to a poorer mineralization and was more potent using the combined cells by the additional production of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) from Fenton's reaction from the fast Fe²⁺ regeneration at the CF cathode. Organics were also more rapidly destroyed at BDD than at Pt anode. The decay kinetics of beta-blockers always followed a pseudo first-order reaction, although in SPEF, it was accelerated by the additional production of •OH from the action of UV light of solar irradiation. Aromatic intermediates were also destroyed by hydroxyl radicals. Ultimate carboxylic acids like oxalic and oxamic remained in the treated solutions by EF, but their Fe(III) complexes were photolyzed by solar irradiation in SPEF, thus explaining its higher oxidation power. NO₃⁻ was the predominant inorganic ion lost in EF, whereas the SPEF process favored the production of NH₄⁺ ion and volatile N-derivatives. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of a solar collector field water flow network

Science.gov (United States)

Rohde, J. E.; Knoll, R. H.

1976-01-01

A number of methods are presented for minimizing the water flow variation in the solar collector field for the Solar Building Test Facility at the Langley Research Center. The solar collector field investigated consisted of collector panels connected in parallel between inlet and exit collector manifolds to form 12 rows. The rows were in turn connected in parallel between the main inlet and exit field manifolds to complete the field. The various solutions considered included various size manifolds, manifold area change, different locations for the inlets and exits to the manifolds, and orifices or flow control valves. Calculations showed that flow variations of less than 5 percent were obtainable both inside a row between solar collector panels and between various rows.

Review of state-of-the-art of solar collector corrosion processes. Task 1 of solar collector studies for solar heating and cooling applications. Final technical progress report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clifford, J E; Diegle, R B

1980-04-11

The state-of-the-art of solar collector corrosion processes is reviewed, and Task 1 of a current research program on use of aqueous heat transfer fluids for solar heating and cooling is summarized. The review of available published literature has indicated that lack of quantitative information exists relative to collector corrosion at the present time, particularly for the higher temperature applications of solar heating and cooling compared to domestic water heating. Solar collector systems are reviewed from the corrosion/service life viewpoint, with emphasis on various applications, collector design, heat transfer fluids, and freeze protection methods. Available information (mostly qualitative) on collector corrosion technology is reviewed to indicate potential corrosion problem areas and corrosion prevention practices. Sources of limited quantitative data that are reviewed are current solar applications, research programs on collector corrosion, and pertinent experience in related applications of automotive cooling and non-solar heating and cooling. A data bank was developed to catalog corrosion information. Appendix A of this report is a bibliography of the data bank, with abstracts reproduced from presently available literature accessions (about 220). This report is presented as a descriptive summary of information that is contained in the data bank.

Hierarchic control of the production of energy by means of plants of distributed solar collectors; Control jerarquico de la produccion de energia mediante plantas de colectores solares distribuidos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez Cirre, C. R.

2008-07-01

This work presents several different approaches to hierarchical control algorithms designed for a parabolic-trough solar collector field to demonstrate the possibility of maximizing hypothetical profit possible from this type of plant by improving and increasing plant automation. This study was developed in the current world power supply scenario, posing the possibility of using renewable energies (among which is solar thermal power), which the author is interested in contributing to advancing through research on improved plant operation control. The design was made for the ACUREX distributed solar collector field at the Plataforma Solar de Almeria. The control structures implemented to improve production in the solar collector field are based on a simple two-layered hierarchical control. One regulation layer (Layer 1) in which two proposals have been implemented: a control scheme developed using the feedback linearization technique and another proposal consisting on parallel deed forward control with an I-PD (Integral-Proportional Derivative) control. three proposals were implemented in the top layer (Layer 2) for generating the setpoint, the first one based on a physical model, the second one based on a fuzzy model, and the last uses the physical model and an optimization function for finding the optimum setpoint. (Author)

Low cost bare-plate solar air collector

Science.gov (United States)

Maag, W. L.; Wenzler, C. J.; Rom, F. E.; Vanarsdale, D. R.

1980-09-01

A low cost, bare plate solar collector for preheating ambient air was developed. This type of solar heating system would be applicable for preheating ventilation air for public buildings or other commercial and industrial ventilation requirements. Two prototype collectors were designed, fabricated and installed into an instrumented test system. Tests were conducted for a period of five months. Results of the tests showed consistent operating efficiencies of 60 percent or greater with air preheat temperature uses up to 20 degrees for one of the prototypes. The economic analyses indicated that this type of solar system was economically viable. For the materials of construction and the type of fabrication and installation perceived, costs for the bare plate solar collector are attainable. Applications for preheating ventilation air for schools were evaluated and judged to be economically viable.

Tracking local control of a parabolic trough collector. Control local de Seguimiento cilindro parabolico ACE 20

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ajona Maeztu, J.I.; Alberdi Primicia, J.; Gamero Aranda, E.; Blanco, J.

1991-01-01

In the local control, the sun position related to the trough collector is measured by two photo-resistors. the provided electronic signal is then compared with reference levels in order to get a set of 8 logical signals which form a byte. This byte and the commands issued by a programmable controller are connected to the inputs of a P.R.O.M. memory which is programmed with the logical ecuations of the control system. the memory output lines give the control commands of the parabolic trough collector motor. (author)

Tracking local control of a parabolic trough collector; Control local de Seguimiento cilindro parabolico ACE 20

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ajona Maeztu, J.I.; Alberdi Primicia, J.; Gamero Aranda, E.; Blanco, J.

1991-12-31

In the local control, the sun position related to the trough collector is measured by two photo-resistors. the provided electronic signal is then compared with reference levels in order to get a set of 8 logical signals which form a byte. This byte and the commands issued by a programmable controller are connected to the inputs of a P.R.O.M. memory which is programmed with the logical ecuations of the control system. the memory output lines give the control commands of the parabolic trough collector motor. (author)

Tracking local control of a parabolic trough collector; Control local de seguimiento cilindro parabolico ACE20

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ajona, J I; Alberdi, J; Gamero, E; Blanco, J

1992-07-01

In the local control, the sun position related to the trough collector is measured by two photo-resistors. The provided electronic signal is then compared with reference levels in order to get a set of B logical signals which form a byte. This byte and the commands issued by a programmable controller are connected to the inputs of o P.R.O.M. memory which is programmed with the logical equations of the control system. The memory output lines give the control command of the parabolic trough collector motor. (Author)

Design package for concentrating solar collector panels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-08-01

Information used to evaluate the design of the Northrup concentrating collector is presented. Included are the system performance specifications, the applications manual, and the detailed design drawings of the collector. The Northrup concentrating solar collector is a water/glycol/working fluid type, dipped galvanized steel housing, transparent acrylic Fresnel lens cover, copper absorber tube, fiber glass insulation and weighs 98 pounds. The gross collector area is about 29.4/sup 2/ per collector. A collector assembly includes four collector units within a tracking mount array.

Efficiencies of flat plate solar collectors at different flow rates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, Ziqian; Furbo, Simon; Perers, Bengt

2012-01-01

Two flat plate solar collectors for solar heating plants from Arcon Solvarme A/S are tested in a laboratory test facility for solar collectors at Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The collectors are designed in the same way. However, one collector is equipped with an ETFE foil between...... the absorber and the cover glass and the other is without ETFE foil. The efficiencies for the collectors are tested at different flow rates. On the basis of the measured efficiencies, the efficiencies for the collectors as functions of flow rate are obtained. The calculated efficiencies are in good agreement...

Indoor Light Performance of Coil Type Cylindrical Dye Sensitized Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Kapil, Gaurav; Ogomi, Yuhei; Pandey, Shyam S; Ma, Tingli; Hayase, Shuzi

2016-04-01

A very good performance under low/diffused light intensities is one of the application areas in which dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) can be utilized effectively compared to their inorganic silicon solar cell counterparts. In this article, we have investigated the 1 SUN and low intensity fluorescent light performance of Titanium (Ti)-coil based cylindrical DSSC (C-DSSC) using ruthenium based N719 dye and organic dyes such as D205 and Y123. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic results were analyzed for variable solar cell performances. Reflecting mirror with parabolic geometry as concentrator was also utilized to tap diffused light for indoor applications. Fluorescent light at relatively lower illumination intensities (0.2 mW/cm2 to 0.5 mW/cm2) were used for the investigation of TCO-less C-DSSC performance with and without reflector geometry. Furthermore, the DSSC performances were analyzed and compared with the commercially available amorphous silicon based solar cell for indoor applications.

Refractive integrated nonimaging solar collectors design and analysis of a novel solar-daylighting-technology

OpenAIRE

Pelegrini, Alexandre Vieira

2009-01-01

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University. A novel and original category of low-cost static solar-daylighting-collectors named Keywo solar energy, solar collectors, daylighting systems, nonimaging optics, Refractive Integrated Nonimaging Solar Collectors (RINSC) has been designed and thoroughly tested. The RINSC category is based on nonimaging optics and integrates several optical elements, such as prismatic arrays and light guides, i...

OUT Success Stories: Transpired Solar Collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clyne, R.

2000-01-01

Transpired solar collectors are a reliable, low-cost technology for preheating building ventilation air. With simple payback periods ranging from 3 to 12 years and an estimated 30-year life span, transpired collector systems offer building owners substantial cost savings

High Performance Flat Plate Solar Thermal Collector Evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rockenbaugh, Caleb [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Dean, Jesse [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Lovullo, David [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Lisell, Lars [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Barker, Greg [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hanckock, Ed [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Norton, Paul [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2016-09-01

This report was prepared for the General Services Administration by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The Honeycomb Solar Thermal Collector (HSTC) is a flat plate solar thermal collector that shows promising high efficiencies over a wide range of climate zones. The technical objectives of this study are to: 1) verify collector performance, 2) compare that performance to other market-available collectors, 3) verify overheat protection, and 4) analyze the economic performance of the HSTC both at the demonstration sites and across a matrix of climate zones and utility markets.

Optimising position control of a solar parabolic trough

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Puramanathan Naidoo

2011-03-01

Full Text Available In today’s climate of growing energy needs and increasing environmental concerns, alternatives to the use of non-renewable and polluting fossil fuels have to be investigated. One such alternative is solar energy. This study is based on the implementation of a mathematical computation – the PSA (Plataforma Solar de Almeria computation developed at PSA (the European Test Centre for solar energy applications – embedded in a control algorithm to locate the position of the sun. Tests were conducted on a solar parabolic trough (SPT constructed at the Solar Thermal Applications Research Laboratory of the Mangosuthu University of Technology (Durban, South Africa for optimal position control using the PSA value. The designed control algorithm embedded in an industrial Siemens S7-314 C-2PtP programmable logic controller compared the PSA computation to a measured position of the SPT to optimally rotate the SPT to a desired position with the constant movement of the sun. The two main angles of the sun relative to the position of the SPT on earth, the zenith angle and the azimuth angle, both calculated in the PSA from the vertical and horizontal planes, respectively, were applied to the control algorithm to generate an appropriate final tracking angle within a 0.007 radian (0° 24′ 3.6″ tolerance, in accordance to the construction specifications and solar collector testing standards of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE, 1991. These values, together with the longitude and latitude applicable to the geographical location of the SPT, were processed in the control software to rotate the SPT to an optimal position with respect to the position of the sun in its daily path, for solar-to-thermal conversion.

Assessment of optical performance of three non-tracking, non-imaging, external compound parabolic concentrators designed for high temperature solar thermal collector units

OpenAIRE

Cisneros, Jesus

2010-01-01

The objective of this thesis is to perform a preliminary optical assessment of the external compound parabolic concentrator (XCPC) component in three concentrating solar thermal units. Each solar thermal unit consists an optical element (the non-imaging concentrating reflector) and a thermal element (the evacuated glass tube solar absorber). The three concentrating solar thermal units discussed in this work are DEWAR 58, a direct flow all-glass dewar, DEWAR 47 an indirect flow ...

Mathematical modelling of unglazed solar collectors under extreme operating conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bunea, M.; Perers, Bengt; Eicher, S.

2015-01-01

average temperature levels at the evaporator. Simulation of these systems requires a collector model that can take into account operation at very low temperatures (below freezing) and under various weather conditions, particularly operation without solar irradiation.A solar collector mathematical model......Combined heat pumps and solar collectors got a renewed interest on the heating system market worldwide. Connected to the heat pump evaporator, unglazed solar collectors can considerably increase their efficiency, but they also raise the coefficient of performance of the heat pump with higher...... was found due to the condensation phenomenon and up to 40% due to frost under no solar irradiation. This work also points out the influence of the operating conditions on the collector's characteristics.Based on experiments carried out at a test facility, every heat flux on the absorber was separately...

Dynamic testing of solar collectors under special consideration of the correction of the inclination angle and reduction of the test duration; Dynamische Pruefung von Sonnenkollektoren unter besonderer Beruecksichtigung der Einfallswinkelkorrektur und der Reduzierung der Pruefdauer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fischer, Stephan

2011-07-01

Solar thermal systems are gaining more and more market shares. At the beginning of the last decade only systems for swimming pool heating and domestic hot water heating were available on the market. Today the system variety includes additionally solar thermal systems for space heating, solar thermal cooling, process heat and solar thermal power plants. Independent of the purpose of the solar thermal system, it is always the collector that converts the solar irradiance into heat and is thus the most important component within a solar thermal system. The high number of applications results also in a large variety of different collector concepts. The differences between flat plate collectors, evacuated tubular collectors (with or without heat pipes). CPC collectors, parabolic trough collectors. Fresnel collectors and others is not limited to geometry and working principles but include as well the thermal performance, especially when the thermal behaviour under different angles of incidence and fractions of diffuse irradiance is taking into account. For the test of solar thermal collectors and for the optimisation of solar thermal systems a mathematical model is necessary to describe the thermal performance of the solar collector. Thus this thesis is dealing with the mathematic modelling and the experimental testing of solar thermal collectors. Based on already existing procedures a numerical model and a new procedure for the test of thermal collectors is introduced. The numerical model enables the description of the thermal behaviour for most collectors available on the market. The numerical model and the test procedure were developed paying special attention to the incidence angle modifier and the reduction of testing time. As basis for the general numerical model and the test procedure part one of the thesis describes and discusses the parameters needed to characterise the thermal performance of solar thermal collectors. It is shown that some of the influencing

Solar collector performance evaluated outdoors at NASA-Lewis Research Center

Science.gov (United States)

Vernon, R. W.

1974-01-01

The study of solar reflector performance reported is related to a project in which solar collectors are to be provided for the solar heating and cooling system of an office building at NASA's Langley Research Center. The solar collector makes use of a liquid consisting of 50% ethylene glycol and 50% water. A conventional air-liquid heat exchanger is employed. Collector performance and solar insolation data are recorded along with air temperature, wind speed and direction, and relative humidity.

Combined solar collector and energy storage system

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, R. N. (Inventor)

1980-01-01

A combined solar energy collector, fluid chiller and energy storage system is disclosed. A movable interior insulated panel in a storage tank is positionable flush against the storage tank wall to insulate the tank for energy storage. The movable interior insulated panel is alternately positionable to form a solar collector or fluid chiller through which the fluid flows by natural circulation.

Nonimaging secondary concentrators for large rim angle parabolic troughs with tubular absorbers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ries, H; Spirkl, W

1996-05-01

For parabolic trough solar collectors with tubular absorbers, we design new tailored secondary concentrators. The design is applicable for any rim angle of a parabolic reflector. With the secondary, the concentration can be increased by a factor of more than 2 with a compact secondary reflector consisting of a single piece, even for the important case of a rim angle of 90 deg. The parabolic reflector can be used without changes; the reduced absorber is still tubular but smaller than the original absorber and slightly displaced toward the primary.

Analytical analysis of solar thermal collector with glass and Fresnel lens glazing

Science.gov (United States)

Zulkifle, Idris; Ruslan, Mohd Hafidz Hj; Othman, Mohd Yusof Hj; Ibarahim, Zahari

2018-04-01

Solar thermal collector is a system that converts solar radiation to heat. The heat will raise the temperature higher than the ambient temperature. Absorber and glazing are two important components in order to increase the temperature of the collector. The thermal absorber will release heat by convection and as radiation to the surrounding. These losses will be reduced by glazing. Other than that, glazing is beneficial for protecting the collector from dust and water. This study discusses about modelling of solar thermal collector effects of different mass flow rates with different glazing for V-groove flat plate solar collectors. The glazing used was the glass and linear Fresnel lens. Concentration ratio in this modelling was 1.3 for 0.1m solar collector thickness. Results show that solar collectors with linear Fresnel lens has the highest efficiency value of 71.18% compared to solar collectors with glass which has efficiency 54.10% with same operation conditions.

Solar collector wall with active curtain system; Lasikatteinen massiivienen aurinkokeraeaejaeseinae

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ojanen, T.; Heimonen, I. [VTT Building Technology, Espoo (Finland). Building Physics, Building Services and Fire Technology

1998-12-01

Integration of solar collector into the building envelope structure brings many advantages. The disadvantage of a passive solar collector wall is that its thermal performance can not be controlled, which may cause temporary overheating and low thermal efficiency of the collector. The thermal performance of the collector wall can be improved by using controllable, active collector systems. In this paper a solar collector wall with a controllable curtain between the transparent and absorption layers is investigated. The curtain is made of several low-emissivity foil layers, which ensures low radiation heat transfer through the curtain. The curtain decreases the heat losses out from the collector wall and it improves the U-value of the wall. The curtain is used when the solar radiation intensity to the wall is not high enough or when the wall needs protection against overheating during warm weather conditions. The materials and building components used in the collector wall, except those of the curtain, are ordinary in buildings. The transparent layer can be made by using normal glazing technology and the thermal storage layer can be made out of brick or similar material. The solar energy gains through the glazing can be utilised better than in passive systems, because the curtain provides the wall with high thermal resistance outside the solar radiation periods. The thermal performance of the collector wall was studied experimentally using a Hot-Box apparatus equipped with a solar lamp. Numerical simulations were carried out to study the yearly performance of the collector wall under real climate conditions. The objectives were to determine the thermal performance of the collector wall and to study how to optimise the use of solar radiation in this system. When the curtain with high thermal resistance is used actively, the temperature level of the thermal storage layer in the wall is relatively high also during dark periods and the heat losses out from the storage

Gas Turbine/Solar Parabolic Trough Hybrid Designs: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turchi, C. S.; Ma, Z.; Erbes, M.

2011-03-01

A strength of parabolic trough concentrating solar power (CSP) plants is the ability to provide reliable power by incorporating either thermal energy storage or backup heat from fossil fuels. Yet these benefits have not been fully realized because thermal energy storage remains expensive at trough operating temperatures and gas usage in CSP plants is less efficient than in dedicated combined cycle plants. For example, while a modern combined cycle plant can achieve an overall efficiency in excess of 55%; auxiliary heaters in a parabolic trough plant convert gas to electricity at below 40%. Thus, one can argue the more effective use of natural gas is in a combined cycle plant, not as backup to a CSP plant. Integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) systems avoid this pitfall by injecting solar steam into the fossil power cycle; however, these designs are limited to about 10% total solar enhancement. Without reliable, cost-effective energy storage or backup power, renewable sources will struggle to achieve a high penetration in the electric grid. This paper describes a novel gas turbine / parabolic trough hybrid design that combines solar contribution of 57% and higher with gas heat rates that rival that for combined cycle natural gas plants. The design integrates proven solar and fossil technologies, thereby offering high reliability and low financial risk while promoting deployment of solar thermal power.

Development of a Solar Assisted Drying System Using Double-Pass Solar Collector with Finned Absorber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azmi, M S M; Sopian, K; Ruslan, M H; Fudholi, A; Majid, Z A A; Yasin, J M; Othman, M Y

2012-01-01

The Solar Energy Research Group, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, International Islamic University Malaysia and Yayasan FELDA has designed and constructed a solar assisted drying system at OPF FELDA Factory, Felda Bukit Sagu 2, Kuantan, Pahang. The drying system has a total of six double-pass solar collectors. Each collector has a length of 480 cm and a width of 120 cm. The first channel depth is 3.5 cm and the second channel depth is 7 cm. Longitudinal fins made of angle aluminium, 0.8 mm thickness were attached to the bottom surface of the absorber plate. The solar collectors are arranged as two banks of three collectors each in series. Internal manifold are used to connect the collectors. Air enters through the first channel and then through the second channel of the collector. An auxiliary heater source is installed to supply heat under unfavourable solar radiation condition. An on/off controller is used to control the startup and shutdown of the auxiliary heater. An outlet temperature of 70–75 °C can be achieved at solar radiation range of 800–900 W/m 2 and flow rate of 0.12 kg/s. The average thermal efficiency of a solar collector is approximately 37%.

Development of a Solar Assisted Drying System Using Double-Pass Solar Collector with Finned Absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Azmi, M. S. M.; Othman, M. Y.; Sopian, K.; Ruslan, M. H.; Majid, Z. A. A.; Fudholi, A.; Yasin, J. M.

2012-09-01

The Solar Energy Research Group, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, International Islamic University Malaysia and Yayasan FELDA has designed and constructed a solar assisted drying system at OPF FELDA Factory, Felda Bukit Sagu 2, Kuantan, Pahang. The drying system has a total of six double-pass solar collectors. Each collector has a length of 480 cm and a width of 120 cm. The first channel depth is 3.5 cm and the second channel depth is 7 cm. Longitudinal fins made of angle aluminium, 0.8 mm thickness were attached to the bottom surface of the absorber plate. The solar collectors are arranged as two banks of three collectors each in series. Internal manifold are used to connect the collectors. Air enters through the first channel and then through the second channel of the collector. An auxiliary heater source is installed to supply heat under unfavourable solar radiation condition. An on/off controller is used to control the startup and shutdown of the auxiliary heater. An outlet temperature of 70-75 °C can be achieved at solar radiation range of 800-900 W/m2 and flow rate of 0.12 kg/s. The average thermal efficiency of a solar collector is approximately 37%.

Solar energy captured by a curved collector designed for architectural integration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodríguez-Sánchez, D.; Belmonte, J.F.; Izquierdo-Barrientos, M.A.; Molina, A.E.; Rosengarten, G.; Almendros-Ibáñez, J.A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We present a new prototype of solar collector for architectural integration. • Equations of the solar radiation on a curved surface. • We compare the energy intercepted by the prototype with the energy intercepted by conventional collectors. • The prototype can be competitive compared with conventional collectors. - Abstract: In this paper we present a prototype for a new type of solar thermal collector designed for architectural integration. In this proposal, the conventional geometry of a flat solar thermal collector is changed to a curved geometry, to improve its visual impact when mounted on a building facade or roof. The mathematical equations for the beam and diffuse solar radiation received by a collector with this geometry are developed for two different orientations, horizontal and vertical. The performance of this curved prototype, in terms of solar radiation received, is compared with a conventional tilted-surface collector for different orientations in Madrid (Spain). The comparison is made for typical clear-sky days in winter and summer as well as for an entire year. The results demonstrate that the curved collector only receives between 12% and 25% less radiation than the conventional tilted-surface collectors when oriented horizontally, depending on the azimuth of the curved surface, although these percentages are reduced to approximately 50% when the collector is oriented vertically

Energy Analysis of Solar Collector With perforated Absorber Plate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ammar A. Farhan

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The thermal performance of three solar collectors with 3, 6 mm and without perforation absorber plate was assessed experimentally. The experimental tests were implemented in Baghdad during the January and February 2017. Five values of airflow rates range between 0.01 – 0.1 m3/s were used through the test with a constant airflow rate during the test day. The variation of the following parameters air temperature difference, useful energy, absorber plate temperature, and collector efficiency was recorded every 15 minutes. The experimental data reports that the increases the number of absorber plate perforations with a small diameter is more efficient rather than increasing the hole diameter of the absorber plate with decreasing the perforation numbers. Maximum air temperature difference throughout the solar collector with 3, 6 mm perforations and without perforations are 17, 15, and 12 oC, respectively. Also, it can be concluded that the energy gained from the solar collector with 3 mm perforation absorber plate is 28.2 % more than the energy gained from solar collector without holes per day for 0.1 m3/s airflow rate. The maximum values of the thermal performance curves are 0.67, 0.64, and 0.56 for the solar collector with 3, 6 mm, and without perforations, respectively.

Solar energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

This chapter discusses the role solar energy may have in the energy future of the US. The topics discussed in the chapter include the solar resource, solar architecture including passive solar design and solar collectors, solar-thermal concentrating systems including parabolic troughs and dishes and central receivers, photovoltaic cells including photovoltaic systems for home use, and environmental, health and safety issues

Efficiency of liquid flat-plate solar energy collector with solar tracking system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chekerovska Marija

2015-01-01

Full Text Available An extensive testing programme is performed on a solar collector experimental set-up, installed on a location in Shtip (Republic of Macedonia, latitude 41º 45’ and longitude 22º 12’, in order to investigate the effect of the sun tracking system implementation on the collector efficiency. The set-up consists of two flat plate solar collectors, one with a fixed surface tilted at 30о towards the South, and the other one equipped with dual-axis rotation system. The study includes development of a 3-D mathematical model of the collectors system and a numerical simulation programme, based on the computational fluid dynamics (CFD approach. The main aim of the mathematical modelling is to provide information on conduction, convection and radiation heat transfer, so as to simulate the heat transfer performances and the energy capture capabilities of the fixed and moving collectors in various operating modes. The feasibility of the proposed method was confirmed by experimental verification, showing significant increase of the daily energy capture by the moving collector, compared to the immobile collector unit. The comparative analysis demonstrates a good agreement between the experimental and numerically predicted results at different running conditions, which is a proof that the presented CFD modelling approach can be used for further investigations of different solar collectors configurations and flow schemes.

Standardized performance tests of collectors of solar thermal energy: A selectively coated, steel collector with one transparent cover

Science.gov (United States)

1976-01-01

Basic test results are presented of a flat-plate solar collector whose performance was determined in solar simulator. The collector was tested over ranges of inlet temperatures, fluxes and coolant flow rates. Collector efficiency was correlated in terms of inlet temperature and flux level.

Development of nonmetallic solar collector and solar-powered pump

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, J. C.

1979-01-01

Design and building of two unique components for solar heating (1. flatplate solar collector using no metal components, and 2. solar powered pump for heating and cooling systems are outlined in report. Report also discusses hardware, deliverable end items, problems encountered during fabrication and testing, and performance certification.

Design and experimental investigation of a stretched parabolic linear Fresnel reflector collecting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Yanqing; Shi, Jifu; Li, Yujian; Wang, Leilei; Huang, Qizhang; Xu, Gang

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A parabolic primary mirror field is designed to reduce the gap between adjacent mirrors. • The movable receiver can reduce the end losses. • The thermal efficiency of 66% is achieved at Guangzhou in winter. - Abstract: This paper proposes a stretched parabolic linear Fresnel reflector (SPLFR) collecting system. The primary optical mirror field of the SPLFR collecting system and the second-stage concentrator of compound parabolic collector are designed. The mirrors located at the parabolic line are close to each other, which effectively reduce the gap between the adjacent mirrors. The end losses of the receiver are very important, especially in a small-scale collecting system. A movable receiver is introduced for the reduction of the end losses. Moreover, a stretched structure of SPLFR is designed for wind resistance. Finally, the thermal performance of the SPLFR collecting system with fixed and movable receiver located in Guangzhou is tested. The maximum thermal efficiency obtained by this collecting system with movable receiver is 66% which avoid the end losses effectively, and the solar collector thermal loss coefficient is 1.32 W/m"2 °C. The results show that the SPLFR collecting system has excellent thermal performance and a promising application future. Meanwhile, this system will provide a valuable reference for concentrating solar power technology.

Parabolic Trough Solar Power for Competitive U.S. Markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, Henry W.

1998-01-01

Nine parabolic trough power plants located in the California Mojave Desert represent the only commercial development of large-scale solar power plants to date. Although all nine plants continue to operate today, no new solar power plants have been completed since 1990. Over the last several years, the parabolic trough industry has focused much of its efforts on international market opportunities. Although the power market in developing countries appears to offer a number of opportunities for parabolic trough technologies due to high growth and the availability of special financial incentives for renewables, these markets are also plagued with many difficulties for developers. In recent years, there has been some renewed interest in the U.S. domestic power market as a result of an emerging green market and green pricing incentives. Unfortunately, many of these market opportunities and incentives focus on smaller, more modular technologies (such as photovoltaics or wind power), and as a result they tend to exclude or are of minimum long-term benefit to large-scale concentrating solar power technologies. This paper looks at what is necessary for large-scale parabolic trough solar power plants to compete with state-of-the-art fossil power technology in a competitive U.S. power market

Recent advances in flat plate photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ibrahim, Adnan; Othman, Mohd Yusof; Ruslan, Mohd Hafidz; Mat, Sohif; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman [Solar Energy Research Institute Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor (Malaysia)

2011-01-15

Flat plate photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) solar collector produces both thermal energy and electricity simultaneously. This paper presents the state-of-the-art on flat plate PV/T collector classification, design and performance evaluation of water, air and combination of water and/or air based. This review also covers the future development of flat plate PV/T solar collector on building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) and building integrated photovoltaic/thermal (BIPVT) applications. Different designs feature and performance of flat plate PV/T solar collectors have been compared and discussed. Future research and development (R and D) works have been elaborated. The tube and sheet design is the simplest and easiest to be manufactured, even though, the efficiency is 2% lower compared to other types of collectors such as, channel, free flow and two-absorber. It is clear from the review that for both air and water based PV/T solar collectors, the important key factors that influenced the efficiency of the system are the area where the collector covered, the number of passes and the gap between the absorber collector and solar cells. From the literature review, it is obvious that the flat plate PV/T solar collector is an alternative promising system for low-energy applications in residential, industrial and commercial buildings. Other possible areas for the future works of BIPVT are also mentioned. (author)

Standardized performance tests of collectors of solar thermal energy - A flat-plate copper collector with parallel mylar striping

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, S. M.

1976-01-01

Basic test results are reported for a flat plate solar collector whose performance was determined in a solar simulator. The collector was tested over ranges of inlet temperatures, fluxes and one coolant flow rate. Collector efficiency is correlated in terms of inlet temperature and flux level.

Optimum selection of solar collectors for a solar-driven ejector air conditioning system by experimental and simulation study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Wei; Ma Xiaoli; Omer, S.A.; Riffat, S.B.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Three solar collectors have been compared to drive ejector air conditioning system. ► A simulation program was constructed to study the effect parameters. ► The outdoor test were conducted to validate the solar collector modeling. ► Simulation program was found to predict solar collector performance accurately. ► The optimal design of solar collector system was carried out. - Abstract: In this paper, three different solar collectors are selected to drive the solar ejector air conditioning system for Mediterranean climate. The performance of the three selected solar collector are evaluated by computer simulation and lab test. Computer model is incorporated with a set of heat balance equations being able to analyze heat transfer process occurring in separate regions of the collector. It is found simulation and test has a good agreement. By the analysis of the computer simulation and test result, the solar ejector cooling system using the evacuated tube collector with selective surface and high performance heat pipe can be most economical when operated at the optimum generating temperature of the ejector cooling machine.

Integrated collector storage solar water heater: Temperature stratification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garnier, C.; Currie, J.; Muneer, T.

2009-01-01

An analysis of the temperature stratification inside an Integrated Collector Storage Solar Water Heater (ICS-SWH) was carried out. The system takes the form of a rectangular-shaped box incorporating the solar collector and storage tank into a single unit and was optimised for simulation in Scottish weather conditions. A 3-month experimental study on the ICS-SWH was undertaken in order to provide empirical data for comparison with the computed results. Using a previously developed macro model; a number of improvements were made. The initial macro model was able to generate corresponding water bulk temperature in the collector with a given hourly incident solar radiation, ambient temperature and inlet water temperature and therefore able to predict ICS-SWH performance. The new model was able to compute the bulk water temperature variation in different SWH collectors for a given aspect ratio and the water temperature along the height of the collector (temperature stratification). Computed longitudinal temperature stratification results obtained were found to be in close agreement with the experimental data.

FLOW DISTRIBUTION IN A SOLAR COLLECTOR PANEL WITH HORIZONTAL ABSORBER STRIPS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fan, Jianhua; Shah, Louise Jivan; Furbo, Simon

2007-01-01

The objective of this work is to theoretically and experimentally investigate the flow and temperature distribution in a solar collector panel with an absorber consisting of horizontal strips. Fluid flow and heat transfer in the collector panel are studied by means of computational fluid dynamics...... (CFD) calculations. Further, experimental investigations of a 12.5 m² solar collector panel with 16 parallel connected horizontal fins are carried out. The flow distribution through the absorber is evaluated by means of temperature measurements on the backside of the absorber tubes. The measured...... collector fluid, and by increased collector tilt and inlet temperature, the flow distribution gets worse resulting in a decreased collector efficiency and an increased risk of boiling in the upper part of the collector panel. Keywords: Solar collector; Flow distribution; Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD...

Optimum tilt angle and orientation for solar collectors in Syria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skeiker, Kamal

2009-01-01

One of the important parameters that affect the performance of a solar collector is its tilt angle with the horizon. This is because of the variation of tilt angle changes the amount of solar radiation reaching the collector surface. A mathematical model was used for estimating the solar radiation on a tilted surface, and to determine the optimum tilt angle and orientation (surface azimuth angle) for the solar collector in the main Syrian zones, on a daily basis, as well as for a specific period. The optimum angle was computed by searching for the values for which the radiation on the collector surface is a maximum for a particular day or a specific period. The results reveal that changing the tilt angle 12 times in a year (i.e. using the monthly optimum tilt angle) maintains approximately the total amount of solar radiation near the maximum value that is found by changing the tilt angle daily to its optimum value. This achieves a yearly gain in solar radiation of approximately 30% more than the case of a solar collector fixed on a horizontal surface.

Solar thermal power: the seamless solar link to the conventional power world

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geyer, Michael; Quaschning, Volker

2000-01-01

This article focuses on solar thermal power generation and describes two solar thermal power concepts, namely, the parabolic trough or solar farm, and the solar central receiver or power tower. Details are given of grid-connected parabolic trough power plants in California and recent developments in collector design and absorber tubes, and the operation of power tower plants with different heat transfer media. Market issues are discussed, and solar thermal power projects under development, and application for support for solar thermal power projects under the Global Environment Facility's Operational Programme by Egypt, India, Iran, Mexico and Morocco are reported

Design and Development of a Solar Thermal Collector with Single Axis Solar Tracking Mechanism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theebhan Mogana

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The solar energy is a source of energy that is abundant in Malaysia and can be easily harvested. However, because of the rotation of the Earth about its axis, it is impossible to harvest the solar energy to the maximum capacity if the solar thermal collector is placed fix to a certain angle. In this research, a solar thermal dish with single axis solar tracking mechanism that will rotate the dish according to the position of the sun in the sky is designed and developed, so that more solar rays can be reflected to a focal point and solar thermal energy can be harvested from the focal point. Data were collected for different weather conditions and performance of the solar thermal collector with a solar tracker were studied and compared with stationary solar thermal collector.

ANALYSIS OF MEASURED AND MODELED SOLAR RADIATION AT THE TARS SOLAR HEATING PLANT IN DENMARK

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tian, Zhiyong; Perers, Bengt; Furbo, Simon

2017-01-01

, such as solar radiation, inlet and outlet temperature for the solar collector field, flow rate and pressure, ambient temperature, Wind speed and wind direction were measured. Global horizontal radiation, direct normal irradiation (DNI) and total radiation on the tilted collector plane of the flat plate...... collector field have been measured in Tars solar heating plant. To determine the accuracy of modeled and measured solar radiation in Tars solar heating plant, monthly comparisons of measured and calculated radiation using 6 empirical models have been carried out. Comparisons of measured and modeled total......A novel combined solar heating plant with tracking parabolic trough collectors (PTC) and flat plate collectors (FPC) has been constructed and put into operation in Tars, 30 km north of Aalborg, Denmark in August 2015. To assess the operation performance of the plant, detailed parameters...

Low temperature desalination using solar collectors augmented by thermal energy storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gude, Veera Gnaneswar; Nirmalakhandan, Nagamany; Deng, Shuguang; Maganti, Anand

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A new low temperature desalination process using solar collectors was investigated. ► A thermal energy storage tank (TES) was included for continuous process operation. ► Solar collector area and TES volumes were optimized by theoretical simulations. ► Economic analysis for the entire process was compared with and without TES tank. ► Energy and emission payback periods for the solar collector system were reported. -- Abstract: A low temperature desalination process capable of producing 100 L/d freshwater was designed to utilize solar energy harvested from flat plate solar collectors. Since solar insolation is intermittent, a thermal energy storage system was incorporated to run the desalination process round the clock. The requirements for solar collector area as well as thermal energy storage volume were estimated based on the variations in solar insolation. Results from this theoretical study confirm that thermal energy storage is a useful component of the system for conserving thermal energy to meet the energy demand when direct solar energy resource is not available. Thermodynamic advantages of the low temperature desalination using thermal energy storage, as well as energy and environmental emissions payback period of the system powered by flat plate solar collectors are presented. It has been determined that a solar collector area of 18 m 2 with a thermal energy storage volume of 3 m 3 is adequate to produce 100 L/d of freshwater round the clock considering fluctuations in the weather conditions. An economic analysis on the desalination system with thermal energy storage is also presented.

Dynamics and control of a solar collector system for near Earth object deflection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong Shenping; Li Junfeng; Gao Yunfeng

2011-01-01

A solar collector system is a possible method using solar energy to deflect Earth-threatening near-Earth objects. We investigate the dynamics and control of a solar collector system including a main collector (MC) and secondary collector (SC). The MC is used to collect the sunlight to its focal point, where the SC is placed and directs the collected light to an asteroid. Both the relative position and attitude of the two collectors should be accurately controlled to achieve the desired optical path. First, the dynamical equation of the relative motion of the two collectors in the vicinity of the asteroid is modeled. Secondly, the nonlinear sliding-mode method is employed to design a control law to achieve the desired configuration of the two collectors. Finally, the deflection capability of this solar collector system is compared with those of the gravitational tractor and solar sail gravitational tractor. The results show that the solar collector is much more efficient with respect to deflection capability.

Installation package for concentrating solar collector panels

Science.gov (United States)

1978-01-01

The concentrating solar collector panels comprise a complete package array consisting of collector panels using modified Fresnel prismatic lenses for a 10 to 1 concentrating ratio, supporting framework, fluid manifolding and tracking drive system, and unassembled components for field erection.

Thermal analysis of a solar collector consisting of V cavities for water heating; Analise termica de um coletor solar composto de cavidades V para aquecimento de agua

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moreira, Michel Fabio de Souza

2009-03-15

The solar water heating is carried through, in Brazil, by means of solar heaters compound for collectors flat plate of the type plate-and-pipes, devices that operate in stationary position and they do not require tracking of the sun. A compound collector for some formed V-trough concentrators can be an alternative to the conventional solar collectors flat plate. This compound collector for V-trough is considered, each one, for side-walls which are specularly reflecting surfaces associates in V (equivalent to a triangular gutter). Next to the vertex to each V-trough concentrators an absorber tube is fixed, for flow of the fluid to be heated. Interconnection of the absorbers tubes forms a similar tubular network existing in solar collectors of the type the plate and pipe. V-trough concentrators with the absorbers tubes are made use in series in the interior a prismatic box, which have one of its faces consisting by a glass covering and directed toward incidence of the solar radiation. An analysis of thermal performance of these devices operating stationary and without tracking of the sun is researched. A mathematical model for the computational simulation of the optical and thermal performance of these concentrative devices is elaborated, whose implementation was carried through software EES (Engineering Equation Solver). The efficiency optics of V-trough concentrators with cylindrical absorbers is calculated from the adaptation of the methodology used for Fraidenraich (1994), proposal for Hollands (1971) for V-trough cavities with plain absorbers. The thermal analysis of the considered collector was based on the applied methodology the CPC for Hsieh (1981) and Leao (1989). Relative results to the thermal performance of V-trough concentrators suggest that these configurations are not competitive, technique and economically, with the conventional plain collectors. Although some geometric configurations presented next thermal efficiencies to the conventional plain

Comparative study of solar cooling systems with building-integrated solar collectors for use in sub-tropical regions like Hong Kong

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fong, K.F.; Lee, C.K.; Chow, T.T.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Performance of building-integrated solar collectors analyzed. ► Comparisons made with solar collectors installed on roof. ► Use of building-integrated solar collectors increased the total primary consumption. ► Reduction in the building load could not compensate drop in solar collector output. ► Building-integrated solar collectors only used when roof space insufficient. -- Abstract: The performance of solar cooling systems with building-integrated (BI) solar collectors was simulated and the results compared with those having the solar collectors installed conventionally on the roof based on the weather data in Hong Kong. Two types of solar collectors and the corresponding cooling systems, namely the flat-plate collectors for absorption refrigeration and the PV panels for DC-driven vapour compression refrigeration, were used in the analysis. It was found that in both cases, the adoption of BI solar collectors resulted in a lower solar fraction (SF) and consequently a higher primary energy consumption even though the zone loads were reduced. The reduction in SF was more pronounced in the peak load season when the solar radiation was nearly parallel to the solar collector surfaces during the daytimes, especially for those facing the south direction. Indeed, there were no outputs from the BI flat-plate collectors facing the south direction between May and July. The more severe deterioration in the system performance with the BI flat-plate type collectors made them technically infeasible in terms of the energy-saving potential. It was concluded that the use of BI solar collectors in solar cooling systems should be restricted only to situations where the availability of the roof was limited or insufficient when applied in sub-tropical regions like Hong Kong.

Solar collectors and heat pump: Market review and preliminary simulation results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tepe, Rainer; Roennelid, Mats

2002-01-01

Heating systems that combine solar collectors and a heat pump available on the market in Sweden have been studied. A majority of the systems found combine the solar collectors with a ground source heat pump. The technology for combining the collectors and the heat pump does however vary considerably. In the most simple systems, the collectors heat the return water from the heat pump, i.e. the collectors are used for raising the temperature in the boreholes for the heat pump. In the advanced systems, the solar heat is used for tap water, space heating and for raising the temperature of the heat pump's evaporator. There exist only very few comparative evaluations of the contributions from solar collectors in heat pump systems, and there is a need for finding the potential for this technique. In the present study, results are reported from preliminary simulations of solar collectors and ground source heat pumps installed in one-family houses. Simulations are made for two heating loads: 8,650 and 16,500 kWh/year resp., and a hot water load of 3,000 kWh/year. The study shows that: the temperature of the borehole decreases when solar collectors are not used (about 1.2 deg C in three years): 8 m 2 glazed solar collectors used for hot water production can reduce the electricity consumption with up to 13%, with best results in the house with low heating load: 50 m 2 unglazed solar collectors coupled to the evaporator or the borehole can give reductions of up to 14%, largest reduction in the house with high heating load, where the heat extraction from the borehole is large: the unglazed collectors have the highest economic potential, and can be cost effective for houses with high heating load: the simulations do not include a thorough system optimization, better results can be expected from continued optimization work

Standardized performance tests of collectors of solar thermal energy: Prototype moderately concentrating grooved collectors

Science.gov (United States)

1976-01-01

Prototypes of moderately concentrating grooved collectors were tested with a solar simulator for varying inlet temperature, flux level, and incident angle. Collector performance is correlated in terms of inlet temperature and flux level.

Performance of solar collectors under low temperature conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bunea, Mircea; Eicher, Sara; Hildbrand, Catherine

The performance of four solar thermal collectors (flat plate, evacuated tube, unglazed with rear insulation and unglazed without rear insulation) was experimentally measured and simulated for temperatures below ambient. The influence of several parameters (e.g. collector inlet temperature, air...... evaluated and results compared to experimental measurements. A mathematical model is also under development to include, in addition to the condensation phenomena, the frost, the rain and the long-wave radiation gains/losses on the rear of the solar collector. While the potential gain from rain was estimated...... to be around 2%, frost heat gains were measured to be up to 40% per day, under specific conditions. Overall, results have shown that unglazed collectors are more efficient than flat plate or evacuated tube collectors at low operation temperatures or for night conditions, making them more suitable for heat pump...

Evaluation of a tracking flat-plate solar collector in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maia, Cristiana B.; Ferreira, André G.; Hanriot, Sérgio M.

2014-01-01

The continuing research for an alternative power source due to the perceived scarcity of fuel fossils has, in recent years, given solar energy a remarkable edge. Nevertheless, the Earth's daily and seasonal movement affects the intensity of the incident solar radiation. Devices can track the sun in order to ensure optimum positions with regard to incident solar radiation, maximizing the absorbed solar energy, and the useful energy gain. In this paper, a mathematical model is developed to estimate the solar radiation absorbed, the useful energy gain, and the efficiency of a flat-plate solar collector in Brazil. The results for a sun tracking flat-plate solar collector were compared to fixed devices. The full tracking system with rotation about two axes presented higher absorbed energy, when compared to the rotation about a single axe and to a fixed collector. Also, it was shown that the tilt angle for a fixed solar collector does not cause significant variations in the useful energy gain or in the absorbed solar radiation, for the same azimuth angle. - Highlights: • A model was developed for solar radiation based on experimental data for K T . • Useful energy gain and efficiency of a flat-plate solar collector were evaluated for a one-year period. • Several sun tracking systems were compared to fixed devices. • Tilt angle for a fixed device does not significantly affect the useful energy gain

Economical judge possibility uses solar collectors to warm service water and heating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lívia Bodonská

2006-09-01

Full Text Available The sun-heated water has been used from before fossil fuels started to determine the direction of our power consumption. This article is focused on the assessing of the use of solar energy as one of inexhaustible resources that has multiple uses, including hot water service systems. Heating is rendered through solar collectors that permit to transform solar energy to warm water. We divide solar collectors into various groups but in principle they are medium temperature collectors and low temperature collectors. The work is directed also on the solar collector market. In our case the market is just at its initial stage as this technology is little known and costs of collectors are rather high, compared to our conditions, on average, they may grow up to 100,000 Slovac crowns per a family house. Because it is the only investment and the costs of operation are minimum throughout the entire collectors lifetime, from the economic point of view, it is a rather advantageous investment. Solar collectors are used in heating and also in hot service water systems in family houses, where they permit to lower costs for the consumption of many kinds of energies. In the hot service water system, solar collectors permit to lower the consumption by almost 70 %. This way of using the solar energy is very prospective and in future it will be used in various sectors

Optical losses due to tracking on solar thermal collectors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sallaberry, Fabienne; Pujol-Nadal, Ramn; Peres, Bengt

2017-01-01

For a wide range of operational temperatures, the solar thermal collectors can use optical concentration systems to optimize their efficiency. However, as optical concentration relies on direct solar radiation, it is necessary to use a solar tracker following the sun direction to maximize...... the amount of useful solar radiation received. The selection of the appropriate tracking systems matching the optical concentration factor is essential to achieve optimal collector efficiency. Otherwise, the concentrator would experience high optical losses due to the inadequate focusing of the direct solar...... radiation onto its receiver, regardless of its quality. This paper gives the state-of-the-art of the methodologies available to characterize the tracking error of a concentrating collector, a summary of different previous studies done in this subject and of the standardization regarding the tracking...

Low-cost small scale parabolic trough collector design for manufacturing and deployment in Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Orosz, Matthew; Mathaha, Paul; Tsiu, Anadola; Taele, B. M.; Mabea, Lengeta; Ntee, Marcel; Khakanyo, Makoanyane; Teker, Tamer; Stephens, Jordan; Mueller, Amy

2016-05-01

Concentrating Solar Power is expanding its deployment on the African subcontinent, highlighting the importance of efforts to indigenize manufacturing of this technology to increase local content and therefore local economic benefits of these projects. In this study a design for manufacturing (DFM) exercise was conducted to create a locally produced parabolic trough collector (the G4 PTC). All parts were sourced or fabricated at a production facility in Lesotho, and several examples of the design were prototyped and tested with collaborators in the Government of Lesotho's Appropriate Technology Services division and the National University of Lesotho. Optical and thermal performance was simulated and experimentally validated, and pedagogical pre-commercial versions of the PTC have been distributed to higher education partners in Lesotho and Europe. The cost to produce the PTC is 180 USD/m2 for a locally manufactured heat collection element (HCE) capable of sustaining 250C operation at ~65% efficiency. A version with an imported evacuated HCE can operate at 300°C with 70% efficiency. Economically relevant applications for this locally produced PTC include industrial process heat and distributed generation scenarios where cogeneration is required.

Mathematical Modeling of Dual Intake Transparent Transpired Solar Collector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Semenou

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, in several types of commercial or institutional buildings, a significant rise of transpired solar collectors used to preheat the fresh air of the building can be observed. Nevertheless, when the air mass flow rate is low, the collector efficiency collapses and a large amount of energy remains unused. This paper presents a simple yet effective mathematical model of a transparent transpired solar collector (TTC with dual intake in order to remove stagnation problems in the plenum and ensure a better thermal efficiency and more heat recovery. A thermal model and a pressure loss model were developed. Then, the combined model was validated with experimental data from the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC. The results show that the collector efficiency can be up to 70% and even 80% regardless of operating conditions. The temperature gain is able to reach 20°K when the solar irradiation is high.

Effect of Installation of Solar Collector on Performance of Balcony Split Type Solar Water Heaters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Ji

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The influences of surface orientation and slope of solar collectors on solar radiation collection of balcony split type solar water heaters for six cities in China were analyzed by employing software TRNSYS. The surface azimuth had greater effect on solar radiation collection in high latitude regions. For deviation of the surface slope angle within ±20° around the optimized angle, the variation of the total annual collecting solar radiation was less than 5%. However, with deviation of 70° to 90°, the variation was up to 20%. The effects of water cycle mode, reverse slope placement of solar collector, and water tank installation height on system efficiency were experimentally studied. The thermal efficiencies of solar water heater with single row horizontal arrangement all-glass evacuated tubular collector were higher than those with vertical arrangement at the fixed surface slope angle of 90°. Compared with solar water heaters with flat-plate collector under natural circulation, the system thermal efficiency was raised up to 63% under forced circulation. For collector at reverse slope placement, the temperature-based water stratification in water tank deteriorated, and thus the thermal efficiency became low. For improving the system efficiency, an appropriate installation height of the water tank was suggested.

Flow distribution in a solar collector panel with horizontally inclined absorber strips

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fan, Jianhua; Shah, Louise Jivan; Furbo, Simon

2007-01-01

The objective of this work is to theoretically and experimentally investigate the flow and temperature distribution in a solar collector panel with an absorber consisting of horizontally inclined strips. Fluid flow and heat transfer in the collector panel are studied by means of computational fluid...... dynamics (CFD) calculations. Further, experimental investigations of a 12.5 m(2) solar collector panel with 16 parallel connected horizontal fins are carried out. The flow distribution through the absorber is evaluated by means of temperature measurements on the backside of the absorber tubes. The measured...... rate, properties of solar collector fluid, solar collector fluid inlet temperature and collector tilt angle are shown. The flow distribution through the absorber fins is uniform if high flow rates are used. By decreased flow rate and decreased content of glycol in the glycol/water mixture used as solar...

Carbon dioxide as working fluid for medium and high-temperature concentrated solar thermal systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Van Duong

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the benefits and drawbacks of using carbon dioxide in solar thermal systems at medium and high operating temperatures. For medium temperatures, application of CO2 in non-imaging-optics based compound parabolic concentrators (CPC combined with evacuated-tube collectors is studied. These collectors have been shown to obtain efficiencies higher than 40% operating at around 200℃ without the need of tracking. Validated numerical models of external compound parabolic concentrators (XCPCs are used to simulate their performance using CO2 as working fluid. For higher temperatures, a mathematical model is implemented to analyze the operating performance of a parabolic trough solar collector (PTC using CO2 at temperatures between 100℃ and 600℃.

Standardized performance tests of collectors of solar thermal energy: An evacuated flatplate copper collector with a serpentine flow distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, S. M.

1976-01-01

Basic test results are given for a flat plate solar collector whose performance was determined in the NASA-Lewis solar simulator. The collector was tested over ranges of inlet temperatures, fluxes and one coolant flow rate. Collector efficiency is correlated in terms of inlet temperature and flux level.

Compact high-flux two-stage solar collectors based on tailored edge-ray concentrators

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Robert P.; Gordon, Jeffrey M.; Ries, Harald

1995-08-01

Using the recently-invented tailored edge-ray concentrator (TERC) approach for the design of compact two-stage high-flux solar collectors--a focusing primary reflector and a nonimaging TERC secondary reflector--we present: 1) a new primary reflector shape based on the TERC approach and a secondary TERC tailored to its particular flux map, such that more compact concentrators emerge at flux concentration levels in excess of 90% of the thermodynamic limit; and 2) calculations and raytrace simulations result which demonstrate the V-cone approximations to a wide variety of TERCs attain the concentration of the TERC to within a few percent, and hence represent practical secondary concentrators that may be superior to corresponding compound parabolic concentrator or trumpet secondaries.

Optimization of flat-plate solar energy heat pipe collector parameters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vasiliev, L L; Garakovich, L P; Khrustalev, D K

1984-01-01

Performance characteristics of flat solar energy collectors with heat pipes have been analysed with regard to various parameters. Their advantages are discussed. The use of heat pipes in solar energy collectors is proved to be efficient.

Numerical characterisation of one-step and three-step solar air heating collectors used for cocoa bean solar drying.

Science.gov (United States)

Orbegoso, Elder Mendoza; Saavedra, Rafael; Marcelo, Daniel; La Madrid, Raúl

2017-12-01

In the northern coastal and jungle areas of Peru, cocoa beans are dried using artisan methods, such as direct exposure to sunlight. This traditional process is time intensive, leading to a reduction in productivity and, therefore, delays in delivery times. The present study was intended to numerically characterise the thermal behaviour of three configurations of solar air heating collectors in order to determine which demonstrated the best thermal performance under several controlled operating conditions. For this purpose, a computational fluid dynamics model was developed to describe the simultaneous convective and radiative heat transfer phenomena under several operation conditions. The constructed computational fluid dynamics model was firstly validated through comparison with the data measurements of a one-step solar air heating collector. We then simulated two further three-step solar air heating collectors in order to identify which demonstrated the best thermal performance in terms of outlet air temperature and thermal efficiency. The numerical results show that under the same solar irradiation area of exposition and operating conditions, the three-step solar air heating collector with the collector plate mounted between the second and third channels was 67% more thermally efficient compared to the one-step solar air heating collector. This is because the air exposition with the surface of the collector plate for the three-step solar air heating collector former device was twice than the one-step solar air heating collector. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy, economic and environmental analysis of metal oxides nanofluid for flat-plate solar collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faizal, M.; Saidur, R.; Mekhilef, S.; Alim, M.A.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • By using nanofluid, smaller and compact solar collector can be produced. • The average value of 220 MJ embodied energy can be saved. • The payback period of using nanofluid solar collector is around 2.4 years. • Around 170 kg less CO 2 emissions in average for nanofluid solar collector. • Environmental damage cost is lower with the nanofluid based solar collector. - Abstract: For a solar thermal system, increasing the heat transfer area can increase the output temperature of the system. However, this approach leads to a bigger and bulkier collector. It will then increase the cost and energy needed to manufacture the solar collector. This study is carried out to estimate the potential to design a smaller solar collector that can produce the same desired output temperature. This is possible by using nanofluid as working fluid. By using numerical methods and data from literatures, efficiency, size reduction, cost and embodied energy savings are calculated for various nanofluids. From the study, it was estimated that 10,239 kg, 8625 kg, 8857 kg and 8618 kg total weight for 1000 units of solar collectors can be saved for CuO, SiO 2 , TiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 nanofluid respectively. The average value of 220 MJ embodied energy can be saved for each collector, 2.4 years payback period can be achieved and around 170 kg less CO 2 emissions in average can be offset for the nanofluid based solar collector compared to a conventional solar collector. Finally, the environmental damage cost can also be reduced with the nanofluid based solar collector

Experimental study on a solar air heater with various perforated covers

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Raheleh Nowzari

2017-08-08

Aug 8, 2017 ... ... counter-flow collectors. The average efficiencies of the double-pass solar collector with ...... and thermal performance of a three-dimensional compound parabolic concentrator for spherical absorber. Sadhana—. Acad. Proc.

Modeling the photocatalytic mineralization in water of commercial formulation of estrogens 17-β estradiol (E2) and nomegestrol acetate in contraceptive pills in a solar powered compound parabolic collector.

Science.gov (United States)

Colina-Márquez, José; Machuca-Martínez, Fiderman; Li Puma, Gianluca

2015-07-22

Endocrine disruptors in water are contaminants of emerging concern due to the potential risks they pose to the environment and to the aquatic ecosystems. In this study, a solar photocatalytic treatment process in a pilot-scale compound parabolic collector (CPC) was used to remove commercial estradiol formulations (17-β estradiol and nomegestrol acetate) from water. Photolysis alone degraded up to 50% of estradiol and removed 11% of the total organic carbon (TOC). In contrast, solar photocatalysis degraded up to 57% of estrogens and the TOC removal was 31%, with 0.6 g/L of catalyst load (TiO2 Aeroxide P-25) and 213.6 ppm of TOC as initial concentration of the commercial estradiols formulation. The adsorption of estrogens over the catalyst was insignificant and was modeled by the Langmuir isotherm. The TOC removal via photocatalysis in the photoreactor was modeled considering the reactor fluid-dynamics, the radiation field, the estrogens mass balance, and a modified Langmuir-Hinshelwood rate law, that was expressed in terms of the rate of photon adsorption. The optimum removal of the estrogens and TOC was achieved at a catalyst concentration of 0.4 g/L in 29 mm diameter tubular CPC reactors which approached the optimum catalyst concentration and optical thickness determined from the modeling of the absorption of solar radiation in the CPC, by the six-flux absorption-scattering model (SFM).

Modeling the Photocatalytic Mineralization in Water of Commercial Formulation of Estrogens 17-β Estradiol (E2 and Nomegestrol Acetate in Contraceptive Pills in a Solar Powered Compound Parabolic Collector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Colina-Márquez

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Endocrine disruptors in water are contaminants of emerging concern due to the potential risks they pose to the environment and to the aquatic ecosystems. In this study, a solar photocatalytic treatment process in a pilot-scale compound parabolic collector (CPC was used to remove commercial estradiol formulations (17-β estradiol and nomegestrol acetate from water. Photolysis alone degraded up to 50% of estradiol and removed 11% of the total organic carbon (TOC. In contrast, solar photocatalysis degraded up to 57% of estrogens and the TOC removal was 31%, with 0.6 g/L of catalyst load (TiO2 Aeroxide P-25 and 213.6 ppm of TOC as initial concentration of the commercial estradiols formulation. The adsorption of estrogens over the catalyst was insignificant and was modeled by the Langmuir isotherm. The TOC removal via photocatalysis in the photoreactor was modeled considering the reactor fluid-dynamics, the radiation field, the estrogens mass balance, and a modified Langmuir–Hinshelwood rate law, that was expressed in terms of the rate of photon adsorption. The optimum removal of the estrogens and TOC was achieved at a catalyst concentration of 0.4 g/L in 29 mm diameter tubular CPC reactors which approached the optimum catalyst concentration and optical thickness determined from the modeling of the absorption of solar radiation in the CPC, by the six-flux absorption-scattering model (SFM.

Optimum Settings for a Compound Parabolic Concentrator with Wings Providing Increased Duration of Effective Temperature for Solar-Driven Systems: A Case Study for Tokyo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Umair

2013-12-01

Full Text Available We designed a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC with wings angled toward the east and west. Normally, solar collectors are straight, facing south, and the effective temperature is only achieved for a short period of time at midday. In the proposed design, the collector is divided into three parts, with the ends angled and tilted at different orientations. The objective was to increase the duration of the effective temperature period by capturing the maximum solar energy in the morning and afternoon without tracking by the collector. A simulation model was developed to evaluate the performance of the proposed CPC. The tilt and bending angles of the CPC wings were optimized for year-round operation in Tokyo, Japan. A 35° tilt for the south-facing central part of the CPC and a 45° tilt for the wings with 50° angles toward the east and west were found to be optimal. Analyses were conducted at these optimum settings with temperatures of 70, 80, and 90 °C as minimum requirements. The effective duration increased by up to 2 h in the winter and up to 2.53 h in the summer using the proposed CPC. The proposed CPC will improve the efficiency of solar-driven systems by providing useful heat for longer periods of time with the same collector length and without the need for tracking.

The 1-kW solar Stirling experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Giandomenico, A.

1981-01-01

The objective of this experiment was to demonstrate electrical power generation using a small free-piston Stirling engine and linear alternator in conjunction with a parabolic solar collector. A test bed collector, formerly used at the JPL Table Mountain Observatory, was renovated and used to obtain practical experience and to determine test receiver performance. The collector was mounted on a two-axis tracker, with a cold water calorimeter mounted on the collector to measure its efficiency, while a separate, independently tracking radiometer was used to measure solar insolation. The solar receiver was designed to absorb energy from the collector, then transfer the resulting thermal energy to the Stirling engine. Successful testing of receiver/collector assembly yielded valuable inputs for design of the Stirling engine heater head.

Comparison of thermal solar collector technologies and their applications

OpenAIRE

Alarcón Villamil, Alexander; Hortúa, Jairo Eduardo; López, Andrea

2013-01-01

This paper presents the operation of different thermal solar collector technologies and their main characteristics. It starts by providing a brief description of the importance of using solar collectors as an alternative to reduce the environmental impact caused by the production of non-renewable sources like coal and oil. Subsequently, it focuses on each solar concentrator technology and finishes with a theoretical analysis hub application in different industrial processes. En este artícu...

Next Generation Solar Collectors for CSP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Molnar, Attila [3M Company, St. Paul, MN (United States); Charles, Ruth [3M Company, St. Paul, MN (United States)

2014-07-31

The intent of “Next Generation Solar Collectors for CSP” program was to develop key technology elements for collectors in Phase 1 (Budget Period 1), design these elements in Phase 2 (Budget Period 2) and to deploy and test the final collector in Phase 3 (Budget Period 3). 3M and DOE mutually agreed to terminate the program at the end of Budget Period 1, primarily due to timeline issues. However, significant advancements were achieved in developing a next generation reflective material and panel that has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of CSP systems.

Qualification test and analysis report: solar collectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-12-01

Test results show that the Owens-Illinois Sunpak/sup TM/ Model SEC 601 air-cooled collector meets the national standards and codes as defined in the Subsystem Performance Specification and Verification Plan of NASA/MSFC Contract NAS8-32259, dated October 28, 1976. The architectural and engineering firm of Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, Detroit, Michigan, acted in the capacity of the independent certification agency. The program calls for the development, fabrication, qualification and delivery of an air-liquid solar collector for solar heating, combined heating and cooling, and/or hot water systems.

Alternative energy technologies for private households - diffusion of solar collector systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krusche, H

1979-01-01

The study gives an estimate of the market potential for solar collectors in the Federal Republic of Germany and reports the results of a survey of first generation private users. It shows that these first users of solar collectors have social and personal charactristics similar to innovators in other areas as described in adoption and diffusion research. Compared with the average houseowner, first users of solar collectors tend to be younger, earn more and be better educated; to be professionally involved with building and heating and have some technical training; to be active information seekers and media users; to be socially active and well-integrated; to actively promote further diffusion of solar collectors. The study also shows that solar collectors are used for the purpose of room heating to an unexpectedly high degree; that the level of satisfaction with appliances and service is unexpectedly high and that the social environment of first users shows very little resistance to the introduction of solar collectors. Finally, it is shown that first users are more ecologically conscious than the average houseowner. The majority of first users attributes their decision to adopt solar technology to a lesser degree or at least not more than equally to economic-technical considerations than to ecological considerations. First users are generally fascinated by technically sweet consumption goods and can be characterized as technical optimists in their outlook on the future. Conclusions for social marketing of solar technology for the private household are drawn.

Performance and cost benefits analysis of double-pass solar collector with and without fins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fudholi, Ahmad; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman; Ruslan, Mohd Hafidz; Othman, Mohd Yusof

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The thermal performances and cost analysis of the double-pass solar collector with and without fins absorber were discussed. • The theoretical and experimental study on the double-pass solar air collector with and without fins absorber was conducted. • The ratio of AC/AEG or the cost benefit ratio was presented. • The double-pass solar collector with fins absorber is more cost-effective compared to without fins absorber. - Abstract: The performance and cost benefit analysis of double-pass solar collector with and without fins have been conducted. The theoretical model using steady state analysis has been developed and compared with the experimental results. The performance curves of the double-pass solar collector with and without fins, which included the effects of mass flow rate and solar intensity on the thermal efficiency of the solar collector, were obtained. Results indicated that the thermal efficiency is proportional to the solar intensity at a specific mass flow rate. The thermal efficiency increased by 9% at a solar intensity of 425–790 W/m 2 and mass flow rate of 0.09 kg/s. The theoretical and experimental analysis showed a similar trend as well as close agreement. Moreover, a cost-effectiveness model has been developed examine the cost benefit ratio of double-pass solar collector with and without fins. Evaluation of the annual cost (AC) and the annual energy gain (AEG) of the collector were also performed. The results show that the double-pass solar collector with fins is more cost-effective compared to the double-pass solar collector without fins for mass flow rate of 0.01–0.07 kg/s. Also, simulations were obtained for the double-pass solar collector with fins at Nusselt number of 5.42–36.21. The energy efficiency of collector increases with the increase of Nusselt number. The results show that by increasing the Nusselt number simultaneously would drop the outlet temperature at any solar intensity. Increase in Nusselt number

Standardized performance tests of collectors of solar thermal energy-a flat-plate collector with a single-tube serpentine flow distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, S.

1976-01-01

This preliminary data report gives basic test results of a flat-plate solar collector whose performance was determined in the NASA-Lewis solar simulator. The collector was tested over ranges of inlet temperatures, fluxes and coolant flow rates. Collector efficienty is correlated in terms of inlet temperature and flux level.

Evaluation of initial collector field performance at the Langley Solar Building Test Facility

Science.gov (United States)

Boyle, R. J.; Knoll, R. H.; Jensen, R. N.

1977-01-01

The thermal performance of the solar collector field for the NASA Langley Solar Building Test Facility is given for October 1976 through January 1977. An 1180 square meter solar collector field with seven collector designs helped to provide hot water for the building heating system and absorption air conditioner. The collectors were arranged in 12 rows with nominally 51 collectors per row. Heat transfer rates for each row are calculated and recorded along with sensor, insolation, and weather data every 5 minutes using a mini-computer. The agreement between the experimental and predicted collector efficiencies was generally within five percentage points.

Theoretical analysis to investigate thermal performance of co-axial heat pipe solar collector

Science.gov (United States)

Azad, E.

2011-12-01

The thermal performance of co-axial heat pipe solar collector which consist of a collector 15 co-axial heat pipes surrounded by a transparent envelope and which heat a fluid flowing through the condenser tubes have been predicted using heat transfer analytical methods. The analysis considers conductive and convective losses and energy transferred to a fluid flowing through the collector condenser tubes. The thermal performances of co-axial heat pipe solar collector is developed and are used to determine the collector efficiency, which is defined as the ratio of heat taken from the water flowing in the condenser tube and the solar radiation striking the collector absorber. The theoretical water outlet temperature and efficiency are compared with experimental results and it shows good agreement between them. The main advantage of this collector is that inclination of collector does not have influence on performance of co-axial heat pipe solar collector therefore it can be positioned at any angle from horizontal to vertical. In high building where the roof area is not enough the co-axial heat pipe solar collectors can be installed on the roof as well as wall of the building. The other advantage is each heat pipe can be topologically disconnected from the manifold.

Theoretical analysis to investigate thermal performance of co-axial heat pipe solar collector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Azad, E. [Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Advanced Materials and Renewable Energy Department, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2011-12-15

The thermal performance of co-axial heat pipe solar collector which consist of a collector 15 co-axial heat pipes surrounded by a transparent envelope and which heat a fluid flowing through the condenser tubes have been predicted using heat transfer analytical methods. The analysis considers conductive and convective losses and energy transferred to a fluid flowing through the collector condenser tubes. The thermal performances of co-axial heat pipe solar collector is developed and are used to determine the collector efficiency, which is defined as the ratio of heat taken from the water flowing in the condenser tube and the solar radiation striking the collector absorber. The theoretical water outlet temperature and efficiency are compared with experimental results and it shows good agreement between them. The main advantage of this collector is that inclination of collector does not have influence on performance of co-axial heat pipe solar collector therefore it can be positioned at any angle from horizontal to vertical. In high building where the roof area is not enough the co-axial heat pipe solar collectors can be installed on the roof as well as wall of the building. The other advantage is each heat pipe can be topologically disconnected from the manifold. (orig.)

Daily efficiency of flat-plate solar air collectors for grain drying

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ting, K.C.; Shove, G.C.

1983-01-01

Single cover flat-plate solar collectors incorporated into walls and roofs of farm buildings have been used to heat ambient air for low temperature grain drying systems. Large surface area and high airflow rate are common features of these collectors. The drying period may range from several days to several weeks. Therefore, a knowledge of the variations of the collectors' daily efficiencies with respect to their design parameters would be helpful in applying solar collectors to grain drying. The objective of this study was to develop a simpler means of direct calculation of a collector's daily efficiency based on its design parameters. Many factors, such as configuration of the collector, airflow rate, weather conditions, etc. will affect the performance of solar collectors. A large number of varied conditions need to be tested in order to investigate the effect of different parameters on the collector performance. To facilitate this investigation, a computer simulation model developed by Ting was used to calculate the daily efficiencies of collectors under different operating conditions. The computer model was verified by Morrison's experimental data. Based on the simulation results, a functional relationship was developed between the daily efficiencies of collectors and their design parameters.

A solar air collector with integrated latent heat thermal storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klimes Lubomir

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Simulations of the behaviour of a solar air collector with integrated latent heat thermal storage were performed. The model of the collector was created with the use of coupling between TRNSYS 17 and MATLAB. Latent heat storage (Phase Change Material - PCM was integrated with the solar absorber. The model of the latent heat storage absorber was created in MATLAB and the model of the solar air collector itself was created in TRNSYS with the use of TYPE 56. The model of the latent heat storage absorber allows specification of the PCM properties as well as other parameters. The simulated air collector was the front and back pass collector with the absorber in the middle of the air cavity. Two variants were considered for comparison; the light-weight absorber made of sheet metal and the heat-storage absorber with the PCM. Simulations were performed for the climatic conditions of the Czech Republic (using TMY weather data.

Building a parabolic solar concentrator prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Escobar-Romero, J F M; Montiel, S Vazquez y; Granados-AgustIn, F; Rodriguez-Rivera, E; Martinez-Yanez, L; Cruz-Martinez, V M

2011-01-01

In order to not further degrade the environment, people have been seeking to replace non-renewable natural resources such as fossil fuels by developing technologies that are based on renewable resources. An example of these technologies is solar energy. In this paper, we show the building and test of a solar parabolic concentrator as a prototype for the production of steam that can be coupled to a turbine to generate electricity or a steam engine in any particular industrial process.

Energy analysis and improvement potential of finned double-pass solar collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fudholi, Ahmad; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman; Othman, Mohd Yusof; Ruslan, Mohd Hafidz; Bakhtyar, B.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The developed steady state model predicting the thermal performance of double-pass solar collectors is presented. • The main objective of this paper is to analyze the energy and exergy of finned double-pass solar collector. • A new mathematical model, solution procedure, and test results are presented. • The thermal performances and improvement potential of the double-pass solar collectors are discussed. - Abstract: Steady state energy balance equations for the finned double-pass solar collector have been developed. These equations were solved using the matrix inversion method. The predicted results were in agreement with the results obtained from the experiments. The predictions and experiments were observed at the mass flow rate ranging between 0.03 kg/s and 0.1 kg/s, and solar radiation ranging between 400 W/m 2 and 800 W/m 2 . The effects of mass flow rates and solar radiation levels on energy efficiency, exergy efficiency and the improvement potential have been observed. The optimum energy efficiency is approximately 77%, which was observed at the mass flow rate of 0.09 kg/s. The optical efficiency of the finned double-pass solar collector is approximately 70–80%. The exergy efficiency is approximately 15–28% and improvement potential of 740–1070 W for a solar radiation of 425–790 W/m 2

Modeling Heat Flow In a Calorimeter Equipped With a Textured Solar Collector

Science.gov (United States)

Jaworske, Donald A.; Allen, Bradley J.

2001-01-01

Heat engines are being considered for generating electric power for minisatellite applications, particularly for those missions in high radiation threat orbits. To achieve this objective, solar energy must be collected and transported to the hot side of the heat engine. A solar collector is needed having the combined properties of high solar absorptance, low infrared emittance, and high thermal conductivity. To test candidate solar collector concepts, a simple calorimeter was designed, manufactured, and installed in a bench top vacuum chamber to measure heat flow. In addition, a finite element analysis model of the collector/calorimeter combination was made to model this heat flow. The model was tuned based on observations from the as-manufactured collector/calorimeter combination. In addition, the model was exercised to examine other collector concepts, properties, and scale up issues.

Protecting solar collector systems from corrosion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-01-01

The main cause of the reduced life of a solar heating system is corrosion of the exterior parts and the internal components. This report outlines ways of reducing the cost of solar heating by reducing the corrosion in solar heating systems, and hence increasing the system's service life. Mechanisms for corrosion are discussed: these include galvanic corrosion and crevice corrosion. Means of minimizing corrosion at the design stage are then described. Such methods, when designing the solar collector, involve ensuring proper drainage of exterior water; eliminating situations where moisture, dirt and pollutants may collect; preventing condensation inside the collector; using proper gaskets and sealants at appropriate places; and selecting optimum materials and coatings. Interior corrosion can be minimized at the design stage by choosing a good heat transfer fluid and corrosion inhibitor, in the case of systems where liquids are used; ensuring a low enough flow rate to avoid erosion; designing the system to avoid crevices; and avoiding situations where galvanic corrosion could occur. Other procedures are given for minimizing corrosion in the construction and operation of solar heating systems. 7 figs., 7 tabs.

Effect of the phase change material in a solar receiver on thermal performance of parabolic dish collector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Senthil Ramalingam

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this work, the use of phase change material in the circular tank solar receiver is proposed for a 16 m2 Scheffler parabolic dish solar concentrator to improve the heat transfer in the receiver. Magnesium chloride hexahydrate with melting temperature of 117°C is selected as the phase change material in the annular space of the receiver with rectangular fins inside the phase change material. Experimental work is carried out to analyze heat transfer from the receiver to heat transfer fluid with and without phase change material in the inner periphery. Energy and exergy efficiency are determined from the measurements of solar radiation intensity, receiver temperature, surroundings temperature, heat transfer fluid inlet and outlet temperatures, storage tank temperature, and wind speed. The experiments were conducted in SRM University, Chennai, India (latitude: 13° 5′ N, longitude: 80°16′ E in April 2014. Use of phase change material in receiver periphery increased energy efficiency by 5.62%, exergy efficiency by 12.8% and decreased time to reach the boiling point of water by 20% when compared with the receiver without phase change material.

Comparison of Thermal Performances between Low Porosity Perforate Plate and Flat Plate Solar Air Collector

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Hoy-Yen; Vinson, A. A.; Baljit, S. S. S.; Ruslan, M. H.

2018-04-01

Flat plate solar air collector is the most common collector design, which is relatively simpler to fabricate and lower cost. In the present study, perforated plate solar collector was developed to improve the system thermal performance. A glazed perforated plate of 6mm holes diameter with square geometry was designed and installed as the absorber of the collector. The influences of solar radiation intensity and mass flow rate on the thermal performance were investigated. The perforated collector was compared with the flat plate solar collector under the same operating conditions. The highest values of thermal efficiency in this study for the perforated plate (PP) and the flat plate (FP) solar collectors were 59% and 36% respectively, at solar radiation intensity of 846 Wm-2 and mass flow rate of 0.02 kgs-1. Furthermore, PP collector gave better thermal performance compared to FP collector; and compared to previous studies, the present perforated design was compatible with the flat plate with double pass designs.

Performance of direct absorption solar collector with nanofluid mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turkyilmazoglu, Mustafa

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Neat approximations for temperature and solar collector efficiency are presented. • The non-adiabatic and isothermal base mechanisms optimize the surface absorption. • Heat transferring material at the bottom panel enhances the thermal efficiency. • Isothermal base panel leads to maximum thermal efficiency of the solar receiver. - Abstract: The enhancement of performance by increasing the thermal efficiency of a direct absorption solar collector based on an alumina–water nanofluid is the prime target of the present research. The base panel of the collector channel is subject to either a non adiabatic or an isothermal wall condition both of which introduce two new physical parameters. Analytical solutions for the temperature field are worked out in both cases for a two dimensional steady-state model recently outlined in the literature. The desired increase in the temperature of the heat transferring nanofluid is achieved either by slightly rising the heat transfer coefficient of the bottom panel coating or by prescribing a bottom surface temperature. As a consequence of the increase in the final outlet mean temperature, the solar collector thermal efficiency is found to be enhanced via increasing the new physical parameters as compared to the traditional adiabatic wall case. For instance, 85.63% thermal efficiency of solar collector is achievable for non adiabatic bottom panel by adding suspended aluminum nanoparticles into the pure water. Even better than this, considering isothermal base panels, 100% efficiency is attained more rapidly with lesser base temperatures in the presence of higher nanoparticle volume fractions.

Experimental Evaluation of a Flat Plate Solar Collector Under Hail City Climate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Ben Khedher

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Flat plate solar water heaters are widely used for water heating in low-temperature residential applications. In this paper the thermal performance of a solar flat plate water heater under Hail weather conditions (latitude 27°52΄N longitude ‎41°69΄E was experimentally investigated. Fluid was circulated through the imbedded copper tubes in the flat plate collector and inlet and outlet temperatures of the fluid were noted at five minute intervals. The experimental-time was between 9:00AM-15:00PM. A study was carried out experimentally to present the efficiency curves of a flat plate solar collector at different flow rates. ASHRAE standard 93-2003 was followed for calculation of instantaneous efficiency of solar collector. Result shows that the flow rate of the circulating fluid highly influence the thermal efficiency of the solar collector. Optimum flow rate of 2.5L/min leads to maximum collector efficiency.

Modeling and experimental validation of the solar loop for absorption solar cooling system using double-glazed collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marc, Olivier; Praene, Jean-Philippe; Bastide, Alain; Lucas, Franck

2011-01-01

Solar cooling applied to buildings is without a doubt an interesting alternative for reducing energy consumption in traditional mechanical steam compression air conditioning systems. The study of these systems should have a closely purely fundamental approach including the development of numerical models in order to predict the overall installation performance. The final objective is to estimate cooling capacity, power consumption, and overall installation performance with relation to outside factors (solar irradiation, outside temperature...). The first stage in this work consists of estimating the primary energy produced by the solar collector field. The estimation of this primary energy is crucial to ensure the evaluation of the cooling capacity and therefore the cooling distribution and thermal comfort in the building. Indeed, the absorption chiller performance is directly related to its heat source. This study presents dynamic models for double glazing solar collectors and compares the results of the simulation with experimental results taken from our test bench (two collectors). In the second part, we present an extensive collector field model (36 collectors) from our solar cooling installation at The University Institute of Technology in St Pierre, Reunion Island as well as our stratified tank storage model. A comparison of the simulation results with real scale solar experimental data taken from our installation enables validation of the double glazing solar collector and stratified tank dynamic models.

The Potential of Heat Collection from Solar Radiation in Asphalt Solar Collectors in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Beddu, Salmia; Talib, Siti Hidayah Abdul; Itam, Zarina

2016-03-01

The implementation of asphalt solar collectors as a means of an energy source is being widely studied in recent years. Asphalt pavements are exposed to daily solar radiation, and are capable of reaching up to 70°C in temperature. The potential of harvesting energy from solar pavements as an alternative energy source in replace of non-renewable energy sources prone to depletion such as fuel is promising. In Malaysia, the sun intensity is quite high and for this reason, absorbing the heat from sun radiation, and then utilizing it in many other applications such as generating electricity could definitely be impressive. Previous researches on the different methods of studying the effect of heat absorption caused by solar radiation prove to be quite old and inaffective. More recent findings, on the otherhand, prove to be more informative. This paper focuses on determining the potential of heat collection from solar radiation in asphalt solar collectors using steel piping. The asphalt solar collector model constructed for this research was prepared in the civil engineering laboratory. The hot mixed asphalt (HMA) contains 10% bitumen mixed with 90% aggregates of the total size of asphalt. Three stainless steel pipes were embedded into the interior region of the model according to the design criteria, and then put to test. Results show that harvesting energy from asphalt solar collectors proves highly potential in Malaysia due its the hot climate.

Experimental study on a parabolic concentrator assisted solar desalting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arunkumar, T.; Denkenberger, David; Velraj, R.; Sathyamurthy, Ravishankar; Tanaka, Hiroshi; Vinothkumar, K.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We optimized the augmentation of condense by enhanced desalination methodology. • Parabolic concentrator has been integrated with solar distillation systems. • We measured ambient together with solar radiation intensity. - Abstract: This paper presents a modification of parabolic concentrator (PC) – solar still with continuous water circulation using a storage tank to enhance the productivity. Four modes of operation were studied experimentally: (i) PC-solar still without top cover cooling; (ii) PC-solar still with top cover cooling, PC-solar still integrated with phase change material (PCM) without top cover cooling and PC-solar still integrated PCM with cooling. The experiments were carried out for the cooling water flow rates of 40 ml/min; 50 ml/min, 60 ml/min, 80 ml/min and 100 ml/min. Diurnal variations of water temperature (T_w), ambient air temperature (T_a), top cover temperature (T_o_c) and production rate are measured with frequent time intervals. Water cooling was not cost effective, but adding PCM was.

Experimental study of a combined system of solar Kang and solar air collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Wei; Ji, Jie; Chow, Tin-Tai; He, Wei; Chen, Haifei; Guo, Chao; Yu, Hancheng

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A combined system of solar Kang and solar air collector is proposed. • An experimental study on the combined system is made. • The mean air temperature reaches 18.5 °C and maintains above 18 °C for 13 h. • The corresponding mean indoor air temperature of the reference room is 8.9 °C. • The Kang surface temperature reaches 27 °C and maintains above 18 °C for 23 h. - Abstract: Chinese Kang is widely used as heated bed and for heat recovery of cooking stove in Northern China. However there are main drawbacks of indoor and outdoor air pollutant generation and heavy demands on solid fuel handling. A novel combined Kang system, which integrates solar Kang and solar air collector, is here proposed. Experiments were conducted to examine the alternative operating modes: (i) only solar air collector in service, (ii) only solar Kang in service, and (iii) both solar Kang and solar air collector in service. The results show that these three modes behave differently and have distinct effects on room thermal environment in winter. When this pollution-free system operates under the third combined mode, the room temperature increases significantly and the vertical temperature gradient reduces. The Kang surface temperature increases and its uniformity is improved. It is also found that the room air temperature is closely related to the Kang surface temperature. Furthermore, most of the time the thermal environment meets the occupant need. This paper reports the experimental work and investigates into the effects on indoor thermal environment as in rural residences in Northern China

Proceedings of the solar thermal concentrating collector technology symposium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gupta, B.P.; Kreith, F. (eds.)

1978-08-01

The purpose of the symposium was to review the current status of the concentrating collector technology, to disseminate the information gained from experience in operating solar systems, and to highlight the significant areas of technology development that must be vigorously pursued to foster early commercialization of concentrating solar collectors. Separate abstracts were prepared for thirteen invited papers and working group summaries. Two papers were previously abstracted for EDB.

Thermo-ecological optimization of a solar collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szargut, J.; Stanek, W.

2007-01-01

The depletion of non-renewable natural exergy resources (the thermo-ecological cost) has been accepted as the objective function for thermo-ecological optimization. Its general formulation has been cited. A detailed form of the objective function has been formulated for a solar collector producing hot water for household needs. The following design parameters have been accepted as the decision variables: the collector area per unit of the heat demand, the diameter of collector pipes, the distance of the pipe axes in the collector plate. The design parameters of the internal installation (the pipes, the hot water receiver) have not been taken into account, because they are very individual. The accumulation ability of hot water comprising one day has been assumed. The objective function contains the following components: the thermo-ecological cost of copper plate, copper pipes, glass plate, steel box, thermal insulation, heat transfer liquid, electricity for driving the pump of liquid, fuel for the peak boiler. The duration curves of the flux of solar radiation and absorbed heat have been elaborated according to meteorological data and used in the calculations. The objective function for economic optimization may have a similar form, only the cost values would be different

Development of Non-Tracking Solar Thermal Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Winston, Roland; Johnston, Bruce; Balkowski, Kevin

2011-11-01

The aims of this research is to develop high temperature solar thermal collectors that do not require complex solar tracking devices to maintain optimal performance. The collector technology developed through these efforts uses non-imaging optics and is referred to as an external compound parabolic concentrator. It is able to operate with a solar thermal efficiency of approximately 50% at a temperature of 200 ° C and can be readily manufactured at a cost between 15 and 18 per square foot.

Participation in multilateral effort to develop high performance integrated CPC evacuated collectors

Science.gov (United States)

Winston, R.; Ogallagher, J. J.

1992-05-01

The University of Chicago Solar Energy Group has had a continuing program and commitment to develop an advanced evacuated solar collector integrating nonimaging concentration into its design. During the period from 1985-1987, some of our efforts were directed toward designing and prototyping a manufacturable version of an Integrated Compound Parabolic Concentrator (ICPC) evacuated collector tube as part of an international cooperative effort involving six organizations in four different countries. This 'multilateral' project made considerable progress towards a commercially practical collector. One of two basic designs considered employed a heat pipe and an internal metal reflector CPC. We fabricated and tested two large diameter (125 mm) borosilicate glass collector tubes to explore this concept. The other design also used a large diameter (125 mm) glass tube but with a specially configured internal shaped mirror CPC coupled to a U-tube absorber. Performance projections in a variety of systems applications using the computer design tools developed by the International Energy Agency (IEA) task on evacuated collectors were used to optimize the optical and thermal design. The long-term goal of this work continues to be the development of a high efficiency, low cost solar collector to supply solar thermal energy at temperatures up to 250 C. Some experience and perspectives based on our work are presented and reviewed. Despite substantial progress, the stability of research support and the market for commercial solar thermal collectors were such that the project could not be continued. A cooperative path involving university, government, and industrial collaboration remains the most attractive near term option for developing a commercial ICPC.

Buoyancy effects on thermal behavior of a flat-plate solar collector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fan, Jianhua; Furbo, Simon

2008-01-01

Theoretical and experimental investigations of the flow and temperature distribution in a 12.53 m(2) solar collector panel with an absorber consisting of two vertical manifolds interconnected by 16 parallel horizontal fins have been carried out. The investigations are focused on overheating...... and the influence of the buoyancy effects are considered in the investigations. Further experimental investigations of the solar collector panel are carried out. The flow distribution through the absorber is evaluated by means of temperature measurements on the back of the absorber tubes. The measured temperatures....... The CFD calculations elucidate the flow and temperature distribution in the collector panels of different designs. Based on the investigations, recommendations are given in order to avoid overheating or boiling problems in the solar collector panel....

Artificial neural networks approach on solar parabolic dish cooker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lokeswaran, S.; Eswaramoorthy, M.

2011-01-01

This paper presents heat transfer analysis of solar parabolic dish cooker using Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The objective of this study to envisage thermal performance parameters such as receiver plate and pot water temperatures of the solar parabolic dish cooker by using the ANN for experimental data. An experiment is conducted under two cases (1) cooker with plain receiver and (2) cooker with porous receiver. The Back Propagation (BP) algorithm is used to train and test networks and ANN predictions are compared with experimental results. Different network configurations are studied by the aid of searching a relatively better network for prediction. The results showed a good regression analysis with the correlation coefficients in the range of 0.9968-0.9992 and mean relative errors (MREs) in the range of 1.2586-4.0346% for the test data set. Thus ANN model can successfully be used for the prediction of the thermal performance parameters of parabolic dish cooker with reasonable degree of accuracy. (authors)

Solar parabolic dish Stirling engine system design, simulation, and thermal analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hafez, A.Z.; Soliman, Ahmed; El-Metwally, K.A.; Ismail, I.M.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Modeling and simulation for different parabolic dish Stirling engine designs using Matlab®. • The effect of solar dish design features and factors had been taken. • Estimation of output power from the solar dish using Matlab®. • The present analysis provides a theoretical guidance for designing and operating solar parabolic dish system. - Abstract: Modeling and simulation for different parabolic dish Stirling engine designs have been carried out using Matlab®. The effect of solar dish design features and factors such as material of the reflector concentrators, the shape of the reflector concentrators and the receiver, solar radiation at the concentrator, diameter of the parabolic dish concentrator, sizing the aperture area of concentrator, focal Length of the parabolic dish, the focal point diameter, sizing the aperture area of receiver, geometric concentration ratio, and rim angle have been studied. The study provides a theoretical guidance for designing and operating solar parabolic dish Stirling engines system. At Zewail city of Science and Technology, Egypt, for a 10 kW Stirling engine; The maximum solar dish Stirling engine output power estimation is 9707 W at 12:00 PM where the maximum beam solar radiation applied in solar dish concentrator is 990 W/m"2 at 12:00 PM. The performance of engine can be improved by increasing the precision of the engine parts and the heat source efficiency. The engine performance could be further increased if a better receiver working fluid is used. We can conclude that where the best time for heating the fluid and fasting the processing, the time required to heat the receiver to reach the minimum temperature for operating the Solar-powered Stirling engine for different heat transfer fluids; this will lead to more economic solar dish systems. Power output of the solar dish system is one of the most important targets in the design that show effectiveness of the system, and this has achieved when we take

Results of IEA SHC Task 45: Large Scale Solar Heating and Cooling Systems. Subtask A: “Collectors and Collector Loop”

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bava, Federico; Nielsen, Jan Erik; Knabl, Samuel

2016-01-01

. Within this project, subtask A had the more specific objectives of investigating ways to evaluate the influence that different operating conditions can have on the collector performance, assure proper and safe installation of large solar collector fields, and guarantee their performance and yearly energy......The IEA SHC Task 45 Large Scale Solar Heating and Cooling Systems, carried out between January 2011 and December 2014, had the main objective to assist in the development of a strong and sustainable market of large solar heating systems by focusing on high performance and reliability of systems...... output. The results of the different investigations are presented, with a particular focus on how different parameters such as tilt, flow rate and fluid type, can affect the collector efficiency. Other presented results include methods to guarantee and check the thermal performance of a solar collector...

FLOW DISTRIBUTION IN A SOLAR COLLECTOR PANEL WITH HORIZONTAL FINS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fan, Jianhua; Shah, Louise Jivan; Furbo, Simon

2005-01-01

The objective of this work is to theoretically and experimentally investigate the flow and temperature distribution in a solar collector panel with an absorber consisting of horizontal fins. Fluid flow and heat transfer in the collector panel are studied by means of computational fluid dynamics...... (CFD) calculations. Further, experimental investigations of a 12.5 m² solar collector panel with 16 parallel connected horizontal fins are carried out. The flow distribution through the absorber is evaluated by means of temperature measurements on the backside of the absorber tubes. The measured...

Solar radiation for sea-water desalination and electric power generation via vacuum solar collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mottinelli, L.; Reali, M.; El-Nashar, A.M.; Giusiano, F.; Vigotti, R.

1996-01-01

The present report concerns the energetic potential of vacuum solar which are rather versatile and efficient devices for converting solar energy into thermal energy. Two main energetic applications have been analysed: the first one for a solar sea water desalination plant which has been operated in Abu Dhabi for the past ten years, the other for a conceptual solar thermoelectric-power plant having a fair thermodynamic efficiency (15-20%). A simple technology for the manufacture of vacuum solar collectors in a standard mechanical shop is being developed in collaboration between ENEL Sp A (DSR-CRIS, Milano) and WED (Abu Dhabi). Such technology should have an important economy-saving potential per se and would also make repair and substitution operations simple enough for the actual operators of the vacuum solar collector system without any need of external assistance. The technic-operative-economical features of the Abu Dhabi solar desalination plant suggest that the use novel simplified vacuum solar collectors could have a considerable technic economical potential. The analysis of the conceptual solar thermo-electric-power plant focuses on its general layout and singles out key technological issues which ought to be addressed in an overall feasibility study. 5 figs., 3 tabs

Preheating of tap water with solar collectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Granum, H; Raaen, H

1992-05-05

In 1991 SINTEF Architecture and Building Technology won the second prize in 'The Nordic Competition for Low Energy Buildings' with a project proposal named 'LOWe'. The paper gives a description of the energy-saving features of this project, particularly the use of a solar collector for preheating of tap water. Compared with the economic profitability of other saving efforts in the project, such as good thermal insulation and efficient heat recovering system, the system for solar preheating of tap water does not seem very attractive for the time being. Loose estimates indicate a cost of close of NOK 1.00 per kWh for the produced energy in the solar collector, while the present price for electricity in Norway is about NOK 0.50 per kWh. Compared with a heat pump solution however the energy cost is not unreasonable.

Economic optimization of a Kalina cycle for a parabolic trough solar thermal power plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Modi, Anish; Kærn, Martin Ryhl; Andreasen, J. G.

2015-01-01

-water mixture evaporates and condenses with a temperature glide, thus providing a better match with the heat source/sink temperature profile. This better match results in reduced thermal irreversibility, but at the cost of relatively larger heat exchanger areas. The parabolic trough collector is the most mature...... heat transfer correlations, and appropriate cost functions were used to estimate the costs for the various plant components. The optimal capital investment costs were determined for several values of the turbine inlet ammonia mass fraction and among the compared cases, the Kalina cycle has the minimum......The Kalina cycle has recently seen increased interest as a replacement for the more traditional steam Rankine cycle for geothermal, solar, ocean thermal energy conversion and waste heat recovery applications. The Kalina cycle uses a mixture of ammonia and water as the working fluid. The ammonia...

The effect of coupling a flat-plat collector on the solar still productivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Badran, O. O.; Al-Tahaineh, H. A.

2006-01-01

Experimental investigation to study the effect of coupling a flat plate solar collector on the productivity of solar stills was carried out. Other different parameters (i.e. water depth, direction of still, solar radiation) to enhance the productivity were also studied. Single slope solar still with mirrors fixed to its interior sides was coupled with a flat plate collector. It has been found that coupling of a solar collector with a still has increased the productivity by 56%. Also the increase of water depth has decreased the productivity, while the still productivity is found to be proportional to the solar radiation intensity.(Author)

Performance analysis of a heat pipe solar collector having different pitch distance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sivaraman, B.; Mohan, N.K. [Annamalai Univ., Tamil Nadu (India). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

2006-07-01

Heat pipe solar collectors are more efficient than conventional solar collectors. This paper provided details of experimental analyses conducted to examine the effect of pitch distance on the heat pipe's performance. Two solar collectors with pitch distances of 7.5 cm and 8.5 cm were used in the study. Copper tubing was used as the container material, and methanol was selected as a working fluid for the experiments, which were conducted during the summer at a collector tilt angle of 11 degrees. Experiments were conducted and the impacts of various parameters were measured. Solar intensity was measured using a pyranometer. Water exit and inlet temperatures were measured using mercury thermometers. Results showed that the heat pipe performed optimally when the pitch distance was 0.085 m. 8 refs., 1 tab., 9 figs.

Method of evaluation of solar collector cost under fuel price change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klychev, Sh. I.; Sadykova, N. S.; Saifiev, A. U.; Ismanzhanov, A. I.; Samiev, M.

2013-01-01

When we take into account the problems of large-scale use of solar energy, the matters of economic perspectives of solar plants in the future become vital. We present the method on whose basis evaluation of the cost of solar collectors is performed taking into account the change in the fuel prices. The method is based on the approach to evaluation of the cost of energy generated by the solar plants offered previously by the authors. Assuming that the components of expenditures for production are not changed, we obtained that the cost of solar collectors will grow, at approximately the same ratio as the growth of the prices for fuel (energy). Thus, the problem of creation of the economically effective solar collectors should be solved already today, at the existing prices for materials and fuel. At present, it is assumed that competitiveness of the solar plants will increase with the growth of the fuel prices. (authors)

Interaction of regulation and innovation: Solar air heating collectors

OpenAIRE

Kramer, K.

2012-01-01

Solar Air Heating Collectors have still a very small share of 0.8% of the nominal installed capacity in the solar heating and cooling market (151.7 GWth) [1]. Although constituting a niche market, the potential of those kind of collectors to provide heat for industrial processes, processing food, room heating, air preheating, drying processes or air conditioning could be significant. However, the technical potentials of the various technological solutions are not easy to compare. Such a compa...

Short-Term Solar Collector Power Forecasting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bacher, Peder; Madsen, Henrik; Perers, Bengt

2011-01-01

This paper describes a new approach to online forecasting of power output from solar thermal collectors. The method is suited for online forecasting in many applications and in this paper it is applied to predict hourly values of power from a standard single glazed large area flat plate collector...... enabling tracking of changes in the system and in the surrounding conditions, such as decreasing performance due to wear and dirt, and seasonal changes such as leaves on trees. This furthermore facilitates remote monitoring and check of the system....

Thermo-economic analysis and selection of working fluid for solar organic Rankine cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desai, Nishith B.; Bandyopadhyay, Santanu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Concentrating solar power plant with organic Rankine cycle. • Thermo-economic analysis of solar organic Rankine cycle. • Performance evaluation for different working fluids. • Comparison diagram to select appropriate working fluid. - Graphical Abstract: Display Omitted - Abstract: Organic Rankine cycle (ORC), powered by line-focusing concentrating solar collectors (parabolic trough collector and linear Fresnel reflector), is a promising option for modular scale. ORC based power block, with dry working fluids, offers higher design and part-load efficiencies compared to steam Rankine cycle (SRC) in small-medium scale, with temperature sources up to 400 °C. However, the cost of ORC power block is higher compared to the SRC power block. Similarly, parabolic trough collector (PTC) system has higher optical efficiency and higher cost compared to linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) system. The thermodynamic efficiencies and power block costs also vary with working fluids of the Rankine cycle. In this paper, thermo-economic comparisons of organic Rankine and steam Rankine cycles powered by line-focusing concentrating solar collectors are reported. A simple selection methodology, based on thermo-economic analysis, and a comparison diagram for working fluids of power generating cycles are also proposed. Concentrating solar power plants with any collector technology and any power generating cycle can be compared using the proposed methodology.

Conversion of solar radiation using parabolic mirrors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jolanta Fieducik

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The use of solar energy is a promising source of renewable energy to cover the energy needs of our society. The aim of the study will be to analyze the possibility of converting solar energy using parabolic reflectors to the heat energy needed to meet the needs of hot water for a family of 4 people. This study presents simulations of the use of solar radiation using radiant concentration systems. The parabolic mirror directs the concentrated beam of sunlight onto a tube located in the focal plane, which is filled with water that under the influence of solar radiation heats up. This article assumes constant mirror geometry and tube cross section, while simulation is performed for different coefficients. For calculations it was assumed that the reflection coefficient of sunlight from the mirror r is variable and an analysis of its effect on the amount of heated liquid is made. The radiation absorption coefficient across the tube surface was determined by a, the thermal surface emissivity coefficient was determined as e and the simulations were performed at variable values for the amount of heated liquid. The calculations and their analysis show that, with appropriately chosen coefficients, it is possible to meet the needs of a 4-person family in warm water using the proposed installation in Poland.

Solar collectors for swimming pools still going strong

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1975-01-01

According to the opinion of the experts, solar energy heating may be technically 'mature' but the profitability is by no means that far. However, solar systems are a good alternative for heating the water in swimming pools. Four solar collector systems developed by different firms to heat swimming pools, including prices, are presented.

Thermal performance of a double-pass solar collector with porous media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elradi A Musa; Kamaruzzaman Sopian; Shahrir Abdullah

2006-01-01

Thermal performance of a double-pass solar collector has been developed for air following through the porous media. The porous media are arranged in different porosities to increase heat transfer, area density and the total heat transfer rate. A test collector was developed and tested indoors by varying the design features and operating conditions using a halogen-lamp simulator as a radiation source. An experimental setup as been designed and constructed. Comparisons of the theoretical and the experimental result have been conducted. This type of collector can be used for drying and heat applications such as solar industrial processes, space and solar drying of agricultural products

Parabolic Trough Collector Cost Update for the System Advisor Model (SAM)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurup, Parthiv [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Turchi, Craig S. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2015-11-01

This report updates the baseline cost for parabolic trough solar fields in the United States within NREL's System Advisor Model (SAM). SAM, available at no cost at https://sam.nrel.gov/, is a performance and financial model designed to facilitate decision making for people involved in the renewable energy industry. SAM is the primary tool used by NREL and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for estimating the performance and cost of concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies and projects. The study performed a bottom-up build and cost estimate for two state-of-the-art parabolic trough designs -- the SkyTrough and the Ultimate Trough. The SkyTrough analysis estimated the potential installed cost for a solar field of 1500 SCAs as $170/m² +/- $6/m². The investigation found that SkyTrough installed costs were sensitive to factors such as raw aluminum alloy cost and production volume. For example, in the case of the SkyTrough, the installed cost would rise to nearly $210/m² if the aluminum alloy cost was $1.70/lb instead of $1.03/lb. Accordingly, one must be aware of fluctuations in the relevant commodities markets to track system cost over time. The estimated installed cost for the Ultimate Trough was only slightly higher at $178/m², which includes an assembly facility of $11.6 million amortized over the required production volume. Considering the size and overall cost of a 700 SCA Ultimate Trough solar field, two parallel production lines in a fully covered assembly facility, each with the specific torque box, module and mirror jigs, would be justified for a full CSP plant.

Design and Realisation of a Parabolic Solar Cooker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouannene, M; Chaouachi, B; Gabsi, S

2009-01-01

The sun s energy is really powerful. Solar energy is renewable and it s free. We can use it to make electricity, to heat buildings and to cook. The field of cooking consumes many fossil fuels such as gas and wood. Million people cannot find enough gas and/or wood to cook, so using solar cookers is a good idea. During this work, we designed, built and studied a parabolic solar cooker. The characteristic equations and the experimental results are given

Performance of nanofluids on heat transfer in a wavy solar collector ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The bottom wavy solid surface is kept at a constant temperature Tc. Numerical analysis is done by this article for the performance of different nanofluids on convective flow and heat transfer phenomena inside a solar collector. The solar collector has the flatplate cover and sinusoidal wavy absorber. Two different nanofluids ...

Multi-parameter optimization design of parabolic trough solar receiver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Jiangfeng; Huai, Xiulan

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The optimal condition can be obtained by multi-parameter optimization. • Exergy and thermal efficiencies are employed as objective function. • Exergy efficiency increases at the expense of heat losses. • The heat obtained by working fluid increases as thermal efficiency grows. - Abstract: The design parameters of parabolic trough solar receiver are interrelated and interact with one another, so the optimal performance of solar receiver cannot be obtained by the convectional single-parameter optimization. To overcome the shortcoming of single-parameter optimization, a multi-parameter optimization of parabolic trough solar receiver is employed based on genetic algorithm in the present work. When the thermal efficiency is taken as the objective function, the heat obtained by working fluid increases while the average temperature of working fluid and wall temperatures of solar receiver decrease. The average temperature of working fluid and the wall temperatures of solar receiver increase while the heat obtained by working fluid decreases generally by taking the exergy efficiency as an objective function. Assuming that the solar radiation intensity remains constant, the exergy obtained by working fluid increases by taking exergy efficiency as the objective function, which comes at the expense of heat losses of solar receiver.

Influence of nanofluids on the efficiency of Flat-Plate Solar Collectors (FPSC)

Science.gov (United States)

Nejad, Marjan B.; Mohammed, H. A.; Sadeghi, O.; Zubeer, Swar A.

2017-11-01

A numerical investigation is performed using finite volume method to study the laminar heat transfer in a three-dimensional flat-plate solar collector using different nanofluids as working fluids. Three nanofluids with different types of nanoparticles (Ag, MWCNT and Al2O3 dispersed in water) with 1-2 wt% volume fractions are analyzed. A constant heat flux, equivalent to solar radiation absorbed by the collector, is applied at the top surface of the absorber plate. In this study, several parameters including boundary conditions (different volume flow rates, different fluid inlet temperatures and different solar irradiance at Skudai, Malaysia), different types of nanoparticles, and different solar collector tilt angles are investigated to identify their effects on the heat transfer performance of FPSC. The numerical results reveal that the three types of nanofluid enhance the thermal performance of solar collector compared to pure water and FPSC with Ag nanofluid has the best thermal performance enhancement. For all the cases, the collector efficiency increased with the increase of volume flow rate while fluid outlet temperature decreased. It is found that FPSC with tilt angle of 10° and fluid inlet temperature of 301.15 K has the best thermal performance.

Thermal efficiency of low cost solar collectors - CSBC; Eficiencia termica de coletores solares de baixo custo - CSBC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pereira, Renato C.; Shiota, Robson T.; Mello, Samuel F.; Assis Junior, Valdir; Bartoli, Julio R. [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia Quimica. Dept. de Tecnologia de Polimeros

2006-07-01

The thermal performance of a low cost flat panel solar collector was measured. This Low Cost Solar Collector is a novel concept for water heating using only thermoplastics materials, used on building: ceiling and tubes made of unplasticized PVC, but without transparent cover. The top side of the UPVC panel was black painted to be the solar radiation absorber surface. Prototypes were installed on two charity houses around Campinas and at the FEQ campus, being used without any trouble for one year. The thermal efficiency analysis followed ABNT NBR 10184 standard at the Green-Solar Laboratory, Brazilian Centre for Development of Solar Thermal Energy, PUC-Minas. It was measured a thermal efficiency of 67%, compared to the 75% usually found on conventional solar collectors made of copper tubes and with glass cover. (author)

Experimental Validation and Model Verification for a Novel Geometry ICPC Solar Collector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Perers, Bengt; Duff, William S.; Daosukho, Jirachote

A novel geometry ICPC solar collector was developed at the University of Chicago and Colorado State University. A ray tracing model has been designed to investigate the optical performance of both the horizontal and vertical fin versions of this collector. Solar radiation is modeled as discrete...... to the desired incident angle of the sun’s rays, performance of the novel ICPC solar collector at various specified angles along the transverse and longitudinal evacuated tube directions were experimentally determined. To validate the ray tracing model, transverse and longitudinal performance predictions...... at the corresponding specified incident angles are compared to the Sandia results. A 100 m2 336 Novel ICPC evacuated tube solar collector array has been in continuous operation at a demonstration project in Sacramento California since 1998. Data from the initial operation of the array are used to further validate...

Solar Energy Demonstrations

Science.gov (United States)

1979-01-01

Solar energy furnishes all of the heating and hot water needs, plus 80 percent of the air conditioning, for the two-story Reedy Creek building. A unique feature of this installation is that the 16 semi-cylindrical solar collectors (center photo on opposite page with closeup of a single collector below it) are not mounted atop the roof as is customary, they actually are the roof. This arrangement eliminates the usual trusses, corrugated decking and insulating concrete in roof construction; that, in turn, reduces overall building costs and makes the solar installation more attractive economically. The Reedy Creek collectors were designed and manufactured by AAI Corporation of Baltimore, Maryland.

Thermal performance of evacuated tube heat pipe solar collector

Science.gov (United States)

Putra, Nandy; Kristian, M. R.; David, R.; Haliansyah, K.; Ariantara, Bambang

2016-06-01

The high fossil energy consumption not only causes the scarcity of energy but also raises problems of global warming. Increasing needs of fossil fuel could be reduced through the utilization of solar energy by using solar collectors. Indonesia has the abundant potential for solar energy, but non-renewable energy sources still dominate energy consumption. With heat pipe as passive heat transfer device, evacuated tube solar collector is expected to heat up water for industrial and home usage without external power supply needed to circulate water inside the solar collector. This research was conducted to determine the performance of heat pipe-based evacuated tube solar collector as solar water heater experimentally. The experiments were carried out using stainless steel screen mesh as a wick material, and water and Al2O3-water 0.1% nanofluid as working fluid, and applying inclination angles of 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45°. To analyze the heat absorbed and transferred by the prototype, water at 30°C was circulated through the condenser. A 150 Watt halogen lamp was used as sun simulator, and the prototype was covered by an insulation box to obtain a steady state condition with a minimum affection of ambient changes. Experimental results show that the usage of Al2O3-water 0.1% nanofluid at 30° inclination angle provides the highest thermal performance, which gives efficiency as high as 0.196 and thermal resistance as low as 5.32 °C/W. The use of nanofluid as working fluid enhances thermal performance due to high thermal conductivity of the working fluid. The increase of the inclination angle plays a role in the drainage of the condensate to the evaporator that leads to higher thermal performance until the optimal inclination angle is reached.

A numerical model to evaluate the flow distribution in a large solar collector field

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bava, Federico; Dragsted, Janne; Furbo, Simon

2017-01-01

This study presents a numerical model to evaluate the flow distribution in a large solar collector field, with solar collectors connected both in series and in parallel. The boundary conditions of the systems, such as flow rate, temperature, fluid type and layout of the collector field can...... be easily changed in the model. The model was developed in Matlab and the calculated pressure drop and flow distribution were compared with measurements from a solar collector field. A good agreement between model and measurements was found. The model was then used to study the flow distribution...... in different conditions. Balancing valves proved to be an effective way to achieve uniform flow distribution also in conditions different from those for which the valves were regulated. For small solar collector fields with limited number of collector rows connected in parallel, balancing valves...

The Effect of the Volume Flow rate on the Efficiency of a Solar Collector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fan, Jianhua; Shah, Louise Jivan; Furbo, Simon

rates. Theoretically, a simplified model of the solar collector panel is built by means of the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) code Fluent, where the geometry of the collector panel except the casing is fully modeled. Both lateral and longitudinal heat conduction in the absorber fins, the heat...... transfer from the absorber to the solar collector fluid and the heat loss from the absorber are considered. Flow and temperature distribution in the collector panel are investigated with buoyancy effect. Measurements are carried out with the solar collector panel. Collector efficiencies are measured......The flow distribution inside a collector panel with an area of 12.5 m² and with 16 parallel connected horizontal fins and the effect of the flow nonuniformity on the risk of boiling and on the collector efficiency have been theoretically and experimentally investigated for different volume flow...

Comparative analyses on dynamic performances of photovoltaic–thermal solar collectors integrated with phase change materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su, Di; Jia, Yuting; Alva, Guruprasad; Liu, Lingkun; Fang, Guiyin

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The dynamic model of photovoltaic–thermal collector with phase change material was developed. • The performances of photovoltaic–thermal collector are performed comparative analyses. • The performances of photovoltaic–thermal collector with phase change material were evaluated. • Upper phase change material mode can improve performances of photovoltaic–thermal collector. - Abstract: The operating conditions (especially temperature) of photovoltaic–thermal solar collectors have significant influence on dynamic performance of the hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar collectors. Only a small percentage of incoming solar radiation can be converted into electricity, and the rest is converted into heat. This heat leads to a decrease in efficiency of the photovoltaic module. In order to improve the performance of the hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar collector, we performed comparative analyses on a hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar collector integrated with phase change material. Electrical and thermal parameters like solar cell temperature, outlet temperature of air, electrical power, thermal power, electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency and overall efficiency are simulated and analyzed to evaluate the dynamic performance of the hybrid photovoltaic–thermal collector. It is found that the position of phase change material layer in the photovoltaic–thermal collector has a significant effect on the performance of the photovoltaic–thermal collector. The results indicate that upper phase change material mode in the photovoltaic–thermal collector can significantly improve the thermal and electrical performance of photovoltaic–thermal collector. It is found that overall efficiency of photovoltaic–thermal collector in ‘upper phase change material’ mode is 10.7% higher than that in ‘no phase change material’ mode. Further, for a photovoltaic–thermal collector with upper phase change material, it is verified that 3 cm

Standarized performance tests of collectors of solar thermal energy: A steel flat-plate collector with two transparent covers and a proprietary coating

Science.gov (United States)

1976-01-01

Basic test results of a flat-plate solar collector whose performance was determined in the NASA-Lewis solar simulator are given. The collector was tested over ranges of inlet temperature and flux level.

Arrangement, manufacturing process and use of solar heat collectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scheel, H W

1978-03-30

Solar collectors generally have a timber or metal frame where the transparent front cover, usually of glass, is replaceable. In order to prevent great deformation, such a frame must be relatively stable and of heavy construction, which may lead to difficulties in mounting the collector on the roofs or front walls of houses. The present invention proposes a light but nevertheless rigid collector frame, which consists of plastic material and is constructed so that the installation and replacement of collectors can be realized. Further, collectors are proposed which guarantee a minimum of reflection and are so designed that an optimum architectural effect is produced.

Characteristics of evacuated tubular solar thermal collector as input energy for cooling system at Universitas Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Alhamid, M. Idrus; Nasruddin, Aisyah, Nyayu; Sholahudin

2017-03-01

This paper discussed the use of solar thermal collector as an input energy for cooling system. The experimental investigation was undertaken to characterize solar collectors that have been integrated with an absorption chiller. About 62 modules of solar collectors connected in series and parallel are placed on the roof top of MRC building. Thermistors were used to measure the fluid temperature at inlet, inside and outlet of each collector, inside the water tank and ambient temperature. Water flow that circulated from the storage was measured by flow meter, while solar radiation was measured by a pyranometer that was mounted parallel to the collector. Experimental data for a data set was collected in March 2016, during the day time hours of 08:00 - 17:00. This data set was used to calculate solar collector efficiency. The results showed that in the maximum solar radiation, the outlet temperature that can be reached is about 78°C, the utilized energy is about 70 kW and solar collector has an efficiency of 64%. While in the minimum solar radiation, the outlet temperature that can be reached is about 53°C, the utilized energy is about 28 kW and solar collector has an efficiency of 43%.

Heat transfer analysis of parabolic trough solar receiver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Padilla, Ricardo Vasquez; Demirkaya, Gokmen; Goswami, D. Yogi; Stefanakos, Elias; Rahman, Muhammad M.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → In this paper a detailed one dimensional numerical heat transfer analysis of a PTC is performed. → The receiver and envelope were divided into several segments and mass and energy balance were applied in each segment. → Improvements either in the heat transfer correlations or radiative heat transfer analysis are presented. → The proposed heat transfer model was validated with experimental data obtained from Sandia National Laboratory. → Our results showed a better agreement with experimental data compared to other models. -- Abstract: Solar Parabolic Trough Collectors (PTCs) are currently used for the production of electricity and applications with relatively higher temperatures. A heat transfer fluid circulates through a metal tube (receiver) with an external selective surface that absorbs solar radiation reflected from the mirror surfaces of the PTC. In order to reduce the heat losses, the receiver is covered by an envelope and the enclosure is usually kept under vacuum pressure. The heat transfer and optical analysis of the PTC is essential to optimize and understand its performance under different operating conditions. In this paper a detailed one dimensional numerical heat transfer analysis of a PTC is performed. The receiver and envelope were divided into several segments and mass and energy balance were applied in each segment. Improvements either in the heat transfer correlations or radiative heat transfer analysis are presented as well. The partial differential equations were discretized and the nonlinear algebraic equations were solved simultaneously. Finally, to validate the numerical results, the model was compared with experimental data obtained from Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) and other one dimensional heat transfer models. Our results showed a better agreement with experimental data compared to other models.

IMPACT OF SOLAR RADIATION CHANGE ON THE COLLECTOR EFFICIENTLY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danuta Proszak-Miąsik

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In October 2014 in a building of Rzeszow University of Technology, a series of measurements was taken to calculate the parameters of a solar system with a flat collector, as installed on the roof of the building. The following parameters were obtained: the value of solar radiation intensity, the temperature of external air, the temperature on the collector, the temperature of water in the tank and the temperature of glycol on the supply and return lines. On the basis of the data received, charts were made to visually present how changes of solar radiation intensity affected parameters of the system. The study was conducted in autumn when the intensity of solar radiation decreases, compared with summer months. The publication aims to show that the solar system brings energy gains in periods of transition, and the instantaneous intensity of solar radiation are comparable to those in the summer.

Development of an economic solar heating system with cost efficient flat plate collectors

Science.gov (United States)

Eder-Milchgeisser, W.; Burkart, R.

1980-10-01

Mass produced flat plate solar collectors were worked into the design of a system for heating a swimming pool and/or providing domestic hot water. The collector characteristics, including physical and mechanical data as well as theoretical energy conversion efficiency, are presented. The collector was tested and service life efficiency was determined. The mounting of the collector, depending on roof type, is explained. Both in service and laboratory test results demonstrate the cost effectiveness of the system. Further improvement of efficiency is envisaged with automatic flow control in the solar collector and hot water circuits.

Photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) solar collectors: Features and performance modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atienza-Márquez, Antonio; Bruno, Joan Carles; Coronas, Alberto; Korolija, Ivan; Greenough, Richard; Wright, Andy

2017-01-01

Currently, the electrical efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells ranges between 5–25%. One of the most important parameters that affects the electrical efficiency of a PV collector is the temperature of its cells: the higher temperature, the lower is the efficiency. Photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) technology is a potential solution to ensure an acceptable solar energy conversion. The PV/T technology produces both electrical and thermal energy simultaneously. It is suitable for low temperature applications (25–40 o C) and overall efficiency increases compared to individual collectors. This paper describes an installation in a single-family house where PV/T collectors are coupled with a ground heat exchanger and a heat pump for domestic hot water and space heating purposes. The aim of this work is twofold. First, the features of the PV/T technology are analyzed. Second, a model of a flat-plate PV/T water collector was developed in TRNSYS in order to analyze collectors performance. (author)

Survey mirrors and lenses and their required surface accuracy. Volume 2. Concentrator optical performance software (COPS) user's manual. Final report for September 15, 1978-December 1, 1979

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-01-01

The mathematical modeling of 11 different concentrating collectors is documented and instructions are given for use of the computer code. The 11 concentrators modeled are: faceted mirror concentration; fixed mirror, two-axis tracking receiver; parabolic trough collector; linear Fresnel; incremental reflector; inflated cylindrical concentrator; CPC-involute reflector with evacuated receiver; CPC-parabolic/involute reflector; V trough collectors, imaging collapsing concentrator; and parabolic dish collector. (MHR)

Wind effects on convective heat loss from a cavity receiver for a parabolic concentrating solar collector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, R.Y. [California State Polytechnic Univ., Pomoma, CA (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

1993-09-01

Tests were performed to determine the convective heat loss characteristics of a cavity receiver for a parabolid dish concentrating solar collector for various tilt angles and wind speeds of 0-24 mph. Natural (no wind) convective heat loss from the receiver is the highest for a horizontal receiver orientation and negligible with the reveler facing straight down. Convection from the receiver is substantially increased by the presence of side-on wind for all receiver tilt angles. For head-on wind, convective heat loss with the receiver facing straight down is approximately the same as that for side-on wind. Overall it was found that for wind speeds of 20--24 mph, convective heat loss from the receiver can be as much as three times that occurring without wind.

Design and experiment of a new solar air heating collector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shams, S.M.N.; Mc Keever, M.; Mc Cormack, S.; Norton, B.

2016-01-01

This paper presents the design and experiment of a CTAH (Concentrating Transpired Air Heating) system. A newly designed solar air heating collector comprised of an inverted perforated absorber and an asymmetric compound parabolic concentrator was applied to increase the intensity of solar radiation incident on the perforated absorber. An extensive literature review was carried out to find the vital factors to improve optical and thermal efficiency of solar air heating systems. A stationary optical concentrator has been designed and experimented. Experimental thermal efficiency remained high at higher air flow rates. The average thermal efficiency was found to be approximately 55%–65% with average radiation above 400 W/m"2 for flow rates in the range of 0.03 kg/s/m"2 to 0.09 kg/s/m"2. Experimental results at air flow rates of 0.03 kg/s/m"2 and 0.09 kg/s/m"2 showed temperature rise of 38 °C and 19.6 °C respectively at a solar radiation intensity of 1000 W/m"2. A comparative performance study shows the thermal performance of CTAH. As the absorber of the CTAH facing downward, it avoids radiation loss and the perforated absorber with tertiary concentrator reduces thermal losses from the system. - Highlights: • Literature review was carried out to improve SAH system performance. • Optimisation factors were optical efficiency; heat loss, weight and cost. • Concentrator was designed to concentrate radiation for 6–7 h. • The highest efficiency of CTAH can be 73%. • It can work as efficient as 60% for a temperature rise of 70 °C.

Solar light (hv) and H2O2/hv photo-disinfection of natural alkaline water (pH 8.6) in a compound parabolic collector at different day periods in Sahelian region.

Science.gov (United States)

Ndounla, J; Pulgarin, C

2015-11-01

The photo-disinfection of natural alkaline surface water (pH 8.6 ± 0.3) for drinking purposes was carried out under solar radiation treatments. The enteric bacteria studied were the wild total coliforms/Escherichia coli (10(4) CFU/ml) and Salmonella spp. (10(4) CFU/ml) naturally present in the water. The photo-disinfection of a 25-l water sample was carried out in a solar compound parabolic collector (CPC) in the absence and in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The addition of H2O2 (10 mg/L) to the sample water was sufficient to enhance the photo-disinfection and ensure an irreversible lethal action on the wild enteric bacteria contents of the sample. The inactivation kinetic of the system was significantly enhanced compared to the one carried out without H2O2 addition. The effect of the solar radiation parameters on the efficiency of the photo-disinfection were assessed. The pH has increased during the treatment in all the photo-disinfection processes (hv and H2O2/hv). The Salmonella spp strain has shown the best effective inactivate time in alkaline water than the one recorded under acidic or near-neutral conditions. The evolution of some physico-chemical parameters of the water (turbidity, NO2(-), NO3(-), NH4(+), HPO4(2-), and bicarbonate (HCO3(-))) was monitored during the treatment. Finally, the possible mechanistic process involved during the enteric bacteria inactivation was suggested.

Development, testing, and certification of Calmac Mfg. Corp. solar collector and solar operated pump

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, J. C.

1979-01-01

Development of a rubber tube solar collector and solar operated pump for use with solar heating and cooling systems is discussed. The development hardware, problems encountered during fabrication and testing, and certification statements of performance are included.

OUT Success Stories: Solar Trough Power Plants

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, J.

2000-08-01

The Solar Electric Generating System (SEGS) plants use parabolic-trough solar collectors to capture the sun's energy and convert it to heat. The SEGS plants range in capacity from 13.8 to 80 MW, and they were constructed to meet Southern California Edison Company's periods of peak power demand.

A heat pipe solar collector system for winter heating in Zhengzhou city, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zheng Hui-Fan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A heat pipe solar collector system for winter heating is investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The hourly heat collecting capacity, water temperature and contribution rate of solar collector system based on Zhengzhou city typical sunshine are calculated. The study reveals that the heat collecting capacity and water temperature increases initially and then decreases, and the solar collector system can provide from 40% to 78% heating load for a 200 m2 villa with in Zhengzhou city from November to March.

Performance of a solar dryer using hot air from roof-integrated solar collectors for drying herbs and spices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Janjai, S.; Tung, P. [Silpakorn University, Pathom (Thailand). Dept. of Physics

2005-11-01

A solar dryer for drying herbs and spices using hot air from roof-integrated solar collectors was developed. The dryer is a bin type with a rectangular perforated floor. The bin has a dimension of 1.0 m x 2.0 m x 0.7 m. Hot air is supplied to the dryer from fiberglass-covered solar collectors, which also function as the roof of a farmhouse. The total area of the solar collectors is 72 m{sup 2}. To investigate its performance, the dryer was used to dry four batches of rosella flowers and three batches of lemon-grasses during the year 2002-2003. The dryer can be used to dry 200 kg of rosella flowers and lemon-grasses within 4 and 3 days, respectively. The products being dried in the dryer were completely protected from rains and insects and the dried products are of high quality. The solar air heater has an average daily efficiency of 35% and it performs well both as a solar collector and a roof of a farmhouse. (author)

Usage of hybrid solar collector system in drying technologies of medical plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Čiplienė, Aušra; Novošinskas, Henrikas; Raila, Algirdas; Zvicevičius, Egidijus

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Solar radiation energy utilization in drying technologies. • Accumulation of solar radiation energy. • The system comprising two different solar collector types. • Preparation of the drying agent by employing solar radiation energy around the clock. • The energy resources saving technology for medicinal plants’ raw material processing and drying. - Abstract: In the temperate climate zone under natural conditions, medicinal plants drying up to 8–12% moisture content and preparation of the quality medicinal plant’s raw material are complicated tasks. In many cases drying process of medicinal plants raw material, particularly rich in volatile compounds, needs the optimal drying temperatures of 30–45 °C and relative humidity not higher than 50–60%. In Lithuania, located in the northern part of the temperate climate zone, in summer the average temperature of ambient air is 16.1 ± 0.5 °C, and relative humidity is 77.3 ± 1.8%. In order to improve the sorption properties of ambient air, it is heated up to the admissible drying temperature. The experimental dryer was developed comprising two different solar collectors: the air type solar collector with area 12 m 2 for direct heating of the drying agent and the flat-plate type solar collector (8 m 2 ) for accumulation of converted heat energy. The research of motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca L.) drying was carried out in the dryer. It was determined that by combining operation of two different solar collectors, the solar radiation energy for drying agent’s heating could be used continuously around the clock by employing the accumulated energy, in order to compensate the solar irradiance variability and to ensure stability of the drying process. In the daytime the air-type solar collector at an airflow equal to 367 m 3 h −1 , i.e. at comparative flow of the drying agent per ton of dried medicinal plant raw material – 2450 m 3 h −1 , heats the air up to 30 °C when the solar

Development of solar collector to integration in buildings; Udvikling af solfanger til integrering i bygninger

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Holck, O.; Svendsen, S.

2000-07-01

A solar collector has been developed in the project. The development of the collector is based on knowledge from previous projects and the idea of combining existing exterior insulation systems with a solar collector part for renovation purpose. This solar collector especially focuses on the market, which is dedicated to concrete buildings. South heading gable/facade walls in concrete buildings have a potential for utilization of solar energy. With regards to commercial utilization of the results the project has building parts manufacturers and solar collector manufacturers in mind. Besides the housing stock the industry sector is an area where gable solar collectors can be used. To get the right link between the manufactured part and the building, an existing building is referred to in the project. A prefabricated insulation system from Paroc and a liquid heating absorber from Batec have been chosen as the basis of the project. 50 mm wide aluminium profiles from H.S. Hansen have been used, accomplishing a sliding joint to the adjacent building systems. A range of flashing, is available on the market, fits to the 50 mm profile. Based on these choices the concept of utilizing solar energy can be transferred without difficulties to be valid for other exterior insulation systems, absorber types and consumer systems. Technical details concerning profiles and assembling of solar collectors have been analysed in the project and can be seen from the technical drawings. The mounting of the solar collector will be done by crane so that the work can be done fast and efficiently. This is particularly important in narrow streets, as here is no need to establish building sites for a long period. Crane assembling is suitable when the walls have big areas without needs for many cuttings and projections. If there are windows in the gable a vertical assembling of the elements can be the solution as the windows are often placed in a straight line above each other. In the project

Copper corrosion and its relationship to solar collectors:a compendium.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menicucci, David F.; Mahoney, Alan Roderick

2007-07-01

Copper has many fine qualities that make it a useful material. It is highly conductive of both heat and electricity, is ductile and workable, and reasonably resistant to corrosion. Because of these advantages, the solar water heating industry has been using it since the mid-1970s as the material of choice for collectors, the fundamental component of a solar water heating system. In most cases copper has performed flawlessly, but in some situations it has been known to fail. Pitting corrosion is the usual failure mode, but erosion can also occur. In 2000 Sandia National Laboratories and the Copper Development Association were asked to analyze the appearance of pin-hole leaks in solar collector units installed in a housing development in Arizona, and in 2002 Sandia analyzed a pitting corrosion event that destroyed a collector system at Camp Pendleton. This report includes copies of the reports and accounts of these corrosion failures, and provides a bibliography with references to many papers and articles that might be of benefit to the solar community. It consolidates in a single source information that has been accumulated at Sandia relative to copper corrosion, especially as it relates to solar water heaters.