Numerical study of the transparent cover effects with miscellaneous shapes on the parabolic trough solar collector performance

Abstract

Optimization of energy production equipment due to significant production cost of each unit of energy is one of the most significant factors for economic development and countries progress. The aim of this work is to improve the efficiency of the parabolic trough collector (PTC) by reducing the heat losses from it. Therefore, it was utilized a PTC with a receiver tube in the focal center of the concentrator that was applied a phase change material (PCM) inside it to store better energy. In the present work, by adding a new section called transparent cover to envelope the PTC, waste of thermal energy from the receiver tube was prevented. The numerical solutions were performed for both summer and winter days. By using of existing formulas, energy and exergy efficiency of the PTC system with different geometrical shapes and heights were obtained and their performance were compared. The results showed that by reducing the height of the covers (i.e. reduction of the space), energy and exergy efficiencies were increased and by providing the triangular cover shape, the system performed better than two others elliptical and rectangular shapes. 

Keywords

• Efficiency,optimization,parabolic trough collector,phase change material,solar energy

References

1. [1] O. Kizilkan, A. Kabul, and I. Dincer, “Development and performance assessment of a parabolic trough solar collector-based integrated system for an ice-cream factory,” Energy, vol. 100, pp. 167–176, 2016.
2. [2] W. A. Hermann, “Quantifying global exergy resources,” Energy, vol. 31, no. 12, pp. 1685–1702, 2006.
3. [3] E. Bellos, D. Korres, C. Tzivanidis, and K. A. Antonopoulos, “Design, simulation and optimization of a compound parabolic collector,” Sustain. Energy Technol. Assessments, vol. 16, pp. 53–63, 2016.
4. [4] S. A. Kalogirou, Solar thermal collectors and applications, vol. 30, no. 3. 2004.
5. [5] L. Zhou, Y. Li, E. Hu, J. Qin, and Y. Yang, “Comparison in net solar efficiency between the use of concentrating and non-concentrating solar collectors in solar aided power generation systems,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 75, pp. 685–691, 2015.
6. [6] Y. Wang, J. Xu, Q. Liu, Y. Chen, and H. Liu, “Performance analysis of a parabolic trough solar collector using Al2O3/synthetic oil nanofluid,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 107, pp. 469–478, 2016.
7. [7] J. Chen, L. Yang, Z. Zhang, J. Wei, and J. Yang, “Optimization of a uniform solar concentrator with absorbers of different shapes,” Sol. Energy, vol. 158, no. September, pp. 396–406, 2017.
8. [8] G. C. Bakos, “Design and construction of a two-axis Sun tracking system for parabolic trough collector (PTC) efficiency improvement,” Renew. Energy, vol. 31, no. 15, pp. 2411–2421, 2006.

9. [9] A. Valan Arasu and T. Sornakumar, “Design, manufacture and testing of fiberglass reinforced parabola trough for parabolic trough solar collectors,” Sol. Energy, vol. 81, no. 10, pp. 1273–1279, 2007.
10. [10] P. Mohammad Zadeh, T. Sokhansefat, A. B. Kasaeian, F. Kowsary, and A. Akbarzadeh, “Hybrid optimization algorithm for thermal analysis in a solar parabolic trough collector based on nanofluid,” Energy, vol. 82, pp. 857–864, 2015.
11. [11] J. Paetzold, S. Cochard, A. Vassallo, and D. F. Fletcher, “Wind engineering analysis of parabolic trough solar collectors: The effects of varying the trough depth,” J. Wind Eng. Ind. Aerodyn., vol. 135, pp. 118–128, 2014.
12. [12] J. J. Serrano-Aguilera, L. Valenzuela, and J. Fernández-Reche, “Inverse Monte Carlo Ray-Tracing method (IMCRT) applied to line-focus reflectors,” Sol. Energy, vol. 124, pp. 184–197, 2016.
13. [13] F. Wang, J. Tan, L. Ma, and C. Wang, “Effects of glass cover on heat flux distribution for tube receiver with parabolic trough collector system,” Energy Convers. Manag., vol. 90, pp. 47–52, 2015.
14. [14] B. Zou, J. Dong, Y. Yao, and Y. Jiang, “An experimental investigation on a small-sized parabolic trough solar collector for water heating in cold areas,” Appl. Energy, vol. 163, pp. 396–407, 2016.
15. [15] M. Potenza, M. Milanese, G. Colangelo, and A. de Risi, “Experimental investigation of transparent parabolic trough collector based on gas-phase nanofluid,” Appl. Energy, vol. 203, pp. 560–570, 2017.
16. [16] A. A. Hachicha, I. Rodríguez, J. Castro, and A. Oliva, “Numerical simulation of wind flow around a parabolic trough solar collector,” Appl. Energy, vol. 107, pp. 426–437, 2013.
17. [17] B. Lamrani, A. Khouya, B. Zeghmati, and A. Draoui, “Mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of a parabolic trough collector: A case study in thermal engineering,” Therm. Sci. Eng. Prog., vol. 8, no. July, pp. 47–54, 2018.
18. [18] S. K. Tyagi, S. Wang, M. K. Singhal, S. C. Kaushik, and S. R. Park, “Exergy analysis and parametric study of concentrating type solar collectors,” Int. J. Therm. Sci., vol. 46, no. 12, pp. 1304–1310, 2007.
19. [19] A. Bejan, D. W. Kearney, and F. Kreith, “Second Law Analysis and Synthesis of Solar Collector Systems,” J. Sol. Energy Eng., vol. 103, no. 1, p. 23, 2010.
20. [20] A. Allouhi, M. Benzakour Amine, R. Saidur, T. Kousksou, and A. Jamil, “Energy and exergy analyses of a parabolic trough collector operated with nanofluids for medium and high temperature applications,” Energy Convers. Manag., vol. 155, no. August 2017, pp. 201–217, 2018.
21. [21] M. Chafie, M. F. Ben Aissa, and A. Guizani, “Energetic end exergetic performance of a parabolic trough collector receiver: An experimental study,” J. Clean. Prod., vol. 171, pp. 285–296, 2018.
22. [22] A. Mwesigye, İ. H. Yılmaz, and J. P. Meyer, “Numerical analysis of the thermal and thermodynamic performance of a parabolic trough solar collector using SWCNTs-Therminol®VP-1 nanofluid,” Renew. Energy, vol. 119, pp. 844–862, 2018.
23. [23] P. V. Bhale, M. K. Rathod, and L. Sahoo, “Thermal Analysis of a Solar Concentrating System Integrated with Sensible and Latent Heat Storage,” Energy Procedia, vol. 75, pp. 2157–2162, 2015.
24. [24] J. Guo and X. Huai, “Multi-parameter optimization design of parabolic trough solar receiver,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 98, pp. 73–79, 2016.
25. [25] C. Zhang, G. Xu, Y. Quan, H. Li, and G. Song, “Optical sensitivity analysis of geometrical deformation on the parabolic trough solar collector with Monte Carlo Ray-Trace method,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 109, pp. 130–137, 2016.
26. [26] B. M. Ziapour and A. Hashtroudi, “Performance study of an enhanced solar greenhouse combined with the phase change material using genetic algorithm optimization method,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 110, pp. 253–264, 2017.
27. [27] E. Bellos, C. Tzivanidis, I. Daniil, and K. A. Antonopoulos, “The impact of internal longitudinal fins in parabolic trough collectors operating with gases,” Energy Convers. Manag., vol. 135, pp. 35–54, 2017.
28. [28] C. Tzivanidis, E. Bellos, D. Korres, K. A. Antonopoulos, and G. Mitsopoulos, “Thermal and optical efficiency investigation of a parabolic trough collector,” Case Stud. Therm. Eng., vol. 6, pp. 226–237, 2015.
29. [29] J. Yazdanpanahi, F. Sarhaddi, and M. Mahdavi Adeli, “Experimental investigation of exergy efficiency of a solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) water collector based on exergy losses,” Sol. Energy, vol. 118, pp. 197–208, 2015.
30. [30] E. Bellos, C. Tzivanidis, K. A. Antonopoulos, and G. Gkinis, “Thermal enhancement of solar parabolic trough collectors by using nanofluids and converging-diverging absorber tube,” Renew. Energy, vol. 94, pp. 213–222, 2016.
31. [31] N. Enteria, E. Gr, H. S. View, T. C. View, and N. Enteria, Solar Energy Sciences and Engineering Applications, no. January 2013. CRC Press, 2013.
32. [32] E. Bellos, C. Tzivanidis, K. A. Antonopoulos, and I. Daniil, “The use of gas working fluids in parabolic trough collectors – An energetic and exergetic analysis,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 109, pp. 1–14, 2016.
33. [33] M. Grigiante, F. Mottes, D. Zardi, and M. de Franceschi, “Experimental solar radiation measurements and their effectiveness in setting up a real-sky irradiance model,” Renew. Energy, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 1–8, 2011.
34. [34] H. Eslamnezhad and A. B. Rahimi, “Enhance heat transfer for phase-change materials in triplex tube heat exchanger with selected arrangements of fins,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 113, pp. 813–821, 2017.
35. [35] E. Bellos, C. Tzivanidis, and K. A. Antonopoulos, “A detailed working fluid investigation for solar parabolic trough collectors,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 114, pp. 374–386, 2017.
36. [36] G. D. E. V. Davis and I. P. Jones, “Natural convection in,” Int. J., vol. 3, no. July 1982, pp. 227–248, 1983.
37. [37] R. D. C. Oliveski, M. H. Macagnan, and J. B. Copetti, “Entropy generation and natural convection in rectangular cavities,” Appl. Therm. Eng., vol. 29, no. 8–9, pp. 1417–1425, 2009.