IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v111y2013icp581-592.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Heat transfer analysis and numerical simulation of a parabolic trough solar collector

Author

Listed:
  • Hachicha, A.A.
  • Rodríguez, I.
  • Capdevila, R.
  • Oliva, A.

Abstract

Parabolic trough solar collector is the most proven industry-scale solar generation technology today available. The thermal performance of such devices is of major interest for optimising the solar field output and increase the efficiency of power plants. In this paper, a detailed numerical heat transfer model based on the finite volume method for these equipment is presented. In the model, the different elements of the receiver are discretised into several segments in both axial and azimuthal directions and energy balances are applied for each control volume. An optical model is also developed for calculating the non-uniform solar flux distribution around the receiver. This model is based on finite volume method and ray trace techniques and takes into account the finite size of the Sun. The solar heat flux is determined as a pre-processing task and coupled to the energy balance model as a boundary condition for the outer surface of the receiver. The set of algebraic equations are solved simultaneously using direct solvers. The model is thoroughly validated with results from the literature. First, the optical model is compared with known analytical solutions. After that, the performance of the overall model is tested against experimental measurements from Sandia National Laboratories and other un-irradiated receivers experiments. In all cases, results obtained shown a good agreement with experimental and analytical results.

Suggested Citation

  • Hachicha, A.A. & Rodríguez, I. & Capdevila, R. & Oliva, A., 2013. "Heat transfer analysis and numerical simulation of a parabolic trough solar collector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 581-592.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:111:y:2013:i:c:p:581-592
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.04.067
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261913003632
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.04.067?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Naeeni, N. & Yaghoubi, M., 2007. "Analysis of wind flow around a parabolic collector (1) fluid flow," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(11), pages 1898-1916.
    2. García-Cortés, Silverio & Bello-García, Antonio & Ordóñez, Celestino, 2012. "Estimating intercept factor of a parabolic solar trough collector with new supporting structure using off-the-shelf photogrammetric equipment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 815-821.
    3. Padilla, Ricardo Vasquez & Demirkaya, Gokmen & Goswami, D. Yogi & Stefanakos, Elias & Rahman, Muhammad M., 2011. "Heat transfer analysis of parabolic trough solar receiver," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(12), pages 5097-5110.
    4. Roldán, M.I. & Valenzuela, L. & Zarza, E., 2013. "Thermal analysis of solar receiver pipes with superheated steam," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 73-84.
    5. He, Ya-Ling & Xiao, Jie & Cheng, Ze-Dong & Tao, Yu-Bing, 2011. "A MCRT and FVM coupled simulation method for energy conversion process in parabolic trough solar collector," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 976-985.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yılmaz, İbrahim Halil & Mwesigye, Aggrey, 2018. "Modeling, simulation and performance analysis of parabolic trough solar collectors: A comprehensive review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 135-174.
    2. Cheng, Z.D. & He, Y.L. & Cui, F.Q. & Du, B.C. & Zheng, Z.J. & Xu, Y., 2014. "Comparative and sensitive analysis for parabolic trough solar collectors with a detailed Monte Carlo ray-tracing optical model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 559-572.
    3. Hachicha, Ahmed Amine & Yousef, Bashria A.A. & Said, Zafar & Rodríguez, Ivette, 2019. "A review study on the modeling of high-temperature solar thermal collector systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 280-298.
    4. Cheng, Ze-Dong & He, Ya-Ling & Qiu, Yu, 2015. "A detailed nonuniform thermal model of a parabolic trough solar receiver with two halves and two inactive ends," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 139-147.
    5. Silva, R. & Pérez, M. & Fernández-Garcia, A., 2013. "Modeling and co-simulation of a parabolic trough solar plant for industrial process heat," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 287-300.
    6. Huang, Zhen & Li, Zeng-Yao & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2017. "Numerical study on combined natural and forced convection in the fully-developed turbulent region for a horizontal circular tube heated by non-uniform heat flux," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 2194-2208.
    7. Jebasingh, V.K. & Herbert, G.M. Joselin, 2016. "A review of solar parabolic trough collector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1085-1091.
    8. Cheng, Ze-Dong & Zhao, Xue-Ru & He, Ya-Ling, 2018. "Novel optical efficiency formulas for parabolic trough solar collectors: Computing method and applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 682-697.
    9. Sandá, Antonio & Moya, Sara L. & Valenzuela, Loreto, 2019. "Modelling and simulation tools for direct steam generation in parabolic-trough solar collectors: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1-1.
    10. Yunhong Shi & Davood Toghraie & Farzad Nadi & Gholamreza Ahmadi & As’ad Alizadeh & Long Zhang, 2021. "The effect of the pitch angle, two-axis tracking system, and wind velocity on the parabolic trough solar collector thermal performance," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(12), pages 17329-17348, December.
    11. Serrano-Aguilera, J.J. & Valenzuela, L. & Parras, L., 2014. "Thermal 3D model for Direct Solar Steam Generation under superheated conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 370-382.
    12. Lu, Jianfeng & Ding, Jing & Yang, Jianping & Yang, Xiaoxi, 2013. "Nonuniform heat transfer model and performance of parabolic trough solar receiver," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 666-675.
    13. Yang, S. & Sensoy, T.S. & Ordonez, J.C., 2018. "Dynamic 3D volume element model of a parabolic trough solar collector for simulation and optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 509-526.
    14. Ajbar, Wassila & Parrales, A. & Huicochea, A. & Hernández, J.A., 2022. "Different ways to improve parabolic trough solar collectors’ performance over the last four decades and their applications: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    15. Wu, Zhiyong & Li, Shidong & Yuan, Guofeng & Lei, Dongqiang & Wang, Zhifeng, 2014. "Three-dimensional numerical study of heat transfer characteristics of parabolic trough receiver," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 902-911.
    16. Moudakkar, Touria & El Hallaoui, Z. & Vaudreuil, S. & Bounahmidi, T., 2019. "Modeling and performance analysis of a PTC for industrial phosphate flash drying," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 1134-1148.
    17. Liang, Hongbo & You, Shijun & Zhang, Huan, 2015. "Comparison of different heat transfer models for parabolic trough solar collectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 105-114.
    18. Cheng, Ze-Dong & Men, Jing-Jing & Liu, Shi-Cheng & He, Ya-Ling, 2019. "Three-dimensional numerical study on a novel parabolic trough solar receiver-reactor of a locally-installed Kenics static mixer for efficient hydrogen production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 250(C), pages 131-146.
    19. Qiu, Yu & Zhang, Yuanting & Li, Qing & Xu, Yucong & Wen, Zhe-Xi, 2020. "A novel parabolic trough receiver enhanced by integrating a transparent aerogel and wing-like mirrors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    20. Singh, Manmeet & Sharma, Manoj Kumar & Bhattacharya, Jishnu, 2021. "Design methodology of a parabolic trough collector field for maximum annual energy yield," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 229-241.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:111:y:2013:i:c:p:581-592. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.