Coupled optical-thermal performance enhancement of solar parabolic dish system using a hemiellipsoidal tubular receiver

The thermal efficiency of Solar Parabolic Dish Reflector (SPDR)-cavity systems is greatly influenced by non-uniform heat flux distribution on the receiver and convective heat losses. This study addresses the gap in optimizing optical and thermal performance by proposing a novel receiver design combining hemiellipsoid and inverted truncated cone shapes. Optical efficiency and flux uniformity were analyzed for various receiver shapes including conical, cylindrical-hemispherical, and modified hemiellipsoidal shapes with eccentricities of 0.3 and 0.7 using the Monte Carlo Ray Tracing (MCRT) method in COMSOL Multiphysics. Thermal performance was assessed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in ANSYS FLUENT, focusing on different receiver openings and wind speeds (0–10 m/s). The hemiellipsoidal receiver with an eccentricity of 0.3 achieved the highest flux uniformity at 42 % and significantly reduced convective heat loss. The study also evaluated thermal performance against different tilt angles, ranging from −90 to 90°, to test efficiency under various wind scenarios. The findings suggest that the proposed design enhances thermal performance by improving flux uniformity and reducing heat losses, offering a promising solution for increasing the efficiency of solar thermal power systems.