Abstract:
In this report comparative simulated and experimental heat transfer analysis (HTA) of
Parabolic Trough Concentrator (PTC) has been presented by varying operational
parameters and using three different configurations of receiver tube. The considered three
configurations are i. evacuated absorber tube, ii. Lost vacuum receiver tube with air in the
annulus, iii. Bare absorber with broken envelope. Water is used as heat transfer fluid
(HTF). The report describes in detail combined conduction, convection and radiation
mode of heat transfers in heat collecting element (HCE) for the considered three cases.
Computational model has been implemented in MATLAB software and then numerical
analysis technique is applied for HTA of receiver tubes. Performance parameters of PTC
(heat loss, heat gain, outlet temperature and efficiency) are assessed by evaluating optical
model and energy balance model for each absorber case considering meteorological
conditions of Islamabad. For fixed geometrical considerations, effect of varying operating
parameters (T1,M
, Wv, Tamb, Aapert, D1 ) and boundary conditions on comparative
performance of PTC has been studied. Based on simulation results mini PTC is fabricated
and then results are verified experimentally. Manual tracking system was designed to
track sun with maximum precision. Under same meteorological conditions performance
of PTC is superior by using perfect vacuum tube than other two receiver configurations.
