Design and Analysis of Solar Parabolic Trough Collector for Steam Generation

Abstract

The globe faces the prospect of running out of conventional fuels due to a rise in energy consumption induced by rapid industrialization over the last several decades. This, combined with the world's current environmental challenges, has resulted in a steady movement away from the use of conventional fuels and toward the promotion of technology that can generate energy from alternative and renewable sources. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, this shift has been sluggish, and the country's primary energy sources are still national gas reserves and imported fossil fuels despite having a huge potential for solar energy. Our research attempts to unleash the potential of this resource by capturing thermal energy from solar radiation using a concentric parabolic trough collector and using it to heat water, which is one of the most cost-effective methods. The most widely used solar concentrating technique is the parabolic trough collector (PTC). Traditional parabolic trough collectors are utilized in a variety of medium and high temperature applications. There are, however, several research that investigate other designs. The study of alternative PTC configurations is motivated by the need to improve thermal efficiency, lower manufacturing costs, and produce more compact designs. The goal of this project is to compile a list of existing PTC alternative designs and to forecast future trends in this field. Many potential options for developing PTC with greater thermal performance and cheaper cost have been discovered. The findings of this study can be utilized to predict future developments in linear parabolic concentrating technology.