Implementing renewable solar energy in presence of Maxwell nanofluid in parabolic trough solar collector: a computational study

Thermal solar energy has been considered for years as one of the most promising candidate for the substitution of the conventional systems providing a clean and sustainable energy solution. However, the intermittent aspect of the solar irradiation received by the earth surface presented a major obstacle for the exploitation and the integration of such technology in various applications. In order to avoid this barrier a thermal storage system for solar energy became a necessity especially for the concentrated solar power technologies. This paper shows the work carried out to determine the thermal behavior of a concrete storage unit for medium temperature applications. The experimental thermal storage module using concrete was realized and tested in order to be integrated in an advanced setup to a solar cooling installation powered by a parabolic trough solar collector. The thermal characteristic of the used concrete matrix was determined. The thermal storage module was tested under the same thermal conditions provided by the solar collectors. The temperature variations of the module during the charging and the heat loss during the night time were investigated. The test results showed some interesting thermal inertia of the concrete based storage module. The integration of the proposed storage module to the solar loop of the cooling installation will lead to extend the operation time after sunset and to decrease time lasted by the solar parabolic trough collector to reach the required operational temperature in the morning.

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Structural analysis of absorber tube used in parabolic trough solar collector and effect of materials on its bending: A computational study

Solar Energy ◽

10.1016/j.solener.2018.02.028 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 163 ◽

pp. 471-485 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Arun Kumar Tripathy ◽

Subhankar Ray ◽

Sudhansu S. Sahoo ◽

Shanta Chakrabarty

Keyword(s):

Structural Analysis ◽

Solar Collector ◽

Computational Study ◽

Parabolic Trough ◽

Parabolic Trough Solar Collector

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Thermal Performance Study of Helically Grooved Absorber Tubes for Parabolic Trough Solar Collector

Volume 1: Fuels, Combustion, and Material Handling; Combustion Turbines Combined Cycles; Boilers and Heat Recovery Steam Generators; Virtual Plant and Cyber-Physical Systems; Plant Development and Construction; Renewable Energy Systems ◽

10.1115/power2018-7270 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Suresh Vishwakarma ◽

Kishore Debnath ◽

Biplab Kumar Debnath

Keyword(s):

Thermal Performance ◽

Solar Collector ◽

Computational Study ◽

Lower Surface ◽

Constant Heat Flux ◽

Outer Diameter ◽

Performance Study ◽

Parabolic Trough ◽

Ansys Fluent ◽

Parabolic Trough Solar Collector

In this work, a computational study on four different types of helically grooved absorber tubes namely, semi-circular, rectangular, trapezoidal, and triangular has been carried out for their possible application in parabolic trough solar collector. In order to conduct the work, absorber tube of 2 m length with 19 mm inner and 25 mm outer diameter is selected. Flow velocities have been calculated by fixing the Reynolds number of the flow as 4000 i.e., turbulent flow. A constant heat flux of 818.5 W/m2 is provided at the lower surface of the absorber tube, facing the reflector. The simulation is performed using the finite volume based tool ANSYS FLUENT 17.1. The standard k-ε RNG turbulence model is used for simulation. The values of friction factors for semi-circular, rectangular, trapezoidal, and triangular absorber tube are 0.0511, 0.0889, 0.0929, and 0.0352, respectively. Nusselt numbers for these tubes are calculated as 68.91, 65.69, 72.05, and 85.49. Hence, it can be concluded from the present study that the thermal performance of the absorber tube with triangular groove is superior to the other groove types. The pressure drop for the same tube is also lowest.

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