Theoretical and experimental investigation on thermal performance of a parabolic trough solar collector array

Theoretical and experimental investigations on performance of a Parabolic Trough Solar Collector (PTSC) array were performed in this thesis. The theoretical study comprises the optical and thermal analyses of the PTSC. The thermal analysis was based on steady-state and one dimensional heat transfer approach. Thermal losses of the receiver by taking into account the effects of collector dimensions, its material properties and fluid properties were evaluated. Numerical calculations were performed by using a program in Engineering Equation Solver (EES). The experimental tests have been carried out in Gaziantep for the selected days of summer season, 2013. Performance of the PTSC was evaluated by using measurement parameters including temperatures, mass flow rate of heat transfer fluids and solar radiation. Effects of beam radiation, collector inlet temperature, ambient conditions, and the variation in mass flow rate of the working fluid on the performance of the PTSC array were investigated. The steady state and dynamic tests of the PTSC array were performed. The average thermal efficiency of the PTSC array is obtained as 56% while the optical efficiency is in the level of 55%. Moreover, efficiency tests were performed by the working fluid of Renolin therm 320 in a temperature range from 50°C, 100°C, 150°C and 200°C, and mass flow rate of 0.1 kg/s to 0.5 kg/s, respectively. It was also found that the obtained characteristic curve of the tested collector is considerably favorable for industrial heating applications requiring thermal energy lower than 200°C.