Experimental and numerical measurement of the thermal performance for parabolic trough solar concentrators

TL;DR

This paper combines experimental and numerical methods to evaluate the thermal performance of parabolic trough solar concentrators, validating simulation models with laboratory measurements to improve efficiency understanding.

Contribution

It introduces a validated simulation model for parabolic trough receiver units, supported by experimental data, enhancing design and performance analysis capabilities.

Findings

Good agreement between simulation and experimental results

Validation of the simulation code for thermal performance assessment

Insights into thermal losses and efficiency factors

Abstract

Parabolic trough mirror plants are a popular design for the conversion of solar energy to electricity via thermal processes. The receiver unit (RU) for absorbing the concentrated solar radiation is limited to maximum temperature (580 degree Celsius) and is responsible for efficiency losses mainly via thermal radiation. We built a RU in the laboratory to study the thermal performance for different designs and we companied this study with a mathematical module implemented on a simulation code. In this work, the simulation and the first set of experiments show a good agreement, validating the applicability of the code.