Improving Heat Transfer in Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors by Magnetic Nanofluids

A parabolic trough solar collector(PTSC)converts solar radiation into thermal energy.However,low thermal efficiency of PTSC poses a hindrance to the deployment of solar thermal power plants.Thermal performance of PTSC is enhanced in this study by incorporating magnetic nanoparticles into the working fluid.The circular receiver pipe,with dimensions of 66 mm diameter,2 mm thickness,and 24 m length,is exposed to uniform temperature and velocity conditions.The working fluid,Therminol-66,is supplemented with Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles at concentrations ranging from 1%to 4%.The findings demonstrate that the inclusion of nanoparticles increases the convective heat transfer coefficient(HTC)of the PTSC,with higher nanoparticle volume fractions leading to greater heat transfer but increased pressure drop.The thermal enhancement factor(TEF)of the PTSC is positively affected by the volume fraction of nanoparticles,both with and without a magnetic field.Notably,the scenario with a 4%nanoparticle volume fraction and a magnetic field strength of 250 G exhibits the highest TEF,indicating superior thermal performance.These findings offer potential avenues for improving the efficiency of PTSCs in solar thermal plants by introducing magnetic nanoparticles into the working fluid.

A design method and numerical study for a new type parabolic trough solar collector with uniform solar flux distribution

The non-uniform concentrated solar flux distribution on the outer surface of the absorber tube can lead to large circumferential temperature difference and high local temperature of the absorber tube wall,which is one of the primary causes of parabolic trough solar receiver(PTR)failures.In this paper,a secondary reflector used as a homogenizing reflector(HR)in a conventional parabolic trough solar collector(PTSC)was recommended to homogenize the solar flux distribution and thus increase the reliability of the PTR.The design method of this new type PTSC with a HR was also proposed.Meanwhile,the concentrated solar flux distribution was calculated by adopting the Monte Carlo ray-trace(MCRT)method.Then,the coupled heat transfer process within the PTR was simulated by treating the solar flux calculated by the MCRT method as the heat flux boundary condition for the finite volume method model.The solar flux distribution on the outer surface of the absorber tube,the temperature field of the absorber tube wall,and the collector efficiency were analyzed in detail.It was revealed that the absorber tube could almost be heated uniformly in the PTSC with a HR.As a result,the circumferential temperature difference and the maximum temperature could be reduced significantly,while the efficiency tended to decrease slightly due to the inevitably increased optical loss.Under the conditions studied in this paper,although the collector efficiency decreased by about 4%,the circumferential temperature difference was reduced from about 25 to 3 K and the maximum temperature was reduced from667 to 661 K.

Selective Absorber Coatings and Technological Advancements in Performance Enhancement for Parabolic Trough Solar Collector

Parabolic trough solar collector systems are the most advanced concentrating solar power technology for large-scale power generation purposes. The current work reviews various selective coating materials and their characteristics for different designs in concentrating solar power. Solar selective absorbing coatings collect solar radiation and convert it to heat. To promote higher efficiency and lower energy costs at higher temperatures requires, this study aims to analyse the fundamental chemistry and thermal stability of some key coatings currently being used and even under investigation to find reasons for differences, information gaps and potential for improvement in results. In recent years, several novel and useful solar absorber coatings have been developed. However, qualification test methods such as corrosion resistance, thermal stability testing and prediction of service life, which have essential technical value for large-scale solar absorbers, are lacking. Coatings are used to enhance the performance of reflectors and absorbers in terms of quality, efficiency, maintenance and cost. Differentiated coatings are required as there are no uniformly perfect materials in various applications, working conditions and material variations. Much more knowledge of the physical and chemical properties and durability of the coatings is required, which will help prevent failures that could not be discovered previously.

Study of a Parabolic Trough Adequate for the CERER Site （Dakar-Senegal）

This study presents the modeling of a parabolic trough solar collector. The main objective is to show the influences of the parabolic trough sensor effective efficiency （concentrator optical efflciencies of transmission, reflection, geometrical and the receiver absorption coefficient）, of its length, of the mass flow rate on temperatures distributions of the heat fluid and the receiver and on thermal global efficiency （solar conversion efficiency into energy usable）. The atmospheric parameters are those of Senegal in April. A prototype existing in the CERER （Center of Studies and Research on Renewable Energies） （Dakar-Senegal） is given as example of application.

Performance Evaluation of Short Parabolic Trough Collectors Integrated with a Small-Scale Solar Power and Heating System

An investigation is presented on the performance of a small-scale solar power and heating system with short parabolic trough collectors(PTCs). The steady-state model of the short PTCs is evaluated with outside experiments. The model mainly contains the heat loss of the receiver, the peak optical efficiency and the incident angle factor consisting of incident angle modifier and end loss. It is found that the end loss effect is essential in this model when the length of the PTCs is less than 48 m, especially in the winter. The standard deviation of the steady-state model is 1.4%. Moreover, the potential energy efficiency ratio of the solar power and heating system is considerably larger than the coefficient of performance(COP) of general air-source heat pumps, and increases with the decrease of the condensation temperature. An overall system efficiency of 49% can be reached. Lastly,the existence of a water storage tank improves the flexibility of heating the building, and the volume of the water storage tank decreases with the increase of the heating water temperature.

Performance comparison of the solar-driven supercritical organic Rankine cycle coupled with the vapour-compression refrigeration cycle

In this study,a parametric analysis was performed of a supercritical organic Rankine cycle driven by solar parabolic trough collectors(PTCs)coupled with a vapour-compression refrigeration cycle simultaneously for cooling and power production.Thermal efficiency,exergy efficiency,exergy destruction and the coefficient of performance of the cogeneration system were considered to be performance parameters.A computer program was developed in engineering equation-solver software for analysis.Influences of the PTC design parameters(solar irradiation,solar-beam incidence angle and velocity of the heat-transfer fluid in the absorber tube),turbine inlet pressure,condenser and evaporator temperature on system performance were discussed.Furthermore,the performance of the cogeneration system was also compared with and without PTCs.It was concluded that it was necessary to design the PTCs carefully in order to achieve better cogeneration performance.The highest values of exergy efficiency,thermal efficiency and exergy destruction of the cogeneration system were 92.9%,51.13%and 1437 kW,respectively,at 0.95 kW/m2 of solar irradiation based on working fluid R227ea,but the highest coefficient of performance was found to be 2.278 on the basis of working fluid R134a.It was also obtained from the results that PTCs accounted for 76.32%of the total exergy destruction of the overall system and the cogeneration system performed well without considering solar performance.

Surface modification of indium tin oxide by oxygen plasma immersion ion implantation

Organic electroluminescent device,also known as organic light-emitting diode (OLED),is a kind of solid state light emitting device by carrier injection which can directly transform electrical energy into luminous energy.Due to its low operating voltage,low energy consumption,high brightness,flexibility in the choice of materials and easy realization of full color display,OLED is the potential material both in the display and illumination fields.However,there is much scope to improve the efficiency,lifetime,and reduce the cost in mass production before OLEDs can replace traditional technology in some application fields.In this work,we report the oxygen plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) to improve the surface oxygen ratio of ITO films for further increase of surface work function above the common treatment of O2 inductively coupled plasma (ICP).The ratio of oxygen content at the surface layer was improved to be much higher than by O2 ICP treatment.A further surface work function relative increase of 0.4e V above OICP sample and 0.4 eV above the as-prepared sample can be estimated by the peak relative shift in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) diagram.Moreover,the XPS characterization was carried out at least 50 h after the PIII implantation to indicate that the surface modifying effects are stable.The variations of transparency and conductivity of the PIII treated ITO samples can be neglected.