Experimental and simulation of temperature distribution in absorber tube used for parabolic trough solar collector

Abstract

Solar energy has been one of the fastest growing and environmentally friendly energy sources. Among the various methods to tap thermal solar energy, Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors has been noted for the ease of manufacturing and operation. With the emphasis on Electric Vehicle and Cost-Effective Charging Station, Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors can be a novel way of harnessing solar energy for transportation. The research paper aims to study the temperature distribution of a parabolic trough solar collector prototype. A prototype testing module of a parabolic trough solar collector is designed to study the thermal performance. The increase in the water temperature and absorber tube surface temperature is considered as the output parameters for performance. The test analyses the performance for the water flow rate of 1.1, 0.7, and 0.3 liters per minute (lpm) of unpressurized water. Based on the experimental module, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is created and the experiment is simulated. A comparison of the simulated water temperature in the absorber tube against the experimental results is performed and the temperature distribution is found to be in close agreement.