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A Method of Three-Dimensional Thermo-Fluid Simulation of the Receiver of a Standard Parabolic Trough Collector

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Application of Thermo-fluid Processes in Energy Systems

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

Abstract

A parabolic trough collector (PTC) is the most proven concentrating collector system for indirect steam generation in solar thermal power plants. The receiver of the collector is fabricated enveloping a metal absorber tube using an evacuated glass tube. Depending on the level of evacuation, the glass envelope reduces the convection heat loss from the tube almost to zero. However, sometimes the envelopes are broken, damaged or removed that causes potential convection loss from an open-to-air receiver tube. On the other hand, the solar irradiance profile around the receiver tube is likely to be highly nonuniform. In order to study the heat transfer mechanism of an exposed receiver tube of a standard PTC under the actual optical and environmental conditions, a 3-dimensional Computational Conjugate Heat Transfer (CCHT) model of the receiver tube was developed. The CCHT model was developed applying finite volume technique of computational fluid dynamics integrating with a verified Monte Carlo ray tracing optical model. The CCHT model was verified extensively, and different heat loss models were developed to investigate the heat loss characteristics. The convection heat loss from the outer surface of the receiver tube was observed very high as it was exposed to a high-temperature gradient with its surroundings. Therefore, it is obvious that the receiver tube should be enveloped and evacuated properly. A well-managed and efficiently operated PTC solar energy field could be the best candidate for sustainable energy management for a sustainable future.

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Acknowledgements

This article is a part of a PhD project that is supported by a QUT post graduate research award and by a CSIRO Flagship collaboration fund PhD top-up scholarship through the Energy Transformed Flagship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4001, Australia

    M. Islam, Suvash C. Saha, M. A. Karim & Prasad K. D. V. Yarlagadda

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology, Chittagong, 4349, Bangladesh

    M. Islam

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  1. M. Islam
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  2. Suvash C. Saha
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  3. M. A. Karim
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  4. Prasad K. D. V. Yarlagadda
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Correspondence to M. Islam or Suvash C. Saha .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

    M. Masud K. Khan

  2. School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Gladstone, Queensland, Australia

    Ashfaque Ahmed Chowdhury

  3. School of Engineering and Technology, Central Queensland University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia

    Nur M. Sayeed Hassan

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Islam, M., Saha, S.C., Karim, M.A., Yarlagadda, P.K.D.V. (2018). A Method of Three-Dimensional Thermo-Fluid Simulation of the Receiver of a Standard Parabolic Trough Collector. In: Khan, M., Chowdhury, A., Hassan, N. (eds) Application of Thermo-fluid Processes in Energy Systems. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0697-5_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0697-5_9

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  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-0697-5

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