IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v152y2020icp23-33.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Improving the performance of a 2-stage large aperture parabolic trough solar concentrator using a secondary reflector designed by adaptive method

Author

Listed:
  • Gong, Jing-hu
  • Wang, Jun
  • Lund, Peter D.
  • Hu, En-yi
  • Xu, Zhi-cheng
  • Liu, Guang-peng
  • Li, Guo-shuai

Abstract

In this study, the efficiency of a large aperture 2-stage parabolic trough concentrator (PTC) is improved using an innovative design method for the secondary reflector (SR). The design method is based on an adaptive approach in which the SR is step-wise optimized to maximally reflect back to the absorber tube (AT) the part of solar radiation reflected by the primary reflector (PR) but not captured by the AT. The adaptive design method results in a SR design which consists of several parabolas with different focal lengths, each having a focus which lies in the focus of the PR. This ensures that the originally unabsorbed solar radiation will now hit the surface of AT. The optical efficiency of the PTC could be increased by 5.2% and thermal efficiency by 4.9%, respectively, compared to a case without optimized SR. In addition, the uniformity of the solar radiation flux on the AT’s outer wall could be doubled, its temperature was more even. The new adaptive design approach of the SR could help to better optimize PTC systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Gong, Jing-hu & Wang, Jun & Lund, Peter D. & Hu, En-yi & Xu, Zhi-cheng & Liu, Guang-peng & Li, Guo-shuai, 2020. "Improving the performance of a 2-stage large aperture parabolic trough solar concentrator using a secondary reflector designed by adaptive method," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 23-33.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:152:y:2020:i:c:p:23-33
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2020.01.019
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148120300203
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2020.01.019?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qiu, Yu & He, Ya-Ling & Cheng, Ze-Dong & Wang, Kun, 2015. "Study on optical and thermal performance of a linear Fresnel solar reflector using molten salt as HTF with MCRT and FVM methods," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 162-173.
    2. Fernández-García, A. & Zarza, E. & Valenzuela, L. & Pérez, M., 2010. "Parabolic-trough solar collectors and their applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(7), pages 1695-1721, September.
    3. Mwesigye, Aggrey & Yılmaz, İbrahim Halil & Meyer, Josua P., 2018. "Numerical analysis of the thermal and thermodynamic performance of a parabolic trough solar collector using SWCNTs-Therminol®VP-1 nanofluid," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 844-862.
    4. Wang, Cheng-Long & Gong, Jing-Hu & Yan, Jia-Jie & Zhou, Yuan & Fan, Duo-Wang, 2019. "Theoretical and experimental study on the uniformity of reflective high concentration photovoltaic system with light funnel," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 893-900.
    5. Mwesigye, Aggrey & Meyer, Josua P., 2017. "Optimal thermal and thermodynamic performance of a solar parabolic trough receiver with different nanofluids and at different concentration ratios," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 393-413.
    6. Manikandan, G.K. & Iniyan, S. & Goic, Ranko, 2019. "Enhancing the optical and thermal efficiency of a parabolic trough collector – A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1524-1540.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Herez, Amal & El Hage, Hicham & Lemenand, Thierry & Ramadan, Mohamad & Khaled, Mahmoud, 2021. "Parabolic trough photovoltaic/thermal hybrid system: Thermal modeling and parametric analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(P1), pages 224-236.
    2. Fang, Shibiao & Mu, Lin & Tu, Wenrong, 2021. "Application design and assessment of a novel small-decentralized solar distillation device based on energy, exergy, exergoeconomic, and enviroeconomic parameters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 1350-1363.
    3. El-Bakry, M. Medhat & Kassem, Mahmoud A. & Hassan, Muhammed A., 2021. "Passive performance enhancement of parabolic trough solar concentrators using internal radiation heat shields," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(P1), pages 52-66.
    4. Hao, Menghao & Chen, Lizhi & Chen, Jianxun & Lu, Luyi & Li, Jianlan, 2022. "Safety and efficiency assessment of absorber with an initial offset in a parabolic trough collector," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 774-789.
    5. Qiu, Yu & Xu, Yucong & Li, Qing & Wang, Jikang & Wang, Qiliang & Liu, Bin, 2021. "Efficiency enhancement of a solar trough collector by combining solar and hot mirrors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    6. Chinnasamy Subramaniyan & Jothirathinam Subramani & Balasubramanian Kalidasan & Natarajan Anbuselvan & Thangaraj Yuvaraj & Natarajan Prabaharan & Tomonobu Senjyu, 2021. "Investigation on the Optical Design and Performance of a Single-Axis-Tracking Solar Parabolic trough Collector with a Secondary Reflector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-19, September.
    7. Du, Bin & Lund, Peter D. & Wang, Jun, 2021. "Combining CFD and artificial neural network techniques to predict the thermal performance of all-glass straight evacuated tube solar collector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    8. Shaaban, S., 2021. "Enhancement of the solar trough collector efficiency by optimizing the reflecting mirror profile," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 40-49.
    9. Gong, Jing-hu & Wang, Jun & Lund, Peter D., 2021. "Improving stability and heat transfer through a beam in a semi-circular absorber tube of a large-aperture trough solar concentrator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    10. Tang, X.Y. & Yang, W.W. & Yang, Y. & Jiao, Y.H. & Zhang, T., 2021. "A design method for optimizing the secondary reflector of a parabolic trough solar concentrator to achieve uniform heat flux distribution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    11. Gong, Jing-hu & Huang, Ji & Hu, Xiaojian & Wang, Jun & Lund, Peter D. & Gao, Caiyun, 2021. "Optimizing research on large-aperture parabolic trough condenser using two kinds of absorber tubes with reflector at 500 °C," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 2187-2197.
    12. Rodriguez-Sanchez, David & Rosengarten, Gary, 2024. "Optical efficiency of parabolic troughs with a secondary flat reflector; effects of non-ideal primary mirrors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    13. Gong, Jing-hu & Wang, Jun & Lund, Peter D. & Zhao, Dan-dan & Xu, Jing-wen & Jin, Yi-hao, 2021. "Comparative study of heat transfer enhancement using different fins in semi-circular absorber tube for large-aperture trough solar concentrator," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 1229-1241.
    14. Gong, Jing-hu & Wang, Jun & Lund, Peter D. & Zhao, Dan-dan & Hu, En-yi & Jin, Wei, 2020. "Improving the performance of large-aperture parabolic trough solar concentrator using semi-circular absorber tube with external fin and flat-plate radiation shield," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 1215-1223.
    15. Jing-hu, Gong & Yong, Li & Jun, Wang & Lund, Peter, 2023. "Performance optimization of larger-aperture parabolic trough concentrator solar power station using multi-stage heating technology," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    16. Ben Taher, M.A. & Pelay, U. & Russeil, S. & Bougeard, D., 2023. "A novel design to optimize the optical performances of parabolic trough collector using Taguchi, ANOVA and grey relational analysis methods," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    17. Halimi, Mohammed & El Amrani, Aumeur & Messaoudi, Choukri, 2021. "New experimental investigation of the circumferential temperature uniformity for a PTC absorber," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    18. Ajbar, Wassila & Parrales, A. & Huicochea, A. & Hernández, J.A., 2022. "Different ways to improve parabolic trough solar collectors’ performance over the last four decades and their applications: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    19. Amein, Hamza & Kassem, Mahmoud A. & Ali, Shady & Hassan, Muhammed A., 2021. "Integration of transparent insulation shells in linear solar receivers for enhanced energy and exergy performances," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 344-359.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gong, Jing-hu & Wang, Jun & Lund, Peter D. & Zhao, Dan-dan & Hu, En-yi & Jin, Wei, 2020. "Improving the performance of large-aperture parabolic trough solar concentrator using semi-circular absorber tube with external fin and flat-plate radiation shield," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 1215-1223.
    2. Ajbar, Wassila & Parrales, A. & Huicochea, A. & Hernández, J.A., 2022. "Different ways to improve parabolic trough solar collectors’ performance over the last four decades and their applications: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    3. Gong, Jing-hu & Huang, Ji & Hu, Xiaojian & Wang, Jun & Lund, Peter D. & Gao, Caiyun, 2021. "Optimizing research on large-aperture parabolic trough condenser using two kinds of absorber tubes with reflector at 500 °C," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 2187-2197.
    4. Gong, Jing-hu & Wang, Jun & Lund, Peter D. & Zhao, Dan-dan & Xu, Jing-wen & Jin, Yi-hao, 2021. "Comparative study of heat transfer enhancement using different fins in semi-circular absorber tube for large-aperture trough solar concentrator," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 1229-1241.
    5. Hachicha, Ahmed Amine & Yousef, Bashria A.A. & Said, Zafar & Rodríguez, Ivette, 2019. "A review study on the modeling of high-temperature solar thermal collector systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 280-298.
    6. Yılmaz, İbrahim Halil & Mwesigye, Aggrey, 2018. "Modeling, simulation and performance analysis of parabolic trough solar collectors: A comprehensive review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 135-174.
    7. Gong, Jing-hu & Wang, Jun & Lund, Peter D., 2021. "Improving stability and heat transfer through a beam in a semi-circular absorber tube of a large-aperture trough solar concentrator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    8. Cheng, Ze-Dong & Zhao, Xue-Ru & He, Ya-Ling, 2018. "Novel optical efficiency formulas for parabolic trough solar collectors: Computing method and applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 682-697.
    9. Jing-hu, Gong & Yong, Li & Jun, Wang & Lund, Peter, 2023. "Performance optimization of larger-aperture parabolic trough concentrator solar power station using multi-stage heating technology," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    10. Manikandan, G.K. & Iniyan, S. & Goic, Ranko, 2019. "Enhancing the optical and thermal efficiency of a parabolic trough collector – A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1524-1540.
    11. Bellos, Evangelos & Tzivanidis, Christos & Tsimpoukis, Dimitrios, 2017. "Multi-criteria evaluation of parabolic trough collector with internally finned absorbers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 540-561.
    12. Wang, Qiliang & Hu, Mingke & Yang, Honglun & Cao, Jingyu & Li, Jing & Su, Yuehong & Pei, Gang, 2019. "Performance evaluation and analyses of novel parabolic trough evacuated collector tubes with spectrum-selective glass envelope," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 793-804.
    13. Abubakr, Mohamed & Amein, Hamza & Akoush, Bassem M. & El-Bakry, M. Medhat & Hassan, Muhammed A., 2020. "An intuitive framework for optimizing energetic and exergetic performances of parabolic trough solar collectors operating with nanofluids," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 130-149.
    14. Fuqiang, Wang & Zhexiang, Tang & Xiangtao, Gong & Jianyu, Tan & Huaizhi, Han & Bingxi, Li, 2016. "Heat transfer performance enhancement and thermal strain restrain of tube receiver for parabolic trough solar collector by using asymmetric outward convex corrugated tube," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 275-292.
    15. Zhou, Ran & Wang, Ruilin & Xing, Chenjian & Sun, Jian & Guo, Yafei & Li, Weiling & Qu, Wanjun & Hong, Hui & Zhao, Chuanwen, 2022. "Design and analysis of a compact solar concentrator tracking via the refraction of the rotating prism," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    16. El-Bakry, M. Medhat & Kassem, Mahmoud A. & Hassan, Muhammed A., 2021. "Passive performance enhancement of parabolic trough solar concentrators using internal radiation heat shields," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(P1), pages 52-66.
    17. Stanek, Bartosz & Wang, Wujun & Bartela, Łukasz, 2023. "A potential solution in reducing the parabolic trough based solar industrial process heat system cost by partially replacing absorbers coatings with non-selective ones in initial loop sections," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    18. Liang, Huaxu & Wang, Fuqiang & Yang, Luwei & Cheng, Ziming & Shuai, Yong & Tan, Heping, 2021. "Progress in full spectrum solar energy utilization by spectral beam splitting hybrid PV/T system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    19. Amein, Hamza & Akoush, Bassem M. & El-Bakry, M. Medhat & Abubakr, Mohamed & Hassan, Muhammed A., 2022. "Enhancing the energy utilization in parabolic trough concentrators with cracked heat collection elements using a cost-effective rotation mechanism," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 250-266.
    20. Peng, Hao & Guo, Wenhua & Li, Meilin, 2020. "Thermal-hydraulic and thermodynamic performances of liquid metal based nanofluid in parabolic trough solar receiver tube," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:152:y:2020:i:c:p:23-33. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.