Thermal Stress Analysis of Parabolic Trough Receivers with Concentrated Solar Irradiation
Abstract
The failure of receiver tube is the primary ongoing issue in the parabolic trough power system. In this study, the stress field of the receiver is studied by numerical simulation and the field measurements. The three-dimensional numerical simulation on the whole receiver is conducted firstly by combining the Monte-Carlo Ray Tracing method and the Finite Volume Method. The temperature, the heat loss and the expansion length of the receiver were tested on a heat loss test bench. The simulated concentrated heat flux on the absorber tube and the glass envelope have good agreement with Jeter's results. The temperature field of the entire receiver then was used to analyze the thermal stress and the deformation of the receiver. Finally, the effects of the DNI, the fluid temperature and flow rate on the temperature gradients and the thermal stress fields of the whole receiver were studied. The absorber tube bending and glass to metal seals failure were also analyzed. The Von-Misses stress and allowable strain of 316L stainless steel were used to analyze the deformation and the fatigue failure of the receiver.