Characterization of a Medium Temperature Concentrator for Process Heat – Tracking Error Estimation
Abstract
Concentrating solar collectors could be used in industry to meet heating demands. In this study, a solar thermal concentrator is investigated. This system was designed and built within a European project, DIGESPO, and a prototype has been installed on a pharmaceutical plant for process heat generation in Malta. In this paper, the optical efficiency of this collector was characterized using the input and output measured data obtained during a testing campaign lasting than two months. A thermal analysis was undertaken to estimate how the solar tracker precision of this collector could influence the solar collector optical efficiency, based on tracker installation error estimation and the transverse incidence angle modifier curve determined by ray-tracing program. The results obtained were a optical efficiency η0 of 30.9% and a maximum optical lost due to incidence angle of 0.5%.
Keywords
Collector testing, Variable geometry, Optical and thermal characterization, Solar tracking error