A Performance Analysis of a Parabolic Trough Collector using Numerical Computation And Real-Time Parameters
Abstract
This study numerically analyzes the PTC's efficiency and heat flux distribution at the cylindrical receiver tube's outer wall. A Monte Carlo Ray Tracing (MCRT) based technique was employed in the current study. A few authors have published the equations and their approaches for creating the MCRT based algorithm. This study describes a simple technique for improving MCRT algorithm accuracy while reducing processing time. The numerically calculated heat flux using the MCRT algorithm is used as an input for ANSYS (Fluent 18.1) for further numerical computations. The thermal radiation between the glass wrap and the absorber tube is also investigated. A solar steam plant built by Protarget in Germany and operated by LUIT Renewables in India matches the simulation results within 2%. PTC efficiency is further investigated concerning real-time parameters such as solar radiation, heat transfer fluid mass flow rate, wind speed and glass envelope effect.