The parabolic trough solar collector supporting structure is made up of three parts:
- The main support
- The frame
- The receiver brackets
What is parabolic trough?
Parabolic trough is a set of concave mirrors that concentrate solar rays on the receiver tube that is located in the focus. These troughs can track the Sun around one axis, typically oriented north–south to ensure the highest possible efficiency. The fluid flows through this tube and absorbs heat from the concentrated solar energy.
What are the main components of solar parabolic trough collectors?
Main components of solar parabolic trough collectors are: – Foundation and metallic structure: support the collectors and fix them to the ground so that the whole structure can support the collector. – Parabolic trough reflector: this is the concentrating part of the collector. It reflects the solar radiation and transfers it to the receiver tube.
What type of HTF is used in parabolic troughs?
Parabolic trough plants currently in operation use an HTF in the collector field that is a mixture of the organic compounds diphenyl oxide and biphenyl oxide. This synthetic oil offers the best combination of low freezing point (14 °C) and upper temperature limit (393 °C) among available HTFs.
What is a parabolic-trough collector?
Parabolic-trough collector is a viable technology for harnessing solar energy for industrial process heat in Cyprus. Parabolic-trough solar concentrating systems are an advanced and matured technology.
How do you make a parabolic trough?
0:0011:04Parabolic Trough Solar Collector - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipYou'll notice I've got two half-inch copper pipes here and painted those with a flat black high-MoreYou'll notice I've got two half-inch copper pipes here and painted those with a flat black high-temperature paint there's my heat collector tubes. And the two tubes on the ends.
What is parabolic material?
A parabolic system consists of a parabolic dish concentrator that reflects solar radiation on a platform mounted at its focal point. Due to its low cost and high manufacturability, most common material used for reflectors is anodized aluminum. The aluminum reflectors have reflectivity in the range of 75–95 %.
What is the material to manufacture parabolic dish concentrator?
Through a polished stainless steel parabolic dish, solar radiation is concentrated into a specific area called focus, where thermal energy is generated and is used for cooking or fulfilling a necessity without high investment and helping the environment.
What is parabolic trough reflector?
The parabolic trough reflector is a solar thermal energy collector designed to capture the sun's direct solar radiation over a large surface area and focus, or more generally “concentrate it” onto a small focal point area increasing the solar energy received by more than a factor of two which means more overall heat ...
How do you make a parabolic water heater?
0:0110:00PARABOLIC TROUGH REFLECTOR SOLAR WATER HEATER GREEN ...YouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAlong a parabolic curve that focuses. All the sunlight in a linear beam in one spot. Most casesMoreAlong a parabolic curve that focuses. All the sunlight in a linear beam in one spot. Most cases people use a pipe. And they'll use a mirror like this to shine it to the backside of the pipe.
Which is the advantage of parabolic trough system?
The low cost provided by parabolic troughs is the greatest advantage. The cheapest source at present is solar parabolic troughs. Considerable working experience has been gained from their working over the years. Parabolic troughs generate very high temperatures which are suitable for steam generation.
What is the material to manufacture parabolic dish concentrator Mcq?
anodized aluminumWhich of the following are used to manufacture parabolic dish concentrator? Explanation: Parabolic dish (and trough) are made of anodized aluminum (or coated with aluminum) to reflect sunlight and concentrate it onto a receiver.
What is solar concentrator made of?
Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSCs) are composed of coloured panels of plastic material that have a special characteristic: they can capture sunlight and concentrate it along their edges, where it is intercepted by small photovoltaic cells and converted into electricity.
How hot can parabolic trough get?
The troughs are rotated throughout the day as the sun moves from east to west to maximize the received solar energy. The metal absorber tube is filled with fluid, typically synthetic oil, which can be heated up to 400°C. Because of the parabolic shape, the troughs can focus the sun at 30–100 times its normal intensity.
How hot can a parabolic mirror get?
3,500 °CParabolic mirrors or heliostats concentrate light (Insolation) onto a focal point. The temperature at the focal point may reach 3,500 °C (6,330 °F), and this heat can be used to generate electricity, melt steel, make hydrogen fuel or nanomaterials.
How does a parabolic dish work?
Parabolic dish systems use mirrors that are mounted over a parabolic-shaped dish to focus the sun's rays onto a receiver. The latter is mounted at the focal point of the dish along with a heat engine (Stirling or Brayton cycle engine), which has thin tubes inside it.
How does a parabolic solar collector work?
Parabolic trough collectors are formed by a cylindrical surface of mirrors with a parabolic shape that concentrates solar radiation on a receiver tube located at the focal point of the parabola. A fluid, normally synthetic oil, circulates inside the receiver tubes and is heaten up by the sun (around 400 ºC).
What is a parabolic trough?
Parabolic trough is a set of concave mirrors that concentrate solar rays on the receiver tube that is located in the focus. These troughs can track the Sun around one axis, typically oriented north–south to ensure the highest possible efficiency.
What is a parabolic trough power plant?
Parabolic trough power plants are the most mature of the CSP technologies, with over 4000 MW in operation worldwide and a history of commercial plant operation dating to the early 1980s ( SolarPACES.org ). Trough power plants have large arrays of solar collectors that feature mirrors curved in the shape of a parabola to focus sunlight onto a linear pipe ( Fig. 11.1). An HTF, often synthetic oil, flows through the receiver pipe and is heated by the absorbed sunlight. This hot HTF is used to generate steam that turns a conventional steam turbine/generator to produce electricity. The spent steam from the turbine is condensed into water and recirculated by feedwater pumps to be transformed back into high-pressure steam. Wet, dry, or hybrid cooling can be used to cool and condense the spent steam. A parabolic trough plant is composed of several subsystems: solar collector field, receiver and associated HTF system, power block, thermal storage (optional), fossil-fired backup (optional), and necessary ancillary facilities, as depicted in Fig. 11.2. TES is provided by exchanging heat from the oil HTF to a molten salt, which is cheaper than oil and exhibits negligible vapor pressure even when heated to several hundred degrees.
How does a parabolic trough solar system work?
A parabolic trough solar plant uses long, trough-shaped solar concentrators to collect solar heat and focus it onto a linear heat absorber. These reflectors track the Sun across the sky for maximum efficiency. Closely related is the Fresnel collection system, which approximates the parabolic trough with long, flat mirrors that can also track the Sun. In both systems a heat collection fluid is pumped through the heat receiver. The heat collected is usually used either directly or indirectly to raise steam and drive a steam turbine generator. Parabolic trough reflectors can achieve a concentration ratio of up to 100. Some parabolic trough plants have been built with heat energy storage, which allows them to operate for longer periods each day. A hybrid solar/natural gas plant can be created by adding a solar collection field to a combined cycle gas turbine plant.
What is a parabolic trough solar concentrator?
Parabolic-trough solar concentrating systems are parabolic-shaped collectors made of reflecting materials. The collectors reflect the incident solar radiation onto its focal line toward a receiver that absorbs the concentrated solar energy to raise the temperature of the fluid inside it as shown in Fig. 8.6 [57]. Because of its single-axis tracking, all the solar radiations fall parallel to its axis.
Why use troughs in larger fields?
For larger fields it becomes economically more feasible to use troughs of greater size which allow for lower material costs and high efficiency. A drawback can be the effort of putting jigs on site. This trade-off differs by technology and application.
What is the operating temperature of a parabolic trough?
The operating temperature of the system is in the range of 500–700K and the geometric concentration ratio of the parabolic-trough system is in the range of 30–100 ( Table 8.3) [57]. Parabolic-trough collector is a viable technology for harnessing solar energy for industrial process heat in Cyprus [58]. Parabolic-trough solar concentrating systems are an advanced and matured technology. PTCs are suitable for heating between 100 and 250°C temperature as well as for concentrated solar power plants; Southern California power plants are the largest application of this system [59].
What is a receiver made of?
To boost its thermal performance, the absorber tube, generally made of stainless steel, has a spectrally selective surface coating that maximizes absorption of solar irradiation and reduces heat loss by emitting less radiation.
How are parabolic trough collectors formed?
Parabolic trough collectors are formed by a cylindrical surface of mirrors with a parabolic shape that concentrates solar radiation on a receiver tube located at the focal point of the parabola. A fluid, normally synthetic oil, circulates inside the receiver tubes and is heaten up by the sun (around 400 ºC). The fluid is then pumped through heat exchangers to generate steam which is thus used to produce electricity in a conventional turbine.
What is the width of a Eurotrough II?
The design obtained as part of the project Eurotrough II is the type of collector most widely used, with an aperture width of 5.6 metres and a length of 150 metres.
How many MW is a parabolic trough?
Currently parabolic trough is the most widely used technology around the world, particularly in Spain and in the United States where plants in operation generate over 1000 MW (tbc) and 500 MW, respectively. Around the world, parabolic trough projects in operation are between 5 and 280 MWe in size, and existing plants are producing well ...
What is a second generation parabolic trough?
This “second generation” should provide significant improvements in the average conversion efficiency and further reduction of costs. Although a demonstration plant has already been built, adequate operating experience is still needed and components with enhanced performance and durability are being studied and developed.
What is the system used in the Solnova plant?
The SEGS and Solnova plants use a system where the plant can operate also burn natural gas on days when sunlight is weak. Parabolic trough systems are suited to a hybrid operation called Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC), where the steam generated by solar is fed into a thermal plant which also uses fossil-fuel generated steam, generally from natural gas. Currently 25 MV Hassi R’mel in Algeria, 20 MW ISCC Al Kuraymat in Egypt, and 20 MW Ain Beni Mathar Plant ISCC in Morocco are the examples of the operational ISCC CSP plants, forming an interim step towards complete solar generation in the energy mix.
Is a parabolic trough mature?
In terms of the maturity of the technology, Parabolic Trough can be considered “mature”, since a number of manufacturers are available for erecting entire plants or subsystems. There is good experience in engineering procurement and construction (EPC) and 20-year operating experience allows for good confidence on the operation.
What are the working fluids for parabolic troughs?
Three alternative working fluids are analyzed in this chapter: (1) water/steam (the so-called direct steam generation technology); (2) molten salts; and (3) pressurized gases. Thermo-hydraulic aspects, cost-related issues, and open questions associated with the use of these three alternative working fluids are dissected in this chapter, together with the current status of associated technologies. Since pressure drop in the solar field piping and heat transfer in the receiver tubes are key issues because of their impact on solar field pumping power and thermal stress in the receivers these two parameters are analyzed for each working fluid. This analysis is completed with a proposal of research and development activities that should be undertaken to fully clarify the technical and operational feasibility of these three innovative working fluids.
Why do we need a backup fuel in a parabolic trough?
In a parabolic trough solar power plant, a backup fuel has to be added to keep the HTF in the solar field above freezing point and to maintain its temperature in order to compensate for the lack of solar radiation , which could affect the established delivery of energy [49].
Where are CSP power plants built?
While the expansion of CSP stopped in Spain due to changes in the feed-in law in 2015, power plants with integrated storage capacity were also built in the United States, South Africa, Chile, Morocco, and China.