In current designs of parabolic trough collectors for concentrating solar power plants, the absorber tube is manufactured in segments that are individually insulated with glass vacuum jackets. During the lifetime of a power plant, some segments lose vacuum and thereafter suffer from significant convective heat loss. An alternative to this design is to use a vacuum pump to actively maintain low pressure in a long section of absorber with a continuous vacuum jacket. A detailed thermal model of such a configuration is needed to inform design efforts for such a receiver. This paper describes a combined conduction, convection, and radiation heat transfer model for a receiver that includes the effects of nonuniform solar flux on the absorber tube and vacuum jacket as well as detailed analysis of conduction through the rarefied gas in the annular gap inside the vacuum jacket. The model is implemented in commercial CFD software coupled to a Monte Carlo ray-tracing code. The results of simulations performed for a two-dimensional cross-section of a receiver are reported for various conditions. The parameters for the model are chosen to match the current generation of parabolic trough receivers and the simulation results correspond well with experimental measurements.
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ASME 2011 5th International Conference on Energy Sustainability
August 7–10, 2011
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Advanced Energy Systems Division and Solar Energy Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-5468-6
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Numerical Analysis of Heat Loss From a Parabolic Trough Absorber Tube With Active Vacuum System
Matthew Roesle,
Matthew Roesle
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Volkan Coskun,
Volkan Coskun
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Aldo Steinfeld
Aldo Steinfeld
ETH Zurich, Zurich; Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
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Matthew Roesle
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Volkan Coskun
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Aldo Steinfeld
ETH Zurich, Zurich; Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
Paper No:
ES2011-54683, pp. 795-801; 7 pages
Published Online:
March 13, 2012
Citation
Roesle, M, Coskun, V, & Steinfeld, A. "Numerical Analysis of Heat Loss From a Parabolic Trough Absorber Tube With Active Vacuum System." Proceedings of the ASME 2011 5th International Conference on Energy Sustainability. ASME 2011 5th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, Parts A, B, and C. Washington, DC, USA. August 7–10, 2011. pp. 795-801. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/ES2011-54683
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