Thermal efficiencies of the solar field of two different parabolic trough concentrator (PTC) systems are evaluated for a variety of operating conditions and geographical locations, using a detailed 3D heat transfer model. Results calculated at specific design points are compared to yearly average efficiencies determined using measured direct normal solar irradiance (DNI) data as well as an empirical correlation for DNI. It is shown that the most common choices of operating conditions at which solar field performance is evaluated, such as the equinox or the summer solstice, are inadequate for predicting the yearly average efficiency of the solar field. For a specific system and location, the different design point efficiencies vary significantly and differ by as much as 11.5% from the actual yearly average values. An alternative simple method is presented of determining a representative operating condition for solar fields through weighted averages of the incident solar radiation. For all tested PTC systems and locations, the efficiency of the solar field at the representative operating condition lies within 0.3% of the yearly average efficiency. Thus, with this procedure, it is possible to accurately predict year-round performance of PTC systems using a single design point, while saving computational effort. The importance of the design point is illustrated by an optimization study of the absorber tube diameter, where different choices of operating conditions result in different predicted optimum absorber diameters.
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ASME 2013 7th International Conference on Energy Sustainability collocated with the ASME 2013 Heat Transfer Summer Conference and the ASME 2013 11th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology
July 14–19, 2013
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Advanced Energy Systems Division
- Solar Energy Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-5551-5
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Design Point for Predicting Year-Round Performance of Solar Parabolic Trough Concentrator Systems
Matthew Roesle
,
Matthew Roesle
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Aldo Steinfeld
Aldo Steinfeld
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Men Wirz
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Matthew Roesle
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Aldo Steinfeld
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Paper No:
ES2013-18055, V001T03A001; 8 pages
Published Online:
December 22, 2013
Citation
Wirz, M, Roesle, M, & Steinfeld, A. "Design Point for Predicting Year-Round Performance of Solar Parabolic Trough Concentrator Systems." Proceedings of the ASME 2013 7th International Conference on Energy Sustainability collocated with the ASME 2013 Heat Transfer Summer Conference and the ASME 2013 11th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology. ASME 2013 7th International Conference on Energy Sustainability. Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. July 14–19, 2013. V001T03A001. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/ES2013-18055
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