This paper describes a transient thermography method to measure the heat loss of parabolic trough receivers and separate their heat loss mechanisms. This method is complementary to existing stationary techniques, which use either energy balances or glass envelope temperature measurements to derive overall heat losses. It is shown that the receiver heat loss can be calculated by applying a thermal excitation on the absorber tube and measuring both absorber tube and glass envelope temperature signals. Additionally, the emittance of the absorber selective coating and the vacuum quality of the annulus can be derived. The benefits and the limits of the transient method are presented and compared to the established stationary method based on glass envelope temperature measurements. Simulation studies and first validation experiments are described. A simulation based uncertainty analysis indicates that an uncertainty level of approximately 5% could be achieved on heat loss measurements for the transient method introduced in this paper, whereas for a conventional stationary field measurement technique, the uncertainty is estimated to 17–19%.
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Institute of Solar Research,
Plataforma Solar de Almería,
e-mail: marc.roeger@dlr.de
Engineering (ITW),
University of Stuttgart,
Institute of Solar Research,
Institute of Solar Research,
Plataforma Solar de Almería,
Article navigation
February 2014
Research-Article
A Transient Thermography Method to Separate Heat Loss Mechanisms in Parabolic Trough Receivers
Marc Röger,
Institute of Solar Research,
Plataforma Solar de Almería,
e-mail: marc.roeger@dlr.de
Marc Röger
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
,Institute of Solar Research,
Plataforma Solar de Almería,
Tabernas 04200
, Spain
e-mail: marc.roeger@dlr.de
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Peter Potzel,
Engineering (ITW),
University of Stuttgart,
Peter Potzel
Institute of Thermodynamics and Thermal
Engineering (ITW),
University of Stuttgart,
Stuttgart 70550
, Germany
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Johannes Pernpeintner,
Institute of Solar Research,
Johannes Pernpeintner
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
,Institute of Solar Research,
Cologne 51147
, Germany
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Simon Caron
Institute of Solar Research,
Plataforma Solar de Almería,
Simon Caron
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
,Institute of Solar Research,
Plataforma Solar de Almería,
Tabernas 04200
, Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
Marc Röger
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
,Institute of Solar Research,
Plataforma Solar de Almería,
Tabernas 04200
, Spain
e-mail: marc.roeger@dlr.de
Peter Potzel
Institute of Thermodynamics and Thermal
Engineering (ITW),
University of Stuttgart,
Stuttgart 70550
, Germany
Johannes Pernpeintner
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
,Institute of Solar Research,
Cologne 51147
, Germany
Simon Caron
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
,Institute of Solar Research,
Plataforma Solar de Almería,
Tabernas 04200
, Spain
Contributed by the Solar Energy Division of ASME for publication in the Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Manuscript received January 14, 2011; final manuscript received May 13, 2013; published online xx xx, xxxx. Assoc. Editor: Eckhard Luepfert.
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Feb 2014, 136(1): 011006 (9 pages)
Published Online: July 16, 2013
Article history
Received:
January 14, 2011
Revision Received:
May 13, 2013
Citation
Röger, M., Potzel, P., Pernpeintner, J., and Caron, S. (July 16, 2013). "A Transient Thermography Method to Separate Heat Loss Mechanisms in Parabolic Trough Receivers." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. February 2014; 136(1): 011006. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4024739
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