Advanced solar energy utilization technology requires high-grade energy to achieve the most efficient application with compact size and least capital investment recovery period Concentrated solar power (CSP) technology has the capability to meet thermal energy and electrical demands Benefits of using CSP technology with parabolic trough collector (PTC) system include promising cost-effective investment, mature technology, and ease of combining with fossil fuels or other renewable energy sources This review first covered the theoretical framework of CSP technology with PTC system Next, the detailed derivation process of the maximum theoretical concentration ratio of the PTC was initially given Multiple types of heat transfer fluids in tube receivers were reviewed to present the capability of application Moreover, recent developments on heat transfer enhancement methods for CSP technology with PTC system were highlighted As the rupture of glass covers was frequently observed during application, methods of thermal deformation restrain for tube receivers were reviewed as well Commercial CSP plants worldwide with PTC system were presented, including those that are in operation, under construction, and announced Finally, possible further developments of CSP plants with PTC system were outlined Besides, suggestions for future research and application guidance were also illustrated

Progress in concentrated solar power technology with parabolic trough collector system: A comprehensive review

Recent advancements in PV cooling and efficiency enhancement integrating phase change materials based systems – A comprehensive review

Alternative designs of parabolic trough solar collectors

Parabolic trough collector is one of the most usual solar collectors for applications up to 400 °C. The thermal enhancement of this collector concentrates a lot of interest and various techniques are tested in order for the thermal efficiency to be maximized with a reasonable penalty in the pressure drop. The use of nanofluids as working fluids, as well as the use of flow turbulators, mainly inserts and internal fins or tube dimples are the main techniques which are examined. The objective of this work is to give a complete literature review of the existing studies on this domain and to present a numerical comparative analysis between the most usual thermal enhancement techniques. More specifically, the use of oil-based nanofluids with 6% CuO is compared with the use of internal rectangular fins in the absorber, while the combination of these techniques is also examined. The analysis is conducted with a validated CFD model in SolidWorks Flow Simulation for various fluid temperature levels. According to the final results, the use of nanofluids leads to 0.76% thermal efficiency enhancement, the use of internal fins to 1.10% and the combination of these techniques to 1.54%. Moreover, emphasis is given in the pressure drop of the examined cases and in the evaluation criteria which are used in every case.

Enhancing the performance of parabolic trough collectors using nanofluids and turbulators

Nanofluids: Physical phenomena, applications in thermal systems and the environment effects- a critical review

A solar collector is a device which helps to harnesses solar radiation into useful form of energy. Among various solar collectors, the parabolic trough collector (PTC) is considered to be the best option for medium temperature (150–400 °C) heat requirements. The popularity of solar parabolic trough technology has generated interest in higher efficiency energy recovery potential. The absorber tube, also called the receiver tube or heat collection element, is one of the main functional units of a solar PTC in addition to other elements like parabolic mirrors, metal support structure and tracking unit assembly. Parabolic mirrors reflect to a focal point and concentrate falling sun rays onto an absorber tube, which is made up of a long metallic structure covered by an evacuated glass envelope to reduce convective heat transfer losses. Many techniques were attempted to enhance the heat transfer potential in the receiver tube portion of a solar PTC which includes techniques such as half insulation receiver, cavity receivers, vacuum outer shell, inclusion of inserts, baffles, artificially roughened sinks, selective coatings etc. In some of the research works, nanoparticles were also used to enhance heat transfer properties of the heat transfer fluid. In this paper, detailed review of the experimental and numerical works carried out on heat transfer enhancement techniques which focus on minimization of heat loss, use of turbulators, addition of nanofluid and selective coatings in the receiver tube of a solar PTC are presented. Further the major reasons for heat loss in the receiver tube and comparative study of various heat transfer enhancement techniques are summarised.

Experimental and numerical studies of thermal performance enhancement in the receiver part of solar parabolic trough collectors

Performance augmentation of solar photovoltaic panel through PCM integrated natural water circulation cooling technique

Solar cooking is one of the most promising techniques to meet the cooking needs in remote areas where electricity and fuel supplies are meager. Solar box cooker is an efficient device used in solar cooking as it is simple to fabricate, easy to operate and hazard-free. In this context, the performance evaluation of a solar box cooker with varied number of reflectors has been undertaken. It was found that the time consumed for cooking in a box type solar cooker with four reflectors is lesser compared to that of a single reflector and its overall utilization efficiency increases with increase in the cooking mass. Further, a latent heat energy storage system was designed and fabricated to cook the food at off-peak hours of solar radiation. This latent heat energy storage system was combined with the solar box cooker. Oxalic acid dihydrate was used as the phase change material due to its high specific enthalpy and its melting point lying close to the cooking temperature. It was found that the solar box cooker with phase change material could be effectively utilized to cook food during off-peak hours of solar radiation.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/67/1/012017/pdf

P. Sudhakar

Papers

Experimental and numerical studies of thermal performance enhancement in the receiver part of solar parabolic trough collectors

Performance augmentation of solar photovoltaic panel through PCM integrated natural water circulation cooling technique

Performance evaluation of solar box cooker assisted with latent heat energy storage system for cooking application

Experimental analysis of solar photovoltaic unit integrated with free cool thermal energy storage system