Definition of the Subject and Its Importance
Parabolic trough (solar) collectors (PTCs) are technical devices to collect the energy in form of solar radiation and convert it typically into thermal energy at temperature ranges of 150–500°C at industrial scale. The cylindrical trough shape of the reflecting surface with parabolic section of the mirror shape has the ability to concentrate the incident sunlight onto an absorber tube in the focal line of the collectors. Typical width of such PTC is 0.5–10 m. Main use of PTC is in solar power generation. In large-scale concentrating solar power applications, the PTC is the most successful type of concentrating collector design. The first troughs are reported at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century for industrial-scale steam generation. The wide expansion of coal, oil, and gas for heat and power generation left solar energy technology behind until oil price shocks initiated a development step in the 1980s, leading...
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Abbreviations
- Collector loop (PTC):
-
Unit of several PTC connected in series to heat the fluid from inlet to outlet header temperature.
- Direct normal irradiance, beam irradiance:
-
Direct part of the sunlight, coming from within the sun disk as almost parallel light onto a surface, measured as power density in kW/m2.
- Drive (PTC):
-
Unit consisting of motor and gear or hydraulic drive with valves and cylinders, and the controller to turn the PTC into the correct operational tracking angle.
- Efficiency:
-
Ratio of useful energy and total energy input.
- Efficiency (PTC):
-
Ratio of thermal energy output from the PTC and total solar radiation received on the aperture area.
- Heat transfer fluid (“HTF”):
-
Fluid receiving the thermal energy in the receivers and transporting it to the heat exchangers, etc., of the power block. HTF for PTC is mostly synthetic oil or water/steam. Some installations also use molten salt or pressurized CO2.
- Intercept factor:
-
Relative amount of rays hitting the absorber tube as fraction of the total number of reflected rays from the mirror area.
- Mirror, mirror panel (PTC):
-
Reflecting panel, made of silvered glass or other reflecting sheet material, curved to reflect sunlight onto the absorber.
- Module (PTC):
-
Parabolic trough collector section between pylons, including structure, mirrors, and receivers.
- Parabolic trough collector (“PTC”) :
-
Concentrating solar collector with mirrors, absorber, and tracking system for providing solar energy at temperatures of 100–600°C.
- Pylon (PTC):
-
Support post of the PTC modules.
- Receiver (PTC):
-
Component of a concentrating collector system, especially PTC, consisting of absorber tube, with additional elements such as glass tube and expansion bellow.
- Solar field:
-
Unit of parallel connected collector loops, typically also including connection piping, sensors and controls, land area, and heat transfer fluid of the collector installation of a solar plant.
- Sun sensor:
-
Sensor for feedback of the tracking to the drive.
- Tracking (PTC):
-
Action of adjusting the collector angle to the sun position during the operation.
Bibliography
http://www.solarpaces.org/Tasks/Task3/reflectance_guideline. htm
www.dlr.de/sf and www.dlr.de/energie (news, downloads, …)
www.dlr.de/tt (Trans-CSP and Med-CSP reports)
www.estelasolar.eu (European association)
www.solarpaces.org (International Energy Agency, CSP implementing agr)
www.nrel.gov/csp/troughnet (excellent technical info base)
www.psa.es (Plataforma Solar de Almería)
www.desertec.org (news, link to 10’000 Solar Gigawatts)
ec.europa.eu/research/energy/nn/nn_rt/nn_rt_cs/article_1114_en.htm
www.powerfromthesun.net (B. Stine, Solar Technology)
www.stadtwerke-juelich.de (1.5 MW solar tower in Germany)
www.solarmillennium.de (developer, technical info, news)
Lüpfert E, Riffelmann K-J, Price H, Moss T (2006) Experimental analysis of overall thermal properties of parabolic trough receivers. SolarPaces Sevilla (Poster, A2-P4 Parabolic-Trough Collector Technology (2), ISBN 84-7834-519-1, and J Sol Energy Eng 130, 2008
Pernpeintner J, Schiricke B, Lüpfert E, Lichtenthäler N, Macke A, Wiesemeyer K (2009) Combined measurement of thermal and optical properties of receivers for parabolic trough collectors: In: Solarpaces conference, Berlin
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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
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Lüpfert, E. (2012). Parabolic Trough Solar Technology. In: Meyers, R.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0851-3_678
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