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Parabolic Trough Collector and Central Receiver Coupled with Fresnel Lens: Experimental Tests

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Abstract

Renewable energies have a high impact on power energy production and reduction of environmental pollution worldwide, so high efforts have been made to improve renewable technologies and research about them. This paper presents the thermal performance results obtained by simulation and experimental tests of a parabolic trough collector with central receiver coupled to Fresnel lens, under different configurations on the pipe. The simulation method was computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis in Solid Works® soft-ware tool, which works with Naiver-Stokes equations to converge on a solution. Experimental tests were formed with all configurations proposed and three observations for each one, a total of 12 observations were performed in all research. As a result, the best thermal performance in simulation was achieved with the Fresnel lens and black pipe collector, with a maximum temperature of 116 °C under 1 000 W/m2 radiation, the same system achieved in experimental tests a maximum temperature of 96 °C with a radiation of 983 W/m2.

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Acknowledgment

This paper supported by Research Vice Rectory of Universidad Militar Nueva Granada-validity, Colombia in 2019 (No. IMP-ING-2656).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogota, 110121, Colombia

    Angelica Palacios, Dario Amaya & Olga Ramos

Authors
  1. Angelica Palacios
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  2. Dario Amaya
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  3. Olga Ramos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dario Amaya.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Jie Zhang

Angelica Palacios received the B. Sc. degree in mechatronic engineering, and the M. Sc. degree in project management from Military University, Colombia (UMNG) in 2015 and 2019, respectively. Currently, she is a Ph. D. degree candidate in applied science at the Research Group GAV (Virtual Applications Group), Military University, Colombia and she is also working as a research assistant in the field of sustainable energy and renewable energies at GAV, Colombia.

Her research interests include renewable energy, optimization systems, thermodynamics, solar collector and solar energy.

Dario Amaya received the B. Sc. degree in electronics engineering from Antonio Narino University, Colombia in 1995, and the M. Sc. degree in teleinformaticin from Faculty of Engineering, District University Francisco Jose de Caldas, Colombia in 2007. He received the Ph. D. degree in mechanical engineering from Campinas State University, Brazil in 2011, working on hybrid control. He has worked as a professor and a researcher at the Military University, Colombia since 2007. He has been involved in robotics, mechatronics and automation areas.

His research interests include robotics, mechatornics and industrial automation.

Olga Ramos receiving the B. Sc. degree in electronics engineering from Antonio Narino University (UAN), Colombia in 1998. She obtained her specialization certificate in electronic instrumentation at UAN, Colombia in 2000, and received the M. Sc. degree in teleinformatics from Faculty of Engineering, District University Francisco Jose de Caldas (UFJC), Colombia in 2007. She received the Ph. D. degree in engineering at District University Francisco Jose de Caldas, Colombia in 2017. Currently, she is a Ph. D. degree candidate in engineering at UFCJ, Colombia. Right now, she is working as a teacher atUMNG and as researcher in GAV in different mechatronics fields like system control and industrial automation.

Her research interests include control systems and industrial automation.

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Palacios, A., Amaya, D. & Ramos, O. Parabolic Trough Collector and Central Receiver Coupled with Fresnel Lens: Experimental Tests. Int. J. Autom. Comput. 17, 572–587 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11633-019-1220-9

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