Experimental performance of a two-stage (50×) parabolic trough collector tested to 650 °C using a suspended particulate heat transfer fluid

Bennett Widyolar, Lun Jiang, Jonathan Ferry, Roland Winston, David Cygan and Hamid Abbasi

Applied Energy, 2019, vol. 240, issue C, 436-445

Abstract: A two-stage high-concentration collector has been developed which pairs a 45° half rim angle parabolic trough with a secondary compound parabolic concentrator to achieve 50× concentration on the thermal absorber. An experimental prototype fabricated and installed at the University of California, Merced was tested on-sun up to 650 °C using a suspended particulate heat transfer fluid (HTF). The prototype collector demonstrated 63% optical efficiency and 40% thermal efficiency at 650 °C. This prototype demonstrates the feasibility of a two-stage linear trough collector at generating high flux and high absorber temperatures, and the ability of the particulate HTF to operate under these conditions.

Keywords: Solar thermal; Industrial process heat; Parabolic trough; Compound parabolic concentrator; Nonimaging optics; Solid particles; Particulate heat transfer fluid (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.02.073

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