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ISSN Online: 2377-424X

ISBN Print: 978-1-56700-474-8

ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-473-1

International Heat Transfer Conference 16
August, 10-15, 2018, Beijing, China

INCREASE IN CONCENTRATION RATIO OF A ROOFTOP PARABOLIC TROUGH USING A SECONDARY FLAT REFLECTOR

Get access (open in a dialog) DOI: 10.1615/IHTC16.mmp.023963
pages 5735-5742

Resumo

Secondary stage optics are an option to increase parabolic trough concentrators to enhance thermal efficiency. Increases of concentration up to 80 % were stated as possible with a flat secondary reflector in past work. In this work, a prototype of secondary flat reflector receiver was built and experimentally tested at RMIT's facilities in Melbourne, and its performance was compared with a conventional absorber. The facility includes a closed loop hydraulic circuit to recirculate a heat transfer fluid which temperature is controlled by an external heater and a cooling system.

In the case of the roof-top collector studied in this work, the use of a secondary flat reflector increased its concentration by 19.7 % while decreasing the incoming radiation by 3.5 % due to the shadow formed. In this work it is demonstrated how a smaller absorber can be used while maintaining the acceptance angle of the collector and increasing the uniformity of the flux, thus reducing the thermal stress on the absorber. Additionally, a better tolerance to misalignments and optical aberrations is achieved with the flat secondary reflector, as it was proven during the experiments. Finally, the experimental results were compared with a 2D CFD model.