Numerical simulation of solar parabolic trough collector performance in the Algeria Saharan region

•The parabolic trough collector performance is examined.•The finite difference method is proposed and validated.•Two fluids are considered water and TherminolVP-1™. In order to determine the optical and thermal performance of a solar parabolic trough collector under the climate conditions of Algeria...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy conversion and management 2014-09, Vol.85, p.521-529
Main Authors: Marif, Yacine, Benmoussa, Hocine, Bouguettaia, Hamza, Belhadj, Mohamed M., Zerrouki, Moussa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algerian Sahara
Applied sciences
Computational fluid dynamics
Computer simulation
Energy
Exact sciences and technology
Finite difference
Fluid flow
Fluids
Liquid water
Mathematical analysis
Mathematical models
Parabolic trough
Solar collectors
Synthetic oil
Tracking systems
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Summary:•The parabolic trough collector performance is examined.•The finite difference method is proposed and validated.•Two fluids are considered water and TherminolVP-1™. In order to determine the optical and thermal performance of a solar parabolic trough collector under the climate conditions of Algerian Sahara, a computer program based on one dimensional implicit finite difference method with energy balance approach has been developed. The absorber pipe, glass envelope and fluid were divided into several segments and the partial derivation in the differential equations was replaced by the backward finite difference terms in each segment. Two fluids were considered, liquid water and TherminolVP-1™ synthetic oil. Furthermore, the intensity of the direct solar radiation was estimated by monthly average values of the atmospheric Linke turbidity factor for different tracking systems. According to the simulation findings, the one axis polar East–West and horizontal East–West tracking systems were most desirable for a parabolic trough collector throughout the whole year. In addition, it is found that the thermal efficiency was about 69.73–72.24%, which decreases with the high synthetic oil fluid temperatures and increases in the lower water temperature by 2%.
ISSN:0196-8904
1879-2227
DOI:10.1016/j.enconman.2014.06.002