Experimental Investigation of a Medium Temperature Single-Phase Thermosyphon in an Evacuated Tube Receiver Coupled With Compound Parabolic Concentrator

Abstract

The integration of evacuated tube receivers with non-imaging compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs) operating in thermosyphon mode provides the opportunity to deliver solar thermal energy in the medium temperature range that is suitable for many industrial applications. However, the performance of single-phase thermosyphon in the medium temperature range has not been comprehensively investigated. This paper presents the design, development, and performance evaluation of a single-phase thermosyphon in an evacuated tube receiver integrated with a modified CPC solar collector. The thermohydraulic performance of the developed system is evaluated in the tropical climate using Therminol-55 oil as heat transfer fluid. The results demonstrate that the maximum outlet temperature reached over 120°C using thermal oil as heat transfer fluid while it remained at 100°C in case of water. The zero-loss thermal efficiency reached up to 70% on a clear sky day. Comparing the thermal performance of the developed CPC collector with an existing model of a non-concentrating collector showed much improvement at elevated temperatures. This indicates that this system can effectively operate in tropical weather conditions to provide sustainable solar thermal energy in the medium temperature range.

Techno-Economic Optimization of a Low-Temperature Organic Rankine System Driven by Multiple Heat Sources

“…Further, other medium and high temperature heat sources will be taken into account, such as biomass and waste, and the combination of ORC and heat pump technologies will be studied to explore the synergy among technologies enhancing energy efficiency. Finally, other heat recovery technologies for power production (such as Kalina, steam Rankine cycle), different architectures [cascade configuration, advanced cycle architectures and cycle modifications (Lecompte et al, 2015)], different solar thermal collector types [collectors for low and medium temperatures (Akhter et al, 2021)], different temperatures of flue gas and geothermal energy, and other design features will be explored to optimize the performance of energy conversion systems.…”

A Review of Recent Developments and Applications of Compound Parabolic Concentrator-Based Hybrid Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal Collectors

“…Right from the year 1974, when Winston [23] conceived the idea of the application of CPCs for gathering solar energy, these concentrators have found numerous applications in various fields, including solar thermal systems [24], wireless communication systems [25], infrared temperature sensing systems [26], and daylighting control systems [27][28][29][30]. In addition, CPCs have also found applications in the fields of thermoelectric generation [31][32][33] and solar cooking [34].…”

Performance Enforcement of a Parabolic Solar Collector with a Separating Transparent Glass Sheet

“…The design, development, and performance evaluation of a single-phase thermosyphon in an evacuated tube receiver integrated with a modified CPC solar collector were presented experimentally by Akhter et al [12]. The thermohydraulic performance of the developed system was evaluated in the tropical climate using Therminol-55 oil as heat transfer fluid.…”