Experimental validation of solar parabolic trough collector model for industrial process heat application

Abstract This study presents experimental performance and model analysis of a parabolic trough collector (PTC) system designed for industrial heating applications. Thus, a prototype of a PTC with 1. 81m2 reflective aperture area, 90o rim angle and a concentration ratio of 14. 41 is presented. The reflector is made of 2m2 anodized aluminium mirror with high light reflectance value of 0. 95. The re-ceiver, or heat collection element (HCE), is a 2m long tube made from SUS304 (SS304) stainless steel, which is enclosed within an external layer of borosilicate glass envelope. The receiver exhibits an exceptionally high surface absorptance of 0. 96 and transmittance value of 0. 92. The tracking system is based on a universal sensory solar tracker controller designed to be used with permanent magnet DC motors, and with high tracking accuracy and great electrical ca-pabilities. Initially, a simulation model of the PTC is developed using System Advisor Model (SAM) software. Then, a PTC prototype sys-tem test setup is established under outdoor weather conditions at Kimuka, in Kajiado, Kenya (latitude 1. 418426°S and longitude 36. 59749°E), to validate the model using experimental and meteoro-logical data measured under clear-sky condition and cloudy weather. The deviations between experimental and simulation results on the clear-sky day are 5. 6% for useful heat gain, 1. 89% for optical effi-ciency, and 1. 42% with RMSE of 0. 20% for instantaneous thermal efficiency, respectively, demonstrating good agreement. For the cloudy day, the observed deviations between experimental findings and simulation results are 9. 8% for useful heat gain, 1. 05% for opti-cal efficiency, 3. 32% with RMSE of 0. 57% for instantaneous thermal efficiency, respectively, also indicating a satisfactory level of agree-ment. Based on these results, SAM simulation model can be consid-ered as effective in forecasting the thermal and optical performance of PTCs across various operational scenarios in Kenya. At the same time, the cost of the PTC is about US185/m2 of aperture area, and lies within a competitive range in comparison to competitors in the market.