Table Of ContentHussein A. Mohammed
Hari B. Vuthaluru
Shaomin Liu
Parabolic
Trough Solar
Collectors
Thermal and Hydraulic Enhancement
Using Passive Techniques and
Nanofluids
Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors
Hussein A. Mohammed • Hari B. Vuthaluru
Shaomin Liu
Parabolic Trough Solar
Collectors
Thermal and Hydraulic Enhancement
Using Passive Techniques and Nanofluids
Hussein A. Mohammed Hari B. Vuthaluru
Western Australia School of Mines: Western Australia School of Mines:
Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering
Curtin University Curtin University
Perth, WA, Australia Perth, WA, Australia
Shaomin Liu
Western Australia School of Mines:
Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering
Curtin University
Perth, WA, Australia
ISBN 978-3-031-08700-4 ISBN 978-3-031-08701-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08701-1
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
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This book is dedicated to my parents, my
wife (Dr. Shayma), my lovely daughters
(Danyaa and Lana).
Preface
The subject of parabolic trough solar collectors and the related fields of solar energy
technologies have become increasingly important to engineers and technologists in
recent years. Research and technology have expanded into a number of diverse
areas that have made the study of such topics and devices as PTSC of great interest
for present and future potential applications. A thorough study of many of these
topics requires, to varying degrees, a description and analysis from the statistical
microscopic and macroscopic points of view. In addition, a study of PTSC perfor-
mance is beneficial in promoting a greater understanding of the foundations, perfor-
mance analysis, and applications of PTSC. Our intention with this textbook is to
provide a self-contained exposition of the fundamentals and applications of PTSC for
students, researchers, scientists, and faculties in the engineering thermal sciences.
The key features and contents of the book that readers will hopefully find most
valuable are the following:
1. This book will be useful to predict the optical, thermal, exergy, and entropy of
PTSC performance for heat exchange processes.
2. This book provides mathematical, numerical, and experimental studies on PTSC
thermal performance using passive techniques and nanofluids.
3. This book thoroughly discusses PTSC thermal performance using passive tech-
niques and nanofluids with future research trends of PTSC systems.
4. This book provides a comparative performance investigation of different types
of solar collectors and their industrial application.
5. This book discusses industrial operation challenges and scale-up challenges for
nanofluid applications in the industrial process.
Perth, WA, Australia Hussein A. Mohammed
Hari B. Vuthaluru
Shaomin Liu
vii
Acknowledgements
This book could not have been realized and published without the support of a num-
ber of people who have directly or indirectly been involved in its preparation pro-
cess. First, big thanks to my wife, Dr. Shayma, for her unwavering support through
every phase of the writing and publication process. I would also like to thank my
lovely daughters (Danyaa and Lana) for being such wonderful gifts.
It gives me a deep sense of gratitude to express my sincere thanks to Prof. Hari
B. Vuthaluru and Prof. Shaomin Liu who initiated the idea of publishing this book.
I am also very grateful for their constant encouragement and continuous support
throughout the preparation of this book. It has been a privilege for me to work with
amazing people like them. I would also like to convey my sincere gratitude to the
authors from around the globe who have produced the relevant papers/journal arti-
cles which have been used in the writing of this book.
ix
Introduction
In recent year, parabolic trough solar collectors (PTSCs) have become the most
proven industry-scale solar generation technology available today among other con-
centrating solar collectors. The thermal performance of PTSC is of major interest
for optimising the solar field output and increasing the efficiency of power plants.
Nanofluids are advanced heat transfer fluids that provide effective thermal and fluid
flow characteristics. Nanofluids have been successfully applied not only in heat
transfer applications but also in solar energy applications. The utilisation of passive
technique (flow turbulators) is also a promising way to solve the low thermal perfor-
mance and low outlet temperature of PTSC systems. The synergistic effects and
detailed study of these recent advances in nanofluids and the utilisation of passive
techniques on the PTSC’s thermal and thermodynamic performance are of para-
mount importance for students, researchers, faculties and scientists working in the
field of solar energy and nanotechnology processes, thermal management systems,
and other engineering-related studies. Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors: Thermal
and Hydraulic Enhancement Using Passive Techniques and Nanofluids by Dr.
Hussein A. Mohammed, A/Prof. Hari B. Vuthaluru and Prof. Shaomin Liu is such a
valuable book. Thus, it gives me great pleasure to contribute this foreword.
Before writing this foreword, I have reviewed the book chapters and its details. I
was impressed by the book’s structure and contents. The book is divided into six
chapters. The first chapter introduces different types of non-concentrating solar col-
lectors (NCCs), concentrating solar collectors (CSCs), PTSC’s historical start, and
available commercial collectors including the currents state of the art. The second
chapter focuses on the background of PTSC, basics of PTSC and its performance
including optical analysis, thermal performance, exergetic performance and entropy
analysis. The third chapter discusses the recently utilised PTSC performance
enhancement technique and in particular focuses on the numerical and experimental
studies passive techniques with the utilisation of conventional working fluids includ-
ing the currents state of the art in the field. The fourth chapter discusses the recently
utilised PTSC performance enhancement numerical and experimental studies using
nanofluids, hybrid nanofluids and other studies/techniques including the currents
state of the art in the field. The fifth chapter discusses the heat transfer enhancement
xi
xii Introduction
methods used in the PTSC-related studies. The sixth chapter summarizes the major
conclusions and gives recommendations for future work in the PTSC area of
research.
All important data supported by the appropriate figures and tables for better
understanding of concepts are presented in this book. This became one of the most
important features of this book when I began reading its contents. Thus, I believe
this is a very important book for Springer Nature, and it would be very beneficial for
students, researchers, scientists and faculties for conceptual understanding of this
area of research.
Perth, WA, Australia Hussein A. Mohammed
Hari B.Vuthaluru
Shaomin Liu
Contents
1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Sunlight-Based Thermal Collector Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.1 Sunlight-Based Collectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.2 Non-concentrating Solar Collectors (NCC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.3 Concentrating Sun-Based Collectors (CSC) . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.4 Direct Solar Absorption Collectors
Efficiency Improvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1 Historical Start of PTC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2 Commercial Collectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3 Background of PTC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.4 Basics of PTC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.4.1 Optical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.4.2 Thermal Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.4.3 Exergetic Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.4.4 Entropy Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.5 PTC Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.5.1 Thermal Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.5.2 Thermal Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.5.3 Seawater Desalination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.5.4 Water Decontamination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.5.5 Concentrating PVs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3 PTC Enhancement Using Passive Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2 Passive Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2.1 PTC Studies Using Passive Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.2.2 W PTC Studies Using Conventional Working Fluids . . . . . . 103
xiii
