Heat transfer enhancement in receivers of parabolic trough collectors offers several benefits including reduction in absorber tube circumferential temperature differences, reduced emissivity of the absorber tube selective coating, thus improved thermal and thermodynamic performance of the receiver. In this work, heat transfer enhancement in a parabolic trough receiver using perforated conical inserts was numerically investigated. The analysis was carried out for dimensionless insert’s cone angles in the range 0.40–0.90, dimensionless insert spacing in the range 0.06–0.18 and dimensionless insert size in the range 0.45–0.91. The flow was considered fully developed turbulent with Reynolds numbers in the range 1.02 × 104 ≤ Re ≤ 7.38 × 105 depending on the temperature of the heat transfer fluid. The heat transfer fluid temperatures used were 400 K, 500 K, 600 K and 650 K. The numerical solution was obtained using the finite volume method together with the realizable k-ε model for turbulence modeling. From the study, there is a range of Reynolds numbers and geometrical parameters for which the gain in performance is more than the increase in pumping power due to heat transfer enhancement. The use of perforated conical inserts in the receiver’s absorber tube increases the thermal efficiency in the range 3–8% for some range of geometrical parameters.
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ASME 2014 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition
November 14–20, 2014
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Conference Sponsors:
- ASME
ISBN:
978-0-7918-4952-1
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Thermal Performance of a Parabolic Trough Receiver With Perforated Conical Inserts for Heat Transfer Enhancement
Aggrey Mwesigye,
Aggrey Mwesigye
Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
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Tunde Bello-Ochende,
Tunde Bello-Ochende
University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
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Josua P. Meyer
Josua P. Meyer
University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
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Aggrey Mwesigye
Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa
University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
Tunde Bello-Ochende
University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
Josua P. Meyer
University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa
Paper No:
IMECE2014-39849, V06BT07A004; 12 pages
Published Online:
March 13, 2015
Citation
Mwesigye, A, Bello-Ochende, T, & Meyer, JP. "Thermal Performance of a Parabolic Trough Receiver With Perforated Conical Inserts for Heat Transfer Enhancement." Proceedings of the ASME 2014 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. Volume 6B: Energy. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. November 14–20, 2014. V06BT07A004. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2014-39849
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