Journal of Energy and Natural Resources

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Thermal Efficiency Evaluation of a Solar Thermal Steam Generating System Using Thermosiphon Technique with Parabolic Trough Collector

Received: Dec. 24, 2019    Accepted: Jan. 13, 2020    Published: Feb. 20, 2020
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Abstract

Parabolic trough solar collectors are the most widely used concentrators for solar thermal applications in the world. This is because very high temperatures of 150°C to 350°C can be attained with its use without any noticeable degradation in the performance of the collector. In this work, a parabolic trough collector (PTC) was designed using simple parabolic equations and constructed with locally sourced materials. The developed PTC was used to converge direct solar radiation to a heat receiver (a copper pipe enclosed in an evacuated glass tube) placed at the focal line of the trough to heat up the water in the pipe to steam. Natural circulation (thermosiphon) was employed to drive the water from the heat source to the heat sink (tank) with the difference in density as the driving force of the system. Temperature sensors were installed at different points of the solar thermal system to experimentally investigate temperature distribution within the system, hence thermal performance. A pressure sensor was also installed in the tank to measure the pressure within the system. The results obtained shows that the solar thermal system generated low-mid temperature steam of up to 105°C at a pressure of approximately 120 kPa on a day when the global solar radiation intensity attained a value of 1109.5 W/m2. A thermosiphon mass flow rate of up to 0.042 kg/s was also recorded through a constant orifice of 12 mm diameter. The instantaneous efficiency of the receiver reached 46.48%.

DOI 10.11648/j.jenr.20200901.14
Published in Journal of Energy and Natural Resources ( Volume 9, Issue 1, March 2020 )
Page(s) 28-34
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Thermosiphon, Solar Thermal, Steam Generating System, Thermal Efficiency

References
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    Abiem Louis Tersoo, Akoshile Clement Olufemi. (2020). Thermal Efficiency Evaluation of a Solar Thermal Steam Generating System Using Thermosiphon Technique with Parabolic Trough Collector. Journal of Energy and Natural Resources, 9(1), 28-34. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jenr.20200901.14

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    ACS Style

    Abiem Louis Tersoo; Akoshile Clement Olufemi. Thermal Efficiency Evaluation of a Solar Thermal Steam Generating System Using Thermosiphon Technique with Parabolic Trough Collector. J. Energy Nat. Resour. 2020, 9(1), 28-34. doi: 10.11648/j.jenr.20200901.14

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    AMA Style

    Abiem Louis Tersoo, Akoshile Clement Olufemi. Thermal Efficiency Evaluation of a Solar Thermal Steam Generating System Using Thermosiphon Technique with Parabolic Trough Collector. J Energy Nat Resour. 2020;9(1):28-34. doi: 10.11648/j.jenr.20200901.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jenr.20200901.14,
      author = {Abiem Louis Tersoo and Akoshile Clement Olufemi},
      title = {Thermal Efficiency Evaluation of a Solar Thermal Steam Generating System Using Thermosiphon Technique with Parabolic Trough Collector},
      journal = {Journal of Energy and Natural Resources},
      volume = {9},
      number = {1},
      pages = {28-34},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jenr.20200901.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jenr.20200901.14},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jenr.20200901.14},
      abstract = {Parabolic trough solar collectors are the most widely used concentrators for solar thermal applications in the world. This is because very high temperatures of 150°C to 350°C can be attained with its use without any noticeable degradation in the performance of the collector. In this work, a parabolic trough collector (PTC) was designed using simple parabolic equations and constructed with locally sourced materials. The developed PTC was used to converge direct solar radiation to a heat receiver (a copper pipe enclosed in an evacuated glass tube) placed at the focal line of the trough to heat up the water in the pipe to steam. Natural circulation (thermosiphon) was employed to drive the water from the heat source to the heat sink (tank) with the difference in density as the driving force of the system. Temperature sensors were installed at different points of the solar thermal system to experimentally investigate temperature distribution within the system, hence thermal performance. A pressure sensor was also installed in the tank to measure the pressure within the system. The results obtained shows that the solar thermal system generated low-mid temperature steam of up to 105°C at a pressure of approximately 120 kPa on a day when the global solar radiation intensity attained a value of 1109.5 W/m2. A thermosiphon mass flow rate of up to 0.042 kg/s was also recorded through a constant orifice of 12 mm diameter. The instantaneous efficiency of the receiver reached 46.48%.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Thermal Efficiency Evaluation of a Solar Thermal Steam Generating System Using Thermosiphon Technique with Parabolic Trough Collector
    AU  - Abiem Louis Tersoo
    AU  - Akoshile Clement Olufemi
    Y1  - 2020/02/20
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jenr.20200901.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.jenr.20200901.14
    T2  - Journal of Energy and Natural Resources
    JF  - Journal of Energy and Natural Resources
    JO  - Journal of Energy and Natural Resources
    SP  - 28
    EP  - 34
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-7404
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jenr.20200901.14
    AB  - Parabolic trough solar collectors are the most widely used concentrators for solar thermal applications in the world. This is because very high temperatures of 150°C to 350°C can be attained with its use without any noticeable degradation in the performance of the collector. In this work, a parabolic trough collector (PTC) was designed using simple parabolic equations and constructed with locally sourced materials. The developed PTC was used to converge direct solar radiation to a heat receiver (a copper pipe enclosed in an evacuated glass tube) placed at the focal line of the trough to heat up the water in the pipe to steam. Natural circulation (thermosiphon) was employed to drive the water from the heat source to the heat sink (tank) with the difference in density as the driving force of the system. Temperature sensors were installed at different points of the solar thermal system to experimentally investigate temperature distribution within the system, hence thermal performance. A pressure sensor was also installed in the tank to measure the pressure within the system. The results obtained shows that the solar thermal system generated low-mid temperature steam of up to 105°C at a pressure of approximately 120 kPa on a day when the global solar radiation intensity attained a value of 1109.5 W/m2. A thermosiphon mass flow rate of up to 0.042 kg/s was also recorded through a constant orifice of 12 mm diameter. The instantaneous efficiency of the receiver reached 46.48%.
    VL  - 9
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Physics, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria

  • Department of Physics, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria

  • Section