Design considerations for the dimensioning of parabolic trough solar thermal plants

Abstract

Solar heaters of the parabolic trough type, PTC, are a proved technology that has a wide diversity of industrial applications. The prediction of the thermal conditions in these devices plays a fundamental role in the development and design of thermal plants capable of meeting the heat load requirements. To this end highly complex thermal models have been derived which are difficult to solve and implement. This work puts forward a PTC transient thermal model which was validated using experimental data and compared against other theoretical models existing in the open literature. Along with this model, a novel sequential solution procedure is proposed with which a better follow up of variable outputs is obtained. A parametric analysis was carried out of for the main design variables using the Present Value of the Life Cycle Energy Savings (PVLCES) and Total Integrated Heat (TIH) using daily typical data in the winter and summer seasons for the city of Guanajuato. Due to its transient nature, the model can be implemented in research where optimisation tools are required such as Deep Learning, Machine Learning and Control, which are basic in the dimensioning of thermal solar plants.