Effect of the X-grid static mixer flow inserts on the performance of parabolic trough collector

Abstract

Solar energy is a very convenient and reliable renewable energy source to fulfill our society's wide variety of energy requirements. Solar concentrator-based energy technologies are the best way to utilize solar energy nowadays. Among those technologies, PTC (Parabolic Trough Collector) is a well-mature and reliable concentrating solar power technology having various real-world applications with solar standalone as well as in hybrid modes. For improving the performance of PTC, flow inserts are a very promising technique. This work aims to investigate the X-grid static mixer flow inserts on the performance of the PTC module. Here, X-grid static mixer flow inserts are modeled and compared with the simple cylindrical tube without any inserts inside by using a validated model in Ansys Fluent 18.1. Evaluation criteria include flow analysis, overall efficiency, exergy efficiency and thermal efficiency. The overall efficiency and exergy efficiency are the most prominent factors for the evaluation of PTC performance. The PTC is analyzed with various inlet fluid temperatures ranging from 303 K to 653 K with a variation in the volumetric flow rate ranging from 50 LPM (Litre Per Minute) to 250 LPM. The enhancement in the thermal performance of PTC using an X-grid static mixer is more as the inlet fluid temperature increases. The pressure drop increases multiple times with the use of X-grid flow inserts, but the overall rise of pump work is low. Overall thermal efficiency is higher for the X-grid static mixer than the plain tube which is mainly used in the PTC. The presented investigation results can be helpful for the design of X-grid static mixer.