Explicit expression for temperature distribution of receiver of parabolic trough concentrator considering bimetallic absorber tube

Abstract

The portion of the absorber tube facing the trough surface receives the concentrated sun-rays and the other side of the absorber tube receives the sun-rays directly. Consequently, the temperature of the absorber tube is non-uniform across the circumference which leads to differential expansion of the material of the tube. Thus, the tube experiences compression and tension in its different parts. This may lead to bending of the tube. In literature, the temperature of the absorber tube is computed using CFD software which take large computational time. Thus, in the previous work, an explicit analytical expression was derived for finding the distribution of absorber’s temperature and it was found that the temperature gradient across the circumference of the absorber tube can lead to significant bending. Thus, in the current work, a bimetallic tube has been studied that can reduce the temperature gradient and an explicit analytical expression is derived for finding the temperature distribution of a bimetallic absorber tube. The study of the effects of thicknesses and material selection of the inner and outer layer of bimetallic tube on temperature distribution is a must for choosing right materials and dimensions. The appropriate thicknesses and materials of inner and outer layers can be found out from the current work. The issue of whether to use high conducting material on outside or inside has also been addressed in the current work and concluded that the material with higher thermal-conductivity should be used as outer layer of the bimetallic tube to minimize the non-uniformity across the circumference. It is also concluded that for Schott-2008-PTR70-receiver, 126°, 135° and 139° respectively are the appropriate rim-angles for trough’s aperture-width=3m, 6m and 9m corresponding to minimum non-uniformity across the circumference. 72°, 100° and 112° respectively correspond to maximum solar-flux at the absorber tube.