Abstract
In this study, the parabolic trough collector with heat pipe evacuated tube is used as the research object. Using the ray tracing method, this study analyzes the effect of tracking error of azimuth-elevation axis and receiver installation error on the optical performance of the collector. A test bench for the azimuth-elevation axis manual tracking device of the parabolic trough concentrator was designed and built, and the heat flux distribution at the focal plane was measured. The optical simulation results were compared with the test results to verify their accuracy, and the maximum relative error was 2.69%. The simulation results were compared with those calculated in the literature, and the maximum error was 16.23%. Simulation results show that the circumferential heat flux of the receiver is still symmetrically distributed when longitudinal incidence angles and vertical installation errors were found. The symmetry disappeared when transverse incidence angles and horizontal installation errors were found. As the tracking error of the elevation axis increases, the optical efficiency of the collector decreases, and the length of the end loss increases. For the collector in this study, the azimuth axis tracking error is less than 1.5° and the elevation axis tracking error is less than 6°, which can ensure high optical efficiency. The vertical installation error of the receiver was |Δz| <17 mm, the horizontal installation error was |Δx| < 20 mm, and the optical efficiency of the collector remained unchanged. The calculation method and results in this study can provide theoretical support for selecting an automatic tracking system with reasonable tracking accuracy and determining the allowable installation errors for the parabolic trough collector with heat pipe evacuated tube, and can also provide detailed thermal boundary conditions for the subsequent research of heat transfer performance of the receiver, which has great theoretical value.
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