Modeling and simulations of a micro solar power system

Abstract

SUMMARY In this paper, the mathematical modeling and simulations of a concentrating solar power system located at the Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus are presented. The system consists of parabolic trough collectors (PTCs), a propane boiler, an organic Rankine cycle (ORC), and a wet cooling tower. Presently, the PTC field is severely undersized with respect to the ORC making the system impossible to operate without burning significant propane. Expanding the solar field could result in better system performance. Hourly, daily and seasonal variations in the performance of this system are simulated using hourly meteorological data for Larnaca, Cyprus, over an entire year. Because the ORC is driven using a relatively low-temperature heat source rather than PTCs, the usage of nonconcentrating evacuated tube collectors that collect both beam and diffuse radiation is explored. The performance of east–west and north–south–tracking axis PTCs and the entire inventory of nonconcentrating evacuated tube collectors that were rated by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation are compared in terms of annual performance metrics. Based on the simulations, several nonconcentrating evacuated tube collectors are identified with better thermal performance than PTCs, and the feasibility of using these collectors should be explored further. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.