Abstract
Solar energy is a good solution for energy-deficiency problems, especially in regions such as rural areas in the Middle East that have not been electrified yet or are under electrification. In this paper, with the aid of a Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation, we propose a system that comprises a trough solar concentrator and a pipe—with flowing water—that is set in the concentrator focus. The aim of this work is to investigate the feasibility of generating steam from such a system as well as analyzing the generated steam quantitatively and qualitatively. Effects of variation of solar radiation intensity, ambient temperature, water flow rate and pipe diameter on the quantity and quality of the generated steam have been investigated. The results show that a quantity of about 130 kg of steam could be generated per day with a 0.01 m diameter with 0.0042 kg/s flowing water, although qualitatively, a narrower pipe achieves better performance than a wider one. About 74 kg of daily accumulated steam mass with a temperature >423 K could be achieved for a 0.005 m diameter tube compared to about 50 kg for the 0.01 m diameter tube. Steam quality factor is higher at all flow rates for the 0.005 m diameter tube compared to that of 0.01 m.
Highlights
Current high electricity loads require appropriate and adequate power generation
The Middle East, Arabia and the Gulf countries have very high solar radiation potential, especially for direct solar radiation or Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI), i.e., the fraction of solar radiation which is not deviated by clouds, fumes or dust in the atmosphere and that reaches the Earth’s surface as a parallel beam [4]
The research concluded that the model shows a very good performance and the results presented support the applicability of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling to study dynamics of direct steam generation in parabolic-trough solar collectors [11]
Summary
Current high electricity loads require appropriate and adequate power generation. it is well known that conventional power generation by means of fossil fuels is a major cause of environmental pollution [1]. Solar Thermal Power Plants (STPP) are expected to share the energy production scenario with conventional energy generation technologies like fossil and nuclear [3]. Rural electrification is a global challenge in developing countries, especially those whose area is huge and have a low population in scattered communities or tribes as is the case in most countries of the mentioned region. It determines the living standard of the people and as well stops the immigration to urban areas [6]
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