Thermal Performance of Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors in Lhasa

Abstract

With the adoption of “Carbon peak and carbon neutrality” in China, parabolic trough solar collectors have attracted considerable research attention. This study proposed an experimental system scheme based on a system to test the thermal performance of PTSHCS s in Lhasa. Furthermore, a series of experimental studies were conducted on the system which is used to test the collectors’ thermal performance in the plateau environment. The actual operation data of the collector under typical weather conditions was collected, and the collector’s thermal performance in plateau environment was analyzed. The results revealed that the solar radiation intensity, the temperature of the oil at the inlet of metal collector tube, and the flow rate of the oil to transfer heat were closely related to the heat collection efficiency of PTSHCS. A strong positive correlation exists between the solar radiation intensity and the thermal efficiency of the collector. When the rate of the fluid to transfer heat increased from 5m3/h to 7m3/h, the thermal efficiency of the collector increased significantly, and the maximum instantaneous thermal efficiency reached 66%. When the inlet temperature of the oil used to transfer heat increased from 80°C to 170°C, the thermal performance exhibited a general downward trend.