Thermal and Optical Efficiency Analysis of the Linear Fresnel Concentrator Compound Parabolic Collector Receiver

Abstract

A solar heating compound parabolic collector (CPC) using air and palm oil as heat carrier fluid is proposed and analyzed within this study via heat transfer and ray tracing simulations. The system is a linear focusing solar system intended to be used for applications across a broad range of industrial sectors for generating medium temperature heat up to 250 °C. The Monte Carlo ray tracing method was used to predict the optical performances of the receiver. We have developed a simplified thermal model to investigate and analyze the thermal performances of the receiver under different conditions. It has been demonstrated that the investigated receiver satisfactorily matches the heat demand by producing low and medium temperature heat with an annual system efficiency of 45%.