Coupling 2D thermal and 3D optical model for performance prediction of a parabolic trough solar collector

A 2D thermal model for tube receiver in parabolic trough solar collector is proposed, and a fast numerical algorithm is developed. Comparing to the previous models, we consider the radiation loss from the side plate of the tube receiver and direct transmission of the absorber radiation to the air to construct a physical model and mathematical equations. We also reduce the calculation by simplifying them to algebraic equations for numerical solution without needing iteration after ignoring the axial heat transfer. It is further coupled to the three-dimensional optical model to predict the performance of parabolic trough solar collector. The performances of the overall model and thermal model are tested against experimental measurements from Sandia National Laboratories. In all cases, the simulation results show a good agreement with the experimental results. The models developed in this paper can predict performance of parabolic trough solar collector with parabolic trough reflector and tube receiver accurately and quickly based on the structure and material properties of the system.