Energetic end exergetic performance of a parabolic trough collector receiver: An experimental study

In this article, an experimental investigation is evaluated with the aim of assessing the thermal performance of a receiver tube of a parabolic trough collector. The parabolic trough collector is designed, constructed and installed in the Laboratory of Thermal Processes, Research and Technology Center of Energy (CRTEn), Borj Cedria. The thermal performance was carried out using both first and second law of thermodynamics. A detailed energy and exergy analysis was performed to evaluate the thermal performance. Throughout the study, the useful energy gain and the receiver tube exergy transferred to the heat transfer fluid, the energy and exergy efficiency as well as the exergy factor were measured. The measurements were conducted during the months of September and October 2015 at Borj Cedria-Tunisia. The result has shown that the thermal performance is strongly influenced by climatic conditions. The average energy and exergy efficiency are found to be higher under clear sky days than the overcast cloudy sky days. The daily energy efficiency varied between 19.7% and 52.6%. While the daily exergy efficiency varied from 8.51% to 16.34%.