Experimental analysis of a parabolic trough collector performance under mediterranean climate conditions

Abstract

In this study, a novel non-tracking parabolic trough collector (PTC) is developed and experimentally investigated under North Cyprus climate conditions for residential water heating applications. Within the study, the impact of solar radiation (SR) and water volumetric flow rate (VFR) on the system performance is evaluated based on the testing results. Experiments were performed in the first and third weeks of April in Famagusta, in which SR is limited due to the rain and cloudy sky. The system is tested with water VFRs of 15 L/h and 20 L/h. During the tests, collector inlet/outlet temperatures also water tank, and ambient temperatures were measured. Furthermore, the solar intensity was also measured and recorded. Average SR on PTC surface, during the testing with 15 L/h and 20 L/h, was determined as 654.5 W and 723.3 W respectively. Study results showed that the useful heat gain from PTC was 285.2 W and 233.7 W, for the same order of VFRs. Moreover, the average thermal efficiency of the system was found as 44% and 33% for the VFRs of 15 L/h and 20 L/h respectively. © 2021, TUBITAK. All rights reserved.