Nanotechnology Applications for Solar Energy Systems

7 Developing Innovations in Parabolic Trough Collectors (PTCs) Based on Numerical Studies

Sanaz Akbarzadeh¹, Maziar Dehghan^2,*, Mohammad Sadegh Valipour¹, and Huijin Xu³

¹ Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran² Department of Energy, Materials and Energy Research Center, Karaj, Iran³ China-UK Low Carbon College, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China^* Corresponding author

7.1 Introduction

The energy demand is growing increasingly due to the increase in population and industrial development [1]. Fossil fuels account for more than 80% of power demand worldwide [2]. They are responsible for about 90% of carbon dioxide emissions [3]. Solar energy can be an appropriate alternative. Solar energy is exploited via concentrated solar power (CSP) plants or industrial process heat (IPH) [4]. Parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) can be integrated with CSP and IPH applications to produce heat and power. Using optical and thermal enhancement techniques can increase the performance of PTCs significantly; as a result, the efficiency of plants enhances [5]. So, many experimental and numerical studies have been carried out to improve the performance of PTCs. The numerical methods which can be used to solve thermal and optical models in PTCs are presented in this chapter.

Various methods can be used to solve problems, including experimental, analytical, and numerical methods. Experimental methods as empirical solutions provide an approach to the experiment. In ...