Abstract
A detailed computational method Ray Tracing 3Dimensions-4Rays (RT3D-4R) of parabolic trough collector (PTC) system based on the ray tracing techniques is presented and developed to determine the heat flux distribution along the PTC system receiver tube. In the present study, the local concentration ratio (LCR) and the heat flux density distribution on the absorber tube surface were investigated to validate the proposed method. Also, the effects of the geometric concentration ratio and the rim angle on the heat flux density distribution and on the total intercepted solar energy on the receiver tube were analyzed and investigated. Moreover, the total intercepted solar energy on the receiver tube and the daily solar gain made by a one-axis tracked and dual tracked PTC system were investigated, for different geometric concentration ratio and rim angle, using the case study of the Monastir city, Tunisia.