Abstract
A comparative study was carried out incorporating a novel approach for thermal performance evaluations of commonly used parabolic trough collectors, namely the Euro, Sky, and Helio troughs. In the analysis, pressurized water and therminol-VP1 (eutectic mixture of diphenyl oxide (DPO) and biphenyl) fluid were introduced as working fluids, and the governing equation of energy was simulated for various working fluid mass flow rates and inlet temperatures. The thermal performance of the troughs was assessed by incorporating the first- and second-law efficiencies and by using temperature increases and pressure drops of the working fluid. It was found that the first-law efficiency of the troughs increased with the working fluid mass flow rate, while it decreased with an increasing working fluid inlet temperature. The first-law efficiency remained the highest for the Euro trough, followed by the Sky and Helio troughs. The second-law efficiency reduced with an increasing working fluid mass flow rate, while it increased with an increasing working fluid inlet temperature. The second-law efficiency became the highest for the Helio Trough, followed by the Sky and Euro troughs. The temperature increase remained the highest along the length of the receiver for the Helio Trough compared to that corresponding to the Euro and Sky troughs for the same mass flow rate of the working fluid. The pressure drops in the working fluid became high for the Euro Trough, followed by the Sky and Helio troughs. The pressurized water resulted in higher second-law efficiency than the therminol-VP1 fluid did for all of the troughs considered.