Global Journal of Researches in Engineering, J: General Engineering, Volume 22 Issue 1

Analysis of Thermal and Optical Efficiency of Parabolic Concentrating System for Thermal Application I.Zakariya’u α & B. Bande σ Abstract- Solar power generation is the most promising technology to transfer energy consumption reliance from fossil fuel to renewable sources. Concentrated solar power generation is a method to concentrate the sunlight from a bigger area to a smaller area. The collected sunlight is converted more efficiently through two types of technologies: concentrated solar photovoltaic’s (CSPV) and concentrated solar thermal power (CSTP) generation. In this research work, these two technologies would be evaluated in terms of system construction, performance characteristics, design considerations, cost benefit analysis and their field experience. The two concentrated solar power generation systems would be implemented with similar solar concentrators and solar tracking systems but with different energy collecting and conversion components: the CSPV system will use high efficiency multi-junction solar cell modules, while the CSTP system will use a boiler -turbine- generator setup. The performances would be calibrated via the experiments and evaluation analysis. Keywords: solar energy, solar thermal collectors, linear parabolic collectors, compound parabolic collectors, solar thermal systems. I. I ntroduction nergy consumption has increasing rate worldwide because of the new trends in lifestyle. With threats of global warming and increased energy cost, the use of renewable and sustainable energy sources is becoming more and more popular. Solar energy is the most abundant and its usage is the more widespread. Solar collectors are heat exchanger devices that capture the incident solar irradiation and transform a part of this to useful heat. This heat is given to a working fluid in order to be transferred to the load or to the storage device. The temperature level of the working fluid determines its energy flow which is also a crucial parameter for high temperature applications. In order to increase the temperature of the working fluid and its energy rate, concentrating collectors are used in many applications. The solar thermal collectors have been widely used to concentrate solar radiation and convert it into useful heat for various thermal processes. Characteristics of solar thermal collectors, especially the concentrating type, are well established in research literature and have many applications in industry and for domestic water heating, and steam generation (CSTE, 2004 )The operation principle of solar concentrating collectors is the focusing the incident solar radiation onto a small area known as receiver. Many types of concentrating collectors are available, with various concentrating ratios and different operating temperature levels. Linear parabolic collectors, compound parabolic collectors, Fresnel collectors, and solar dish collectors are the most widespread concentrated collectors. Generally, solar thermal utilization can be separated to low, medium, and high temperature systems. The low temperature solar systems, which operate without sunlight concentration, have low conversion efficiency and they are used in domestic applications. The medium and high temperature solar thermal systems, which require sunlight concentration, have higher conversion efficiency and they can used in great variety of applications [1] II. S tatement of the p roblem There are still millions of people living in electricity-poverty without enough electricity to support their basic needs, such as food, medicine, home heating, cooling etc. in Nigeria particularly northern part of the country e.g Sokoto state. Many places where these people live have great potential of solar energy resource. Distributed solar power generation could be a quick alternative way to help these poor people to obtain electricity in an economic and environmental friendly way without the high cost centralized power plants and power distribution system [1&2 ]. With the advancement of the modern technologies, there are more effective solutions to utilize solar energy to improve our quality of life and be beneficial to the environment as well. III. S ignificance of the S tudy Solar power is compatible for both urban and rural remote areas, as well as good for both residential and utility scale development. Solar energy will become the main energy resource of our planet with advancement in solar technology research to lower cost and improve energy conversion efficiency. Access to affordable energy is one of the basic requirements for development and for poverty reduction. Many areas E lobal Journal of Researches in Engineering ( ) Volume XxXII Issue I Version I J G 51 Year 2022 © 2022 Global Journals Author σ : e-mail: yaroko53@gmail.com