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Published in:
2022 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
Parabolic Trough Solar Technology
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Excerpt
Aperture width
Straight distance between mirror edges across the PTC
Absorber tube
Dark tube positioned in the focal line, typically from steel with coating and with evacuated glass envelope to minimize heat loss, converting solar radiation energy into thermal energy in the fluid, see receiver
Collector loop (PTC)
Unit of several PTC connected in series to heat the fluid from inlet to outlet header temperature
Direct normal irradiance, beam irradiance
Direct part of the sunlight, coming from within the sun disk as almost parallel light onto a surface, measured as power density in kW/m2
Drive (PTC)
Unit consisting of motor and gear or hydraulic drive with valves and cylinders, and the controller to turn the PTC into the correct operational tracking angle
Efficiency
Ratio of useful energy and total energy input
Efficiency (PTC)
Ratio of thermal energy output from the PTC and total solar radiation received on the aperture area
Heat transfer fluid (“HTF”)
Fluid receiving the thermal energy in the receivers and transporting it to the heat exchangers of the power block. HTF for PTC is mostly synthetic oil or water/steam. Some installations also use molten salt or pressurized CO2.
Intercept factor
Relative amount of rays hitting the absorber tube as fraction of the total number of reflected rays from the mirror area
Mirror, mirror panel (PTC)
Reflecting panel, made of silvered glass or other reflecting sheet material, curved according to the collector’s focal length to reflect sunlight onto the absorber
Parabolic trough collector (“PTC”)
Concentrating solar collector with mirrors, absorber, and tracking system for providing solar energy at temperatures of 100–600 °C
Pylon (PTC)
Support post of the PTC modules
Receiver (PTC)
Component of a concentrating collector system, especially PTC, consisting of absorber tube, with additional elements such as glass tube and expansion bellow
Solar field
Unit of parallel connected collector loops, typically also including connection piping, sensors and controls, land area, and heat transfer fluid of the collector installation of a solar plant
Sun sensor
Sensor for feedback of the tracking to the drive
Tracking (PTC)
Action of adjusting the collector angle to the sun position during the operation