Numerical analysis and multi-objective optimization design of parabolic trough receiver with ribbed absorber tube

Parabolic trough collector (PTC) is the most cost-effective and mature concentrated solar power (CSP) technology for solar thermal utilization. However, the highly concentrated solar irradiation on the bottom of the absorber tube causes high local temperature, thermal stress and deformation, further...

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Main Authors: Peng Liu, Jiafeng Wu, Lingen Chen, Zhichun Liu, Wei Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-11-01
Series:Energy Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484721010994
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author Peng Liu
Jiafeng Wu
Lingen Chen
Zhichun Liu
Wei Liu
author_facet Peng Liu
Jiafeng Wu
Lingen Chen
Zhichun Liu
Wei Liu
author_sort Peng Liu
collection DOAJ
description Parabolic trough collector (PTC) is the most cost-effective and mature concentrated solar power (CSP) technology for solar thermal utilization. However, the highly concentrated solar irradiation on the bottom of the absorber tube causes high local temperature, thermal stress and deformation, further leading to damage and performance degradation of PTC. In order to alleviate the above problem, a novel parabolic trough receiver (PTR) with ribbed absorber tube is proposed to improve the thermo-mechanical performance of PTC Moreover, the multi-objective optimization is employed to determine the optimal parameter combinations (slant angle (β), size (e), pitch (p), and number of the ribs (N)) of ribbed absorber tube coupled with 3D numerical simulation and the genetic algorithm (GA). Based on the TOPSIS method and performance evaluation criteria (PEC) value, the ribbed absorber tube with the optimal geometric parameters of β=15°, N=6, e=4.5mm and p=20mm is selected in the Pareto Front as the suggested optimal design. Furthermore, the performance of the PTRs at different inlet temperature of the fluid (Tin=400–600K), direct normal irradiance (DNI=300–1000 W/m2) and mass flow rate (M=0.62–3.72kg/s) are evaluated. It is found that the ribbed absorber tube can effectively disturb the fluid near the boundary and induce longitudinal vortexes flow, which results in significant improvement in heat transfer between fluid and absorber tube, thereby enhancing the performance of the PTC. Compared to the plain tube, the heat transfer and flow resistance of the optimal ribbed absorber are enhanced by 57%–225% and 222%–630%, and the heat loss is lessened by up to 79.3%, resulting in 2.3% and 2.2% improvement in the heat collecting efficiency and overall efficiency. The findings in this paper may provide practical guidelines for developing efficient PTC.
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spelling doaj.art-d64a9e88c2304fc388709a76aba1e0782022-12-21T18:13:27ZengElsevierEnergy Reports2352-48472021-11-01774887503Numerical analysis and multi-objective optimization design of parabolic trough receiver with ribbed absorber tubePeng Liu0Jiafeng Wu1Lingen Chen2Zhichun Liu3Wei Liu4Institute of Thermal Science and Power Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China; School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China; Corresponding authors.School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, ChinaInstitute of Thermal Science and Power Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, ChinaSchool of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China; Corresponding authors.Parabolic trough collector (PTC) is the most cost-effective and mature concentrated solar power (CSP) technology for solar thermal utilization. However, the highly concentrated solar irradiation on the bottom of the absorber tube causes high local temperature, thermal stress and deformation, further leading to damage and performance degradation of PTC. In order to alleviate the above problem, a novel parabolic trough receiver (PTR) with ribbed absorber tube is proposed to improve the thermo-mechanical performance of PTC Moreover, the multi-objective optimization is employed to determine the optimal parameter combinations (slant angle (β), size (e), pitch (p), and number of the ribs (N)) of ribbed absorber tube coupled with 3D numerical simulation and the genetic algorithm (GA). Based on the TOPSIS method and performance evaluation criteria (PEC) value, the ribbed absorber tube with the optimal geometric parameters of β=15°, N=6, e=4.5mm and p=20mm is selected in the Pareto Front as the suggested optimal design. Furthermore, the performance of the PTRs at different inlet temperature of the fluid (Tin=400–600K), direct normal irradiance (DNI=300–1000 W/m2) and mass flow rate (M=0.62–3.72kg/s) are evaluated. It is found that the ribbed absorber tube can effectively disturb the fluid near the boundary and induce longitudinal vortexes flow, which results in significant improvement in heat transfer between fluid and absorber tube, thereby enhancing the performance of the PTC. Compared to the plain tube, the heat transfer and flow resistance of the optimal ribbed absorber are enhanced by 57%–225% and 222%–630%, and the heat loss is lessened by up to 79.3%, resulting in 2.3% and 2.2% improvement in the heat collecting efficiency and overall efficiency. The findings in this paper may provide practical guidelines for developing efficient PTC.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484721010994Ribbed absorber tubeArtificial neural networkGenetic algorithmLongitudinal vortexesOverall efficiency
spellingShingle Peng Liu
Jiafeng Wu
Lingen Chen
Zhichun Liu
Wei Liu
Numerical analysis and multi-objective optimization design of parabolic trough receiver with ribbed absorber tube
Energy Reports
Ribbed absorber tube
Artificial neural network
Genetic algorithm
Longitudinal vortexes
Overall efficiency
title Numerical analysis and multi-objective optimization design of parabolic trough receiver with ribbed absorber tube
title_full Numerical analysis and multi-objective optimization design of parabolic trough receiver with ribbed absorber tube
title_fullStr Numerical analysis and multi-objective optimization design of parabolic trough receiver with ribbed absorber tube
title_full_unstemmed Numerical analysis and multi-objective optimization design of parabolic trough receiver with ribbed absorber tube
title_short Numerical analysis and multi-objective optimization design of parabolic trough receiver with ribbed absorber tube
title_sort numerical analysis and multi objective optimization design of parabolic trough receiver with ribbed absorber tube
topic Ribbed absorber tube
Artificial neural network
Genetic algorithm
Longitudinal vortexes
Overall efficiency
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484721010994
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