Numerical and experimental investigation of parabolic trough collector with focal evacuated tube and different working fluids integrated with single slope solar still

Abstract

This study deals with the design and fabrication of parabolic trough solar collectors (PTCs) used to increase the yield of a single slope solar still. The designed parabolic trough solar collector is investigated numerically using Ansys Fluent 18.2. The proposed solar still is coupled with a parabolic trough solar collector with an evacuated tube receiver in its focal axis using different working fluids. The working fluids are water (case 1), oil (case 2), and nano‐oil (CuO/mineral oil 3% vol; case 3). In the case when the working fluid is not water, then a heat exchanger serpentine should be used in the solar still basin. The PTC has a rim angle of 82° and an aperture width of 0.9 m and length of 2.8 m. An assessment of the performance for the studied systems was accomplished under the weather conditions of Ismailia, Egypt, during summer months, June, July, and August 2019. The outcomes of closed‐loop working fluids different flow rates are investigated. The experimental results of the accumulated freshwater productivities record 2.955, 3.475, 4.29, and 5.04 L m−2 d−1 for the traditional solar still and the modified cases 1 to 3 solar stills, respectively. The modified solar still in case 3 has the highest daily accumulated freshwater productivity with a percentage increase of 71.2% than the traditional solar still. The maximum daily efficiency is 46% and 26.9% for the traditional and modified (case 3) solar stills, respectively. The cost of 1 L of fresh water is 0.057 and 0.062 $/L for the traditional and the modified (case 3) solar stills, respectively.

A tubular solar still integrated with a heat pipe

“…The maximum reported enhancement of freshwater production was 59% and obtained when the sponge thickness and density are 30 mm and 16 kg/m 2 respectively. Nabil and Dawood 17 investigated experimentally and numerically the thermal performance of a single slope solar still integrated with a parabolic trough collector through a closed loop heat exchanger. Different working fluids, namely, water, oil, and nano‐oil used to supply heat to the solar still through the closed loop heat exchanger.…”

New Evacuated Tube Solar Collector with Parabolic Trough Collector and Helical Coil Heat Exchanger for Usage in Domestic Water Heating

“…The fourth collector cost the most among the collectors, with a ratio of EUR 4.44 per percent. Although there have been several studies conducted on integrating parabolic trough collector systems with evacuated tube solar collectors [24][25][26], the most common type of heat exchanger used in ETSCs is the heat pipe design. Another form of heat exchanger that is widely employed in ETSCs is the U-tube heat exchanger.…”

A multistage solar still with photovoltaic panels and DC water heater using a pyramid glass cover enhanced by external cooling shower and PCM

“…22 The integrated trough collector with solar still and using different working fluids for trough collector improved the productivity of freshwater, especially with nano-oil fluid. 23 This paper concerns the increase of productivity of freshwater by modifying condensation surfaces and integrating the PCM in the design of a new Multiple Stage Effect Photovoltaic Heater (MSEPVH) SS. The MSEPVH unit is to be investigated under different weather circumstances in Iraq to ensure its ability to produce a high daily accumulated amount of freshwater.…”