Dynamic simulation tool for a performance evaluation and sensitivity study of a parabolic trough collector system with concrete thermal energy storage

AIP conference proceedings, vol. 2303, pp. 160004

Abstract

Plant developers of parabolic trough collector (PTC) systems for industrial steam generation face various challenges. Some of the main challenges are availability of land, buildings in the vicinity of the plant that cast shadows on the collectors as well as land restrictions. The typical north-south collector axis alignment in many cases may not be possible due to limits of available ground. These were challenges that were faced in the planning phase for installing a PTC plant on the premises of the KEAN Soft Drinks Ltd factory in Limassol, Cyprus. As these issues cannot be avoided they must be accounted for by the plant developer, especially when a performance guarantee is given. This work presents, amongst other things, factors that should be analysed in order to predict the energy yield in the planning phase as best as possible by using a simulation model. In the sensitivity study presented in this paper, several effects on the energy yield were investigated theoretically. These effects include: Tracking inaccuracy, non-parallel collector row axis orientations as well as north-south vs. east-west collector alignment. A dynamic simulation model developed by the Solar-Institut Jülich (SIJ) [1] was further developed and used for the analysis. The simulation model features a deviation between the measured and simulated oil temperature at the collector outlet of only 1.5 K (rms). The findings are presented in this paper and give an insight into the effectiveness of mid-sized PTC systems for the industry sector.

Authors 12

1. Johannes Christoph Sattler corresponding Aachen

   FH Aachen

   Affiliation as printed

   Solar-Institut Jülich of the Aachen University of Applied Sciences (SIJ), Heinrich-Mussmann-Str. 5, 52428 Jülich, Germany

2. Ricardo Alexander Chico Caminos Aachen

   FH Aachen

   Affiliation as printed

   Solar-Institut Jülich of the Aachen University of Applied Sciences (SIJ), Heinrich-Mussmann-Str. 5, 52428 Jülich, Germany

3. Vikrama Atti Aachen

   FH Aachen

   Affiliation as printed

   Solar-Institut Jülich of the Aachen University of Applied Sciences (SIJ), Heinrich-Mussmann-Str. 5, 52428 Jülich, Germany

4. Nicolas Ürlings
   Affiliation as printed

   Protarget AG, Zeissstrasse 5, 50859 Cologne, Germany

5. Siddharth Dutta
   Affiliation as printed

   Protarget AG, Zeissstrasse 5, 50859 Cologne, Germany

6. Victor Ruiz
   Affiliation as printed

   CADE Soluciones de Ingeniería, S.L., Parque Científico y Tecnológico, Paseo de la Innovación, 3, 02006 Albacete, Spain

7. Soteris A. Kalogirou

   Cyprus University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Arch. Kyprianos Str., 3036 Limassol, Cyprus

8. Panayiotis K. Ktistis

   Cyprus University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Arch. Kyprianos Str., 3036 Limassol, Cyprus

9. Rafaela A. Agathokleous

   Cyprus University of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Cyprus University of Technology, 30 Arch. Kyprianos Str., 3036 Limassol, Cyprus

10. Spiros Alexopoulos Aachen

    FH Aachen

    Affiliation as printed

    Solar-Institut Jülich of the Aachen University of Applied Sciences (SIJ), Heinrich-Mussmann-Str. 5, 52428 Jülich, Germany

11. Cristiano Teixeira Boura Aachen

    FH Aachen

    Affiliation as printed

    Solar-Institut Jülich of the Aachen University of Applied Sciences (SIJ), Heinrich-Mussmann-Str. 5, 52428 Jülich, Germany

12. Ulf Herrmann Aachen

    FH Aachen

    Affiliation as printed

    Solar-Institut Jülich of the Aachen University of Applied Sciences (SIJ), Heinrich-Mussmann-Str. 5, 52428 Jülich, Germany