| dc.description.abstract | This Diploma Thesis has been elaborated at the “Solar and other Energy Systems Laboratory”, part of National Center For Scientific Research “Demokritos”, Agia Paraskeui, Greece, on behalf of the department of Mechanical Engineering of University of Western Macedonia commencing on November 2016- March 2017. The project aims to study and analyze the solar thermal systems and particularly, the experimental configuration of a pilot parabolic trough collector of low enthalpy.
The first section of the thesis (chapters 1 and 2) introduces solar thermal technology for heat production and presents all the up-to date technologies of solar thermal troughs. Moreover, the basic principles and equations are explained for studying solar thermal systems as well as all the current progress on solar thermal sector.
At the second part (chapters 3 and 4), a detailed study of parabolic trough collector is presented. Focus is given on the geometry and the issues that arise during design and on the same time, the equations of thermal efficiency are indicated according to extensive literature research.
On the last part of the thesis, the optical and thermal efficiency of the pilot configuration studied in NSCR “Demokritos” is calculated theoretically using a software. The model consists of existing relations from the literature that describe the phenomena and operation of the total process under different stages. On the basis of the developed model, a parametric analysis of the performance of the collector for typical operation conditions takes place.
After the assessment of the above results, it is concluded that the performance of a PTC depends mainly to the characteristics of the construction material and the geometry of the reflective surface. Additionally, it is very important to mention that the location of the installed plant should be carefully selected to agree with the most favorable criteria as small ambient temperature fluctuations and abundant solar radiation. | en_US |
