Analytical investigation of solar parabolic trough receiver with multiple twisted tapes using exergy and energy analysis

Abstract

Exergy analysis is an important thermodynamic approach to studying the system's actual output, considering all losses. The present study is an analytical approach to calculating the thermal and exergetic efficiencies of the parabolic trough receiver using MATLAB R2018a simulation software. These efficiencies are evaluated considering temperature rise characteristics and parametric design factors. The influence of the solar air heater's thermal and exergy analysis-based mathematical model on all design parameters is examined. The receiver tube has multiple twisted tape inserts with three varying parameters, i.e., twist ratio (y/w) = 3 to 5, perforation ratio (dp/w) = 0.05 to 0.25, and winglet ratio (d/w) = 0.1 to 0.3. The twisted tape with y/w, dp/w, and d/w having values 3, 0.1, and 0.05 perform better regarding energy and exergy with values 84.27% and 4.28%, respectively. This thorough examination can prove to be highly effective and advantageous in generating the design model for the specified twisted tape parameter value without requiring extensive investment in actual experimentation while also furnishing an evaluation of the performance of the solar air heater design.