Page 45 - Renewable Energy Devices and System with Simulations in MATLAB and ANSYS

32 Renewable Energy Devices and Systems with Simulations in MATLAB and ANSYS ®
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Linear absorber Linear absorber

Linear tracking re ectors
FIGURE 2.16 Scheme of a linear Fresnel solar collector. (Adapted from Mertins, M., Technische und
wirtschaftliche Analyse von horizontalen Fresnel-Kollektoren, PhD thesis, Universitat Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe,
Germany, October 2013, Available: http://digbib.ubka.uni-karlsruhe.de/volltexte/documents/1067166,
Retrieved on April 13, 2016.)

FIGURE 2.17 Central solar tower receiver. (From Argonne National Laboratory, Solar Energy Development
Programmatic EIS (Information Center), Solar Energy and Electric Transmission Photos, Available: http://
www.solareis.anl.gov/guide/photos/index.cfm, Retrieved on January 18, 2017.)

2.4.1.4 Parabolic Dish Reflector
This topology consists of a stand-alone parabolic dish [31], as shown in Figure 2.18. The parabolic
dish collects the sun rays and converts solar radiation into thermal energy in a running fluid. The
thermal energy can then either be converted into electricity using an engine genset coupled directly
to the receiver or be transported through pipes to a central power-conversion system. The Stirling
machine is the most frequent type of heat engine used in parabolic dish systems that can reach tem-
peratures more than 1500 °C [34].
The pressure of the steam fluid drives a generator to produce electrical energy and for a large
Stirling power plant, a lot of these dishes are connected to attain megawatts of electrical power.
The greatest advantage of dishes is their high efficiency at thermal-energy absorption and thus the