Modeling of uid ow and heat transfer in a trough solar collector

Changfu You
a,
*
, Wei Zhang
a
, Zhiqiang Yin
b
a
Department of Thermal Engineering, Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China
b
Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China
h i g h l i g h t s
<A ow and heat transfer model was built and solved using nite difference method.
<The processes in a trough solar collector of the DSG system were analyzed.
<The model is validated to be accurate by other experimental results.
<Radiation uctuations strongly affect the operation of a DSG system.
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 16 July 2012
Accepted 26 January 2013
Available online 14 February 2013
Keywords:
Solar energy
Trough concentrating
Evacuated tubular collectors
Numerical model
a b s t r a c t
This paper analyzed the ow and heat transfer processes in a trough solar collector of the direct steam
generation (DSG) system. A ow and heat transfer model of the working uid in the absorber was
established and solved using the nite difference method. Experimental results of liquid water and dry
air heating processes validated the model. The experimental results, got under the condition that the
vacuum in the tube was destroyed, were used to test the developed model. The calculation results of the
model agreed with the experimental data. The dynamic characteristics of the collector outlet parameters
under variations of solar radiation intensity were analyzed in this paper. The impulse response of the
DSG system was complex as a short-time uctuation of the solar radiation notably affected the water
region length, the two-phase region length and the steam region length, which led to large uctuations
in the outlet temperature. Therefore, the outlet temperature of the once-through DSG system was
difcult to control. Extra heat was required to maintain the normal operation of the system.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The main part of a solar trough collector power plant is a col-
lector group formed by a large number of collectors. The overall
efciency of the solar trough power plant is usually limited by the
performance of the collector. A recent technology, direct steam
generation technology, represents a new direction in development
because of its low cost and high efciency [1].
Research conducted by the DISS project solved problems con-
cerning the DSG process [1]. These problems included operation of
single and parallel rows in steady state or transient conditions,
start-up and shut down procedures, thermal stress of the absorber
tubes in transient conditions, and the best operation mode
denition.
Theoretical analysis on the characteristics of ow and heat
transfer in the absorber has previously been done. S. D. Odeh, G. L.
Morrison and M. Behnia presented a detailed model of the trough
collector in a DSG system during the DISS project [2]. Based on a
model proposed by Odeh et al. in 1996 [3], it was appropriate for
any uid because of its particular denition for the tube surface
temperature rather than the working uid temperature.
The quasi-one-dimensional model divided the absorber tube
into water region, two-phase region and dry-steam region. This
model was applied to analyze heat transfer of the two-phase ow.
The heat transfer coefcient calculation and other factors suspected
to inuence the collector efciency were analyzed. As dynamic
variations of the outlet parameters were not considered for the
analysis, the comparison between the theoretical calculations and
the experimental results was relatively limited in this research.
A steady-state hydrodynamic model, which was relevant to the
thermal model and consisted of ow pattern and pressure drop
models, was later proposed for optimization of collectors in a once-
through DSG system [4]. This paper presented diverse operating
modes for optimal performance of DSG collectors with different
radiation conditions. The difference between the DSG system and
heat transfer uid systems was also analyzed, while discussions
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 86 10 62785669; fax: 86 10 62770209.
E-mail address: youcf@tsinghua.edu.cn (C. You).
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Applied Thermal Engineering
j ournal homepage: www. el sevi er. com/ l ocat e/ apt hermeng
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2013.01.046
Applied Thermal Engineering 54 (2013) 247e254
about the effects of unsteady processes on the collector were
minimal.
M. Eck and W. D. Steinmann proposed a model for solar energy
collector group analysis and design [5]. The model primarily
addressed the phenomena of thermodynamics and hydrody-
namics, and their impact on owstability in the collector. However,
inlet and outlet parameter variations were neglected similar to
prior research.
This paper purposed to establish a complete model of ow and
heat transfer processes in a DSG collector; and then to provide
detailed improvements to that model. A trough concentrating and
evacuated tubular absorber station was used to validate the model.
The research objective was to build a platform that could provide
guidance for dynamic analysis and system operation.
2. Numerical model
2.1. Basic assumptions
(1) The solar radiation intensity along the axial and circumferential
directions of the vacuum tube (collector unit) is uniform;
(2) The radiation heat fromthe collector, the ground, and the other
collectors is negligible;
(3) The wind speed vane is in the normal direction of the vacuum
tube glass cover axis;
(4) The optical properties (optical efciency) along the axial and
circumferential directions of the vacuum tube is uniform;
(5) The working uid in the tube is uniform and the ow is stable;
(6) The temperature, pressure, and other state parameters in the
same section are uniform.
The following assumptions were made for heat transfer be-
tween the outside surface of the absorber and the inner surface of
the glass cover; any relevant errors were minor enough to be
ignored.
(1) The vacuum gas is neglected in heat transfer;
(2) All surfaces are gray surface;
(3) The solar radiation is scattering;
(4) The glass cover does not absorb radiation in the infrared ray
range.
2.2. Heat balance equations
The evacuated tubular consisted of the glass cover and the
absorber with a vacuum between them (Fig. 1). The solar radiation
absorbed by the absorber is:
Q
s
I
b
BLhK
The energy balance equation of the absorber is:
Q
u
FI
b
hKBL pD
r
Lh
L
T T
a
(1)
The total heat loss realized by the absorber included the com-
bined heat loss, the radiation heat loss between the absorber sur-
face and the glass cover, and the radiation heat loss between the
glass cover and the environment. Based on the thermal resistance
model, the heat loss coefcient was calculated as:
1
h
L

1
h
re

1
h
c

1
h
ca

1
h
reconv
h
rerad

1
h
c

1
h
caconv
h
carad
(2)
Convective heat transfer was presumably caused by the free
convection of molecules under the condition of a complete vacuum
between the external surface of the absorber and the inner surface
of glass cover [6]. Hence, the heat transfer coefcient was calcu-
lated as:
h
reconv

k
air
0:5D
r
lnD
e
=D
r
blD
r
=D
e
1
(3)
When the vacuum deteriorated to a pressure greater than
133.3 Pa, the convective heat transfer was considered as natural
convection [7]. The convective heat transfer is:
Q
reconv

2:425k
m
T
r
T
e
P
rm
R
a
=0:861 P
rm

1=4

1 Dr=De
3=5

5=4
(4)
Where k
m
is the heat transfer coefcient of gas in the annular space
at a temperature of T
m
T
r
T
e
=2.
Convection between the glass cover and the environment
caused notable heat loss, especially in windy conditions. The heat
transfer coefcient can be expressed as:
h
caconv

A
c
A
r
k
air
D
c
Nu
D

D
c
D
r
k
air
D
c
Nu
D
(5)
The Nusselt number was calculated by the empirical formula of
forced convection in an insulated cylinder (i.e., the Zhukauskas
relative formula [8]):
Nu
D
CRe
m
D
Pr
n
a
Pr
a
=Pr
c

1=4
:
The StefaneBoltzmann Lawcalculated both h
rerad
and h
carad
. The
sky temperature was calculated according to the ambient temper-
ature and the dew point temperature [9].
The model assumed that the anti-reective material on the in-
side and outside surfaces of the glass cover did neither introduce
additional thermal resistance nor affect emissivity of the glass
cover. The temperature distribution was almost linear. The thermal
conduction conduction convection
convection
radiation
radiation
convection
Fluid Absorber Wall Glass Cover
Sky
Fig. 1. Thermal resistance model for a section of the evacuated tube.
Pump
Radio
Meter
Flow
Meter
Solar Concentrator
T T
Data
Collector
Fig. 2. System diagram of trough concentrating and evacuated tubular absorber
station.
C. You et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 54 (2013) 247e254 248
conductivity coefcient for the heat ux through the glass cover
was calculated as:
h
c

Q
c
A
r
T
e
T
c

2pLk
c
A
r
lnD
c
=D
e

2k
c
D
r
lnD
c
=D
e

(6)
Similarly, the thermal conductivity coefcient for the heat ux
through the wall of the absorber is:
h
ab

2pLk
ab
A
r
lnD
r
=D
w

2k
ab
D
r
lnD
r
=D
w

(7)
The integrated heat loss coefcient h
L
was calculated by Equa-
tions (2)e(7).
The convective heat transfer coefcient between the single-
phase uid and the wall was determined by the Dittus-Boelter
relative formula [4]:
h
ph
h
1p
0:0235Re
0:8
Pr
0:4
k
D
w
(8)
The two-phase region ow type must rst be determined by the
F
r
number in order to calculate the convective heat transfer co-
efcients in the two-phase ow. The ow is laminar when the F
r
number is less than 0.04, while the F
r
number is greater than 0.04
in general when the ow type is circulation. The convective heat
transfer coefcient for circulation was calculated as follows [10]:
h
ph
E$h
1p
S$h
boil
(9)
where E 124000B
o
1:37X
tt
; S 1=11:1510
6
E
2
Re
1:17
.
h
boil
was calculated by the Cooper formula [11]:
h
boil
55P
0:12
n
0:4343lnP
n

0:55
M
0:5
q
0:67
The thermal resistance model provides another expression of
Q
u
:
Q
u

A
r
T
r
T
A
r
=A
w
h
ph
1=h
ab
(10)
Equations (2) and (10) provide the expression for F
0
:
F
0

1=h
L
1=h
L
D
r
=D
w
h
ph
1=h
ab
(11)
2.3. Control equations
The heat transfer equation of working uid is the energy
equation of single-phase ow. Density variations over time of the
single-phase working uid were ignored; hence, the mass owrate
was considered constant in the calculation. The control equations
were provided in a previous paper [12].
There are two main methods for treating two-phase ow: the
homogenous model and the sub-phase model. The homogenous
model would result in notable errors caused by the characteristics
of low velocity, low pressure and high-density differences of the
subject in this research. Therefore, the sub-phase model was used
to obtain more accurate results in the following calculations. The
continuity equation cannot be omitted here due to greater density
changes in the two-phase region.
(1) Continuity equations
The continuity equation of the liquid and vapor phase can be
expressed as follows:
Liquid
v
vt
1 4r
F

v
vz
1 4r
F
w
F
m
s
(12)
Vapor
v
vt
4r
G

v
v
4r
G
w
G
m
s
(13)
(2) Energy equations
Temperature variations of the two-phase region along the axial
direction were small enough to be ignored; hence, the energy
equations of the liquid and vapor phase are:
Liquid
v
vt
1 4r
F
h
F

v
vz
1 4r
F
h
F
w
F
q
vF
(14)
Vapor
v
vt
4r
G
h
G

v
vz
4r
G
h
G
w
G
q
vG
(15)
q
v
q
vF
q
vG
:
(3) Momentum equations
The momentum equation of liquid and vapor are expressed as
follows:
Vapor
v
vt
4r
G
w
G

v
vz

4r
G
w
2
G

4
vP
vz
4
l
0
D
w
r
F
u
2
F
2
0
(17)
where u
F
_ m=r
F
A
w
.
The temperature distribution in the single-phase region and the
gas remnant in the two-phase region were calculated by the energy
equations with the nite difference method, while the pressure and
temperature distribution in the two-phase region were calculated
by the momentum equations.
3. Experiment validation
A trough concentrating and evacuated tubular absorber station
was built to verify the accuracy of the model (Fig. 2) respectively
using water and air as the working uid. The centigrade scale was
used to indicate temperatures in this research. The opening length
Liquid
v
vt
1 4r
F
w
F

v
vz
h
1 4r
F
w
2
F
i
1 4
vP
vz
1 4
l
0
D
w
r
F
u
2
F
2
0
(16)
C. You et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 54 (2013) 247e254 249
of reector was 1.5 m and the total length was 10 m. The inner and
outer diameters of the ve vacuumtubes were 38 mmand 102 mm,
and the length of each tube was 1.8 m. The radiation intensities
were testing data in the experiments. The outlet temperature range
was 20e70

C when heating water and 200e350

C when heating
air. Results fromsimulations were compared with the experimental
data.
3.1. Verication using water as working uid
Table 1 shows the comparison of experimental and model
simulation results using water as the working uid for model ac-
curacy validation. The comparison results show that the relative
error of the simulation and experimental results was controllable to
6%, which is within the acceptable error range for engineering.
3.2. Verication using dry air as working uid
Table 2 shows the comparison of experimental and model
simulation results using dry air as the working uid for model ac-
curacy validation. The listed ow rates are readings of the rotor
ow meter (working temperature 20

C) corresponding to the
volume ow rate. The comparison results show that the relative
error of the simulation and experimental results was controllable to
5%, which is within the acceptable error range for engineering.
3.3. Verication when vacuum destroyed
The effect on heat loss was considered when external matter
destroyed the tube vacuum. The gas pressure between the glass
cover and absorber increased after the vacuum was destroyed. The
heat transferring mechanism changed from free molecular motion
into natural convection when the pressure was higher than
133.3 Pa, resulting in an increase of heat loss. The pressure was
leveled to the ambient pressure by destroying two of the ve vac-
uum tubes used in the experiment to verify the accuracy of the
model in calculating heat loss in such situations.
Table 3 shows the comparison of experimental and simulation
results using dry air as the working uid when the vacuum was
destroyed. The comparison results show that the relative error of
the simulation and experimental results was controllable to 3%,
which was within the acceptable error range for engineering.
Overall, the accuracy of the simulation model was acceptable
and therefore the model developed in this paper is valuable for
analyzing the dynamic characteristics of the DSG system.
Deviations between experimental and simulation results were
mainly due to the following reasons.
(1) The collective efciency of the experimental device was not
guaranteed to be the same for all operating conditions.
(2) The limited machining precision allowed a small amount of
light leakage to occur in the trough concentrator.
(3) Despite regulation of the opening direction of the trough
concentrator for the experiment, the collective efciency was
hardly maintained the same under different conditions.
(4) The solar energy collection efciency used during the simula-
tion was based on experimental data which may possibly differ
from the actual efciency.
4. Dynamic characteristics of the collector
The dynamic characteristics of collector outlet parameters un-
der variations of solar radiation intensity are analyzed in this
section.
Variations of operation parameters are produced as a result of
large amount of step signals, thus impulse responses appear
frequently throughout the operation. In consideration of the inev-
itable peaks and valleys of impulse when the sole injection was
solar radiation, the ideal impulse response was analyzed for a 1 min
slump of intense radiation before reversion.
The impulse response characteristics had few effects on opera-
tion due to the thermal storage capacity of the water phase, thus
only the dry-steam outow was analyzed as is relevant to engi-
neering practices. Three kinds of impulse response were expected
to appear during experimentation: dry steam outows, two-phase
outows and single-phase water outows, which were the uid
outow states that the minimum impulse values corresponded to.
Table 4 shows three representative conditions that were chosen
for detailed simulations to reveal the impulse response character-
istics of small, medium and large variations in solar radiation
Table 1
Comparison of experimental and simulation results using water as working uid.
Flow
rate
(L/h)
Radiation
intensity
(W/m
2
)
Inlet
temperature
(

C)
Outlet temperature Relative
error
Experimental
results
(

C)
Simulation
results
(

C)
100.0 722.88 18.9 68.0 70.8 4.12%
200.0 713.38 17.9 42.0 43.7 4.05%
300.0 708.38 17.5 32.2 34.1 5.95%
350.0 727.20 17.4 30.7 32.1 4.31%
400.0 728.99 17.3 28.4 28.0 1.45%
450.0 723.63 17.3 27.6 26.4 4.36%
500.0 714.49 17.1 25.9 24.9 3.86%
Table 2
Comparison of experimental and simulation results using dry air as working uid.
Flow
rate
(L/h)
Radiation
intensity
(W/m
2
)
Inlet
temperature
(

C)
Outlet temperature Relative
error
Experimental
results
(

C)
Simulation
results
(

C)
10.0 667.22 43.6 332.6 347.8 4.55%
15.0 678.92 44.2 324.5 329.7 1.59%
20.0 687.31 41.8 309.1 314.2 1.63%
25.0 665.50 43.4 249.4 246.1 1.33%
Table 3
Comparison of experimental and simulation results using dry air as working uid
when tube vacuum was destroyed.
Flow
rate
(L/h)
Radiation
intensity
(W/m
2
)
Inlet
temperature
(

C)
Outlet temperature Relative
error
Experimental
results
(

C)
Simulation
results
(

C)
10.0 668.39 43.2 330.2 337.9 2.33%
15.0 657.90 42.8 317.2 317.0 0.04%
20.0 641.29 40.2 294.4 291.2 1.07%
25.0 552.93 41.0 246.4 241.2 2.13%
Table 4
Chosen conditions for detailed simulations.
Working
condition
Value of solar radiation intensity (W/m
2
) Reversion
time (min)
Common At valley
(1) 1000 800 1
(2) 1000 500 1
(3) 1000 150 1
C. You et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 54 (2013) 247e254 250
intensity. Parameters of LS-3, collectors produced by LUZ, were
applied to the simulation in consideration of possible industrial
applications. A standard condition was set to approximate actual
operation where the ambient temperature was 20

C, the wind
velocity was 2 m/s, the ow rate was 0.95 kg/s, and the inlet
temperature and pressure were 210

C and 10 MPa, respectively.
4.1. Dry-steam e dry-steam e dry-steam
For working condition (1), the solar radiation intensity
decreased from1000 W/m
2
to 800 W/m
2
, stayed for 1 min and then
increased back to 1000 W/m
2
. The stabilization time was 5 min and
30 s after a step signal of radiation intensity decrease from1000 W/
m
2
to 800 W/m
2
, hence superposition application of the step re-
sponses appeared before stabilization occurs.
Figs. 3e6 show the variations in the collector outlet tempera-
ture, pressure drop, outlet pressure, and the three region lengths. A
sudden decrease in outlet temperature was observed at the same
time as the decrease in radiation intensity. Similar to the step
response process above, the temperature decreased slowly after a
certain point. A rapid increase in outlet temperature appeared
when radiation intensity increased. The three region lengths with
instability caused by uctuations of the dry-steam region length
spiked before the curve achieved stability (Fig. 6). Results also
showed that before a newsteady state was achieved, the dry-steam
region length rst increased and then uctuated when the radia-
tion intensity was reversed.
Fluctuations of the dry-steam region length were caused by
asynchronous variations of the water region length and two-phase
region length. Similar uctuations were observed in the step in-
crease of radiation intensity from 800 W/m
2
to 1000 W/m
2
but
were ignored because they were small. The two-phase region
length variations and the asynchronization between the two re-
gions were too prominent to be ignored in the impulse response.
A temporary stabilization appeared in the three regions because
the dry-steam region length was relatively long and the water re-
gion temperature rose slowly prior to the step change. The two-
phase region length increased due to the decrease of the water
Fig. 3. Outlet temperature impulse response variation (1000e800 W/m
2
).
Fig. 4. Outlet pressure impulse response variation (1000e800 W/m
2
).
Fig. 5. Pressure drop impulse response variation (1000e800 W/m
2
).
Fig. 6. Water region, two-phase region and dry-steam region impulse response vari-
ation (1000e800 W/m
2
).
Fig. 7. Outlet temperature impulse response variation (1000e500 W/m
2
).
Fig. 8. Outlet pressure impulse response variation (1000e500 W/m
2
).
C. You et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 54 (2013) 247e254 251
phase length; it then decreased when radiation became the leading
function. The processes circulated until a steady state was achieved
(Fig. 6).
Based primarily on the two-phase region length, the pressure
drop appeared relatively stable in the length variation counter
trend (Fig. 5). Inherent disturbances in the region did not allow the
uctuations of the two-phase region length to notably effect the
pressure drop variation. The outlet pressure reached a steady state
after a slow rise.
4.2. Dry-steam e two-phase e dry-steam
For working condition (2), the step decrease of radiation in-
tensity was from 1000 W/m
2
to 500 W/m
2
and the stabilization
time was 1 min Figs. 7e10 show the variations in collector outlet
temperatures, pressure drop, outlet pressure, and the three region
lengths. Fig. 7 shows an outlet temperature variation similar to Case
(1) except for an increase in uctuation range. The temperature
decreased rapidly and then increased with notable uctuations,
which were also expressed by the dry-steam region variation
(Fig. 10). Prior to the water phase region length achieving stability,
the decrease of the water region length was relatively rapid in
comparison to the previous process, which led to sharp variations
of the two-phase region length in the last uctuation zone.
The dry-steam region length achieved stability after a sharp
decrease caused by asynchronization. Temporary stabilization was
reached because of the slowtemperature increase inthe water region
and certain lengths of the dry-steam and two-phase regions. Hence,
uctuations of the length were observed in the two-phase region.
The pressure drop slowly rose to a stable value after two slight
decreases during the process, and was not notably inuenced by
the two-phase region length uctuations. The outlet pressure
achieved stability after a slow increase.
4.3. Dry-steam e water e dry-steam
For working condition (3), a stabilization time of 27 s was
already established. Figs. 11e14 show the simulation results.
As is shown in Fig. 11, the outlet temperature rapidly decreased
to the saturation temperature T
sa
, and achieved temporary stability
during which a slight uctuation occurred. Then, the temperature
experienced sharp increase and decrease back to T
sa
before a nal
rapid increase to a steady value. The variations are represented by
the curve of the dry-steam region length where the region reap-
peared three times after the initial disappearance. The two-phase
region length decreased after achieving the maximum value
because of the disappearance. The decrease occurred when the
radiation intensity increased, and then the length uctuated as the
water phase percentage was slowly reduced. The uctuation ach-
ieved a maximum value when the water phase reached stability.
Two-phase region length variations increased in severity before
stabilizationwhen there was drastic variation in radiation intensity,
which may lead to a second disappearance of the dry-steamregion.
Fig. 9. Pressure drop impulse response variation (1000e500 W/m
2
).
Fig. 10. Water region, two-phase region and dry-steam region impulse response
variation (1000e500 W/m
2
).
Fig. 11. Outlet temperature impulse response variation (1000e120 W/m
2
).
Fig. 12. Outlet pressure impulse response variation (1000e120 W/m
2
).
Fig. 13. Pressure drop impulse response variation (1000e120 W/m
2
).
C. You et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 54 (2013) 247e254 252
Similar to Cases (1) and (2), the variations were caused by asyn-
chronization of the two regions variation. The pressure drop varied
severely because of drastic uctuations of the two-phase region.
However, it increased stably after the initial reappearance of the dry-
steam region, and nally decreased to a stable value after several
uctuations.
The results showed that the outlet temperature was strongly
affected by solar radiation intensity. It has been veried a problem
by the DISS project that the one-through DSG system is sensitive to
environmental disturbances since variations of solar radiation in-
tensity may lead to great uctuations of the outlet parameters [13].
The uctuations would cause great thermal stress in the vacuum
tube, which may ultimately damage the collector [14]. Therefore,
measures should be taken to prevent this danger.
5. Conclusions
A ow and heat transfer model of the working uid in the
absorber was established to analyze the ow and heat transfer
processes in a trough solar collector for the DSG system in this
paper. A trough concentrating and evacuated tubular absorber
station was built for validation of the model. A comparison of
experimental results and model simulation results from three ex-
periments showed that the relative errors for these results were in
the acceptable range for engineering. Hence, the model presented
in this paper is valuable for analyzing the dynamic characteristics of
the DSG system and providing guidance for industrial operation.
The impulse response of the DSGsystemwas complex. The short-
time uctuation of the solar radiation notably affected water region
lengths, two-phase region lengths and steam region lengths, which
led to large uctuations in the outlet temperature and subsequently
endangeredthe stabilityandsecurityof the wholesystem. Therefore,
automatic control technique, such as PI/PIDcontrol, is a necessary to
stabilize the outlet temperature of once-through DSG system. Extra
heat is required to maintain the normal operation of the system.
Acknowledgements
The Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University
(No. NCET-07-0495) funded this research.
Notations
B opening width of reector
B
o
boiling number
b, l coefcients related to pressure, specic air temperature
and others
D
e
inner diameter of glass cover
D
c
outer diameter of glass cover
D
r
outer diameter of absorber
F
0
owing efciency factor of collector
h
ab
thermal conductivity coefcient for heat ux through the
wall of the absorber
h
boil
boiling heat transfer coefcient
h
c
thermal conductivity coefcient for heat ux through the
glass cover
h
caconv
convective heat transfer coefcient between glass cover
and environment
h
carad
radiation heat transfer coefcient between glass cover
and environment
h
ph
convective heat transfer coefcient between absorber and
uid
h
reconv
convective heat transfer coefcient between surfaces of
absorber and glass cover
h
rerad
radiation heat transfer coefcient between surfaces of
absorber and glass cover
h
L
heat loss coefcient in absorber
h
F
saturation enthalpy of liquid
h
G
saturation enthalpy of vapor
I
b
solar radiation intensity
K optical correction factor
k
ab
heat transfer coefcient of absorber
k
c
heat transfer coefcient of glass cover
k
air
heat transfer coefcient of standard air
k
m
heat transfer coefcient of gas in the annular space
LsatW water region length
Ltp two-phase region length
LsatS steam region length
M molecular weight of working uid
m
s
mass source term
P
n
relative pressure
P
o
outlet pressure
Q
s
solar radiation absorbed by absorber
Q
u
effective energy absorbed by uid
Q
reconv
convective heat transfer between surfaces of absorber
and glass cover
T
o
outlet temperature
w
F
liquid velocity
w
G
vapor velocity
X
tt
Martinelli parameter
h optical efciency of absorber
DP pressure drop
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