Concentrator: PTC, N-S orientation, high-polish aluminum, single-axis

tracking
Objective: To concentrate solar radiation onto a smaller area of the collector
tube while maximizing thermal efficiency.
Components:
High-polish aluminum sheeting: High reflectance in 250-2500 nm range
(roughly 95% overall reflectance in solar spectrum range)
 Since aluminum is relatively inexpensive and malleable, this choice in material is
best given that part of our goal is to reduce costs for potential buyers.

Tracking motor and electronics:

Because the sun moves slowly throughout the day, a high-torque motor is not
necessary but since our collection is highly dependent on cosine losses, it is important to
have an accurate way of adjusting the trough throughout the day which is why a
commercial stepper-motor will be chosen to drive the single-axis tracking. It will be
used in conjunction with planetary gears to increase torque and conserve space as
necessary given the final design’s dimensions and load on the motor. Additionally, the
motor shall be placed in the center of gravity in the plane normal to fluid flow in the
collector to balance the load on the motor.
 The other electronic components will be for observing the sun’s angle relative to
the normal vector of the parabolic trough’s plane of collection (the plane that intersects
all 4 corners of the trough). Solar tracking is a mature, well-understood, and cheap
process and several kits can be sourced to detect the sun’s position and adjust external
motors using a common 4-pin stepper-motor driver. The issue is even simpler
considering most sun-tracking systems are designed to drive a two-axis setup.

Scope: CAD models of the collector panel and harness will be analyzed to find
the center of gravity assuming water flowing through the collector pipe and various
harness materials, then an appropriate motor and gear set will be chosen to handle the
rotation, then sensors and electronics taken from commercially available kits will be
connected to the motors. Specific electronic logic adjustments will have to be made after
the kit is sourced.
Collector Tube: Glass-enclosed evacuated tube with SOLKOTE coating
on internally finned copper HTF piping

Objective: To absorb and transfer radiation from the solar spectra into flowing
Dowtherm-A or similar thermal oil.
Components:
Borosilicate glass enclosure: Borosilicate glass is known for its resistance
to thermal shock loads which makes it very applicable to the expected
temperature gradients of a real system. Although borosilicate has a transmittance
of ~90% in the solar spectra:

Which will inevitably lead to losses, it is known that the losses due to convection from
atmospheric air are much more significant. The enclosure will be evacuated of air,
adding some operational complexity and cost for much better insulation:
A simple hoop stress analysis shows a borosilicate glass cylinder should be able to
withstand a perfect vacuum with dimensions X, Y (outer diameter along X-axis,
thickness along Y-axis) given mechanical properties:

And Von-mises stress:

 𝜎𝜎von Mises = �𝜎𝜎𝜃𝜃2 − 𝜎𝜎𝜃𝜃 ⋅ 𝜎𝜎𝑧𝑧 + 𝜎𝜎𝑧𝑧2

Where:
𝑃𝑃ext ⋅ 𝑅𝑅mean
𝜎𝜎𝜃𝜃 =
𝑡𝑡
𝜎𝜎𝜃𝜃
𝜎𝜎𝑧𝑧 =
2
And 𝑃𝑃ext is 101325 Pa

The dashed red line indicates a FOS of 2.5, the shaded area above the line is FOS>2.5 so
it is safe to say an evacuated borosilicate enclosure will not likely break under an
external atmospheric load.

Vacuum pump/ check-valve: To pull a vacuum in the enclosure, a vacuum pump

will be necessary. Both vacuum pumps and one-way valves are readily available for
purchase and are mature technologies. The valve may be brazed into a metal cap which
holds an O-ring or other sealant to retain a vacuum. Other sealants may be used to allow
for the internal collector tube itself to pass the hot oil to the other parts of the system:

Check Valve

The limiting factor in the vacuum enclosure will be the quality of the seals and
ability of the pump to evacuate the cylinder, meaning any vacuum pump capable of
reaching ~0.1 Pa will suffice to effectively insulate the collector tube.

Collector Tube: The collector/ absorber tube is a crucial component of the whole
system, many papers have been written on specialty coatings that maximize the
absorption of the tube, but these coatings require specialized equipment to apply or are
prohibitively expensive. Therefore, a commercial-grade high-temperature paint is a
good candidate for coating the absorber tube. The chosen paint is SOLKOTE for its cost
vs. other commercially available coatings and low reflectance and high absorbance in
the strongest portions of the sun’s spectra:
 A similar graph of absorbance is not available, but the manufacturer states ~%92
is expected with an optimal coating thickness of 0.025mm

An internally finned copper tube will be selected to distribute the heat throughout
the bulk thermal oil. An analytical analysis of the performance of an internally finned
tube would be very difficult, so the decision is based on several numerical studies done
on various profiles. Results show anywhere between a 1 and 6% increase in thermal
efficiency. This may not sound like a significant increase, but an internally finned tube is
roughly the same cost as a smooth tube, so any increase will be worth it. Additionally,
the selected tube includes an axial rotation of the channel which will increase the spread
of heat and increase the ability for the thermal oil to absorb the concentrated heat.
 Scope: A lot of in-house numerical studies will have to be made for various
available finned tubing. Also, because the tubing is a specialty part, these analyses will
have to be done first so the potential lead times of ordering the part will not be an issue
for the prototype. An atomizing paint applicator is necessary for the SOLKOTE and will
likely be rented as opposed to purchased. It is likely that a thermal oil pump selection
will be based on the tube’s effective friction factor and necessary flow rate so, again, the
specific tubing will have to be sourced first. Luckily, the specific thermal oil pump can be
selected easily once the numerical studies are completed and the necessary flow rate of
HTF is obtained.

Storage: Erythritol-Expanded graphite 10% wt, taking up 85% of

container volume due to expansion
Objective: To store heat capable of vaporizing water for extended periods of
time with minimal losses.
Components:
Erythritol: Erythritol is a commercially available artificial sweetener that
just happens to be an effective PCM storage medium. The properties of pure
erythritol are convenient for our project with a melting temperature of ~122C.
Expanded Graphite: Expanded graphite is a common additive in
erythritol-based PCM storage research because of its high thermal conductivity
and interaction with erythritol where it lowers the overall melting temperature
depending on the percentage by weight added. It is commonly shown that a 10%
by wt. addition to erythritol has been shown to reduce the melting temperature to
~107C and increases the thermal conductivity of the solution by 17.4 times that of
pure erythritol:
 Insulated Container: Selection of a container will be influenced on the
density, expansion of the PCM and thermal conductivity. The working
temperature will be less than 300C, so exotic refractory materials will likely not
be necessary. Polystyrene foam is very cheap and has a thermal conductivity of
0.033 W/m^2K. Assuming the container’s diameter is much larger than the
thickness, the heat losses per unit area comes out to:
0.033 (W/m^2*K) ∗ (300 − 25)K = 90.75 W/m^2
We will design our tank to be maximally at 200C, with the thermal
properties of our chosen PCM, the energy per unit mass we are able to store is
given by:
 With 694 kJ/kg, an expansion of 15% and density of 1480kg/m^3, it is
possible to store ~8700kJ of energy in a 10L tank which is roughly equivalent to
1.2 kWh, a relatively paltry figure.

Power block: Steam Rankine cycle