Group Project
SYSTEM MODELLING, ANALYSIS AND
SIMULATION
Parabolic Trough Solar Collector
Members
AHMAD HASSAN
MUZAMIL HUSSAIN
AMIR SUHAIL
Detailed Report on Parabolic Trough Solar
Water Heater Analysis
Objective
The objective of this analysis is to simulate and evaluate the performance of a
parabolic trough solar water heater using ANSYS Fluent. The study includes
geometry creation, boundary condition setup, heat flux application, and post-
processing of simulation results to validate the design's efficiency.
Specifications and Assumptions
1. Aperture Width: 1.5 m
2. Collector Length: 3 m
3. Absorber Pipe:
o Inner Diameter: 25 mm
o Outer Diameter: 28 mm
o Material: Copper
o Length: 3 m
4. Fluid: Water
o Specific Heat Capacity (p): 4186 J/kg·K
o Inlet Temperature (inlet): 300 K
o Mass Flow Rate (dot): 0.02 kg/s
5. Solar Heat Flux:
o Calculated based on solar radiation data for Lahore.
o Heat flux applied as a boundary condition.
6. Optical Efficiency (optical): 0.65 (assumed).
7. Solar Irradiance (G): 800 W/m² (average value based on data from
TuTiempo.net).
Simulation Steps
1. Geometry Creation
The parabolic reflector was modeled using the equation: y = x^2/4f where f
= 0.2 m is the focal length. Points were generated, imported into ANSYS
DesignModeler, and the parabola was extruded to create a thin surface
representing the reflector.
The absorber pipe was modeled as a hollow cylinder with specified inner
and outer diameters.
2. Mesh Generation
A fine mesh was generated for the absorber pipe to capture the thermal
boundary layer accurately.
Mesh independence was ensured by testing different mesh sizes.
3. Physics Setup in Fluent
Models:
1. Energy Equation: Enabled.
2. Turbulence Model: Realizable k-ε with enhanced wall treatment.
3. Solar Load Model: Simplified as a heat flux boundary condition.
Boundary Conditions:
1. Absorber Pipe:
o Outer Surface: Heat flux (q) applied.
o Value calculated as: q=G * η optical
o Substituting:
q = 800⋅0.65 = 520 W/m^2
2. Water Inlet:
o Temperature (inlet): 300 K
o Mass Flow Rate (dot): 0.02 kg/s
3. Outlet:
o Pressure outlet with zero gauge pressure.
4. Results and Validation
5. Calculations
Conclusion
The simulation successfully modeled a parabolic trough solar water heater.
Results are consistent with theoretical calculations, confirming their
reliability.
The absorber pipe achieved a temperature rise of approximately 1.64 K
under the applied heat flux.
