Optimization of Circumferential Temperature Uniformity of a PTC Absorber with U-pipe Exchanger

In this present study, a numerical investigation on the circumferential flux and temperature distribution on a parabolic trough collector (PTC) absorber is carried out. An investigation study is reported under SolTrace and ANSYS software. Indeed, the effects of the flux uniformity and temperature distribution on the system efficiency are investigated according to the focal length variation. The most profitable solar flux and temperature distribution are reported for a focal distance of 0.19m. Thus, the PTC system reaches a thermal efficiency of about 45.36%, which is higher by about 38.2%, 26.7%, 28.9% and 39.3% for distances of 0.13 m, 0.16 m, 0.22 m and 0.26 m, respectively. These results is sufficiently important to optimize the proposed PTC system design.