Which material is most preferred for reflector of a parabolic trough collector?
Which material is most preferred for reflector of a parabolic trough collector?
Back-silvered thick-glass reflectors are the most widely used type of reflector for parabolic-trough concentrators. This type of reflector is similar to conventional mirrors apart from the curvature and the type of glass used.
What are solar reflectors made of?
An optical solar reflector (OSR) consists of a top layer made out of quartz, over a reflecting layer made of metal. OSRs are used for radiators on spacecraft. The quartz outer layer lets the solar light through which reflects on the metal layer. This results in a low absorption coefficient.
What are parabolic troughs made of?
17.2. Parabolic trough is a set of concave mirrors that concentrate solar rays on the receiver tube that is located in the focus. These troughs can track the Sun around one axis, typically oriented north–south to ensure the highest possible efficiency.
How do you make a parabolic surface?
The easiest way is to cut and fold a flat sheet into a parabolic dish. Then glue a layer of aluminum foil on its inner surface, for reflectivity. The flat sheet can be as cheap as cardboard. However water resistant material, such as plastic or metal, will last longer.
How do I get a perfect parabolic shape?
Quadratic equations in any form will always give you a perfect parabola. Drawing a perfect parabola takes two rulers, a piece of paper, and some time. It requires you to draw a straight line and a big dot and then to find all the other points that are equidistant to both the line and the big dot.
What is the most reflective material?
The most reflective metals in the world are silver and aluminum. Reflective aluminum or “lighting sheet” has a mirror like surface and is made from high purity aluminum with specific photometric qualities to control light.
What kind of mirror is used in solar panel?
The concave mirror can absorb maximum sunlight which is incident on it to its focus which carries very powerful thermal energy. Later on, this heat energy is converted into electrical energy which can be used further. Hence, concave mirrors are used in solar devices.
How do parabolic troughs work?
A parabolic trough solar plant uses long, trough-shaped solar concentrators to collect solar heat and focus it onto a linear heat absorber. These reflectors track the Sun across the sky for maximum efficiency. In both systems a heat collection fluid is pumped through the heat receiver.
How does a parabolic trough shaped mirror work?
Parabolic trough-shaped mirrors produce a linear focus on a receiver tube along the parabola’s focal line as illustrated in Fig. 1.1. The complete assembly of mirrors plus receiver is mounted on a frame that tracks the daily movement of the sun on one axis.
What can parabolic trough collectors be used for?
Parabolic-trough collector is a viable technology for harnessing solar energy for industrial process heat in Cyprus [58]. Parabolic-trough solar concentrating systems are an advanced and matured technology.
How does a parabolic trough solar concentrating system work?
Parabolic-trough solar concentrating systems are parabolic-shaped collectors made of reflecting materials. The collectors reflect the incident solar radiation onto its focal line toward a receiver that absorbs the concentrated solar energy to raise the temperature of the fluid inside it as shown in Fig. 8.6 [57].
What is the aperture width of a parabolic trough?
The typical aperture width is in the range of 1–2 m. The reflectors are typically based on aluminium or sandwich structures with polymer films or thin glass because the glass mirrors that are typically used in big troughs are not available with the small focal length of small troughs.
