Influence of Aperture Width and Focal Distance to the Parabolic Trough Solar Collector Geometry

Parabolic trough solar collector (PTSC) is one of many types of CSP systems that is used to collect heat and converted it into electricity. The geometry of PTSC must be carefully designed to obtain the optimum performance of the system. Aperture width (w) and focal distance (f) selection are important to determine suitable PTSC geometry, such as rim angle (θr) and concentration ratio (C). This paper presents the influence of aperture width (w) and focal distance (f) to the geometry of PTSC. The analysis is divided into four discussions, namely a variation of w with constant f, a variation of f with constant w, a variation of w and f with constant w/f, and a variation of w and f with different w/f. An analysis was started by determining aperture width (w) and focal distance to obtain rim angle (θr). An analysis was continued by determining the absorber diameter (0.04 m) to obtain the concentration ratio (C). The analysis result shows that θr and C increase with various w (higher) and constant f. Conversely, θr decreases with various f (higher) and constant w, while C determines a constant result. Constant w/f determines a constant θr. A different w/f (lower) decreases θr, while higher w/f increases θr.