Abstract:
Parabolic solar concentrators are a low cost implementation of concentrated solar power technology that uses parabolic trough shaped mirrors to concentrate the incident direct normal irradiation onto a receiver tube which is placed at the focal line of the trough. The efficiency and cost of the parabolic solar concentrator designs are influenced by structural stiffness, choice of materials, assembly tolerances, mirror cleanliness and wear. In our project we tried to simplify the design and improve the efficiency of concentrated collector. In designing parabolic solar concentrator we tried to ensure that it must be socially accepted, cheap, able to withstand rough handling and able to heat effectively. Our objective was to construct a suitable model and make it applicable in Bangladesh. The tests were carried out during the month of September and October, 2012 at Dhaka. The parabolic trough collector was able to heat up water up to 780 C in the month of September. The maximum temperature was found to be 760 C in the month of October. The average theoretical efficiency was found to be almost 61%. The average experimental efficiency was found to be 2.44% in the month of September and 2.09% in the month of October.
Description:
This dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance and the help of several individuals who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this study.
First and foremost, our gratitude to our honorable supervisor Dr. Muhammed Mahbubur Razzaque, professor, department of Mechanical Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka for his proper guidance, valuable advice and encouragement that help us to carry out the thesis work in scheduled time.
We are very grateful to Md. Niaz Sharif, graduate research assistant, Wichita State University, Kansas, USA; Tariqul Anwar, graduate research assistant, University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas, USA for kindly examining the manuscript and offering valuable comments.
We would like to thank the help and cooperation extended by the office of the department of Mechanical Engineering, Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) for allowing us to use the facilities of the department.
Finally we express our gratitude to the staffs in the Mechanical Engineering, for the use of facilities in the Machine Tools Lab and for extending their helping hand for the completion of this thesis work.
For any errors or inadequacies that may remain in this work, of course, the responsibility is entirely our own.
