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ScienceDirect
Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289
www.elsevier.com/locate/solener

Performance investigation on a novel single-pass evacuated tube

with a symmetrical compound parabolic concentrator
X. Li a, Y.J. Dai a,b,⇑, Y. Li a,b, R.Z. Wang a,b
a
Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
b
Engineering Research Center of Solar Power and Refrigeration, MOE, Shanghai 200240, China

Received 24 July 2013; received in revised form 2 October 2013; accepted 11 October 2013
Available online 7 November 2013

Communicated by: Associate Editor Brian Norton

Abstract

Development of the cost-effective single-pass evacuated tubular collector (SPETC) for the solar processes heat is a particular topic of
active research. A novel SPETC with a symmetrical compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) has been introduced, experimentally inves-
tigated and theoretically analyzed in this paper. The novel SPETC is mainly composed of a double-glass evacuated tube deposited the
selective absorbing coating, as well as six expansion joints. Correspondingly, the symmetrical CPC has been designed and fabricated
using the high-reflectivity 3M mirror films pasted over the stainless steel substrate. In addition, detailed numerical models for thermal
behaviors of the SPETC with the CPC reflector, based on the three-dimensional CFD method, have been developed and validated with
experimental data. The objective of this paper is to report the test results of the novel SPETC with the CPC, evaluate optical and thermal
performances including the heat flux distribution on the absorber surface, heat losses, as well as thermal efficiencies, thereby providing
useful data for practical solar process heat application. Experimental results indicate that a daily thermal efficiency of 48% can be reached
at a difference of 59.6 K between inlet and ambient temperatures under a volume flow rate of 0.0077 m3 s1. Corresponding numerical
prediction shows that the operational volume flow rate between 0.007 and 0.01 m3 s1 is suggested to the SPETC using the HTF (air)
under the geometry and operational conditions in this paper. These results suggested that the novel SPETC is feasible for industrial pro-
cess heat and solar cooling system combined with the adsorption chiller or the desiccant wheel.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Single-pass evacuated tubular solar collector; Symmetrical CPC; Thermal efficiency; Numerical simulation; Experimental study

1. Introduction by eliminating the natural convection and conduction

It is well known that the energy and environmental crisis
has been promoting the development of solar thermal tech-
nologies. Among these technologies, the evacuated tubular
collector (ETC) (Kalogirou, 2004) is considered as one of
the most promising technologies for solar heating and cool-
ing as well as hot water owing to improve thermal efficiency
⇑ Corresponding author at: Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics,
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China. Tel.: +86 21
34204358.
E-mail address: yjdai@sjtu.edu.cn (Y.J. Dai).
between the absorber surface and the atmosphere. A preli-
minary investigation shows that ETC has a low cost mainly
including the water-in-glass ETC, the all-glass ETC using
the U-tube, and the heat pipe ETC. However, a variety
of heat transfer configurations have to be inserted into
these ETCs due to the disadvantage of the single entrance
expect the water-in-glass ETC. In contrast, the single-pass
configuration can overcome the corresponding shortcom-
ing and is advantageous in obtaining higher thermal effi-
ciency because of the direct contact between the heat
transfer fluid (HTF) and the absorber interface. For
instance, the coated stainless steel ETC with a single-pass

0038-092X/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2013.10.015
276 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289

Nomenclature

A area, m2 eff effective solar irradiation on the aperture plane

C geometric concentration ratio of the CPC collector
C l , c 1,
c2 coefficients in turbulence model g global solar irradiation on the aperture plane of
cp specific heat of the heat transfer fluid, the CPC collector
J kg1 K1 in inlet
D diameter, m l longitudinal projection
G solar irradiance, W m2 L the overall heat loss
G daily solar irradiation, kW h m2, W m2 r absorber surface
g gravity, m s2 sky sky
hw heat transfer coefficient between the wind and t transversal projection
the glass envelope, W m2 K1 u useful heat extraction from the CPC collector
k turbulent kinetic energy, m2 s2
l the position difference of two circle centers, m Greek symbols
V_ volume flow rate, m3 s1 a the solar altitude, °
V_ daily average volume flow rate, m3 s1 e turbulent dissipation rate, m2 s3
Pr Prandtl number b tilt angle of the aperture plane of the CPC
q_ heat transfer rate, W m2 collector, °
q_ daily heat transfer rate, kW h m2, W m2 c the azimuth angle of the collector, °
Ra Rayleigh number d the solar declination, °
Sh source term, W m3 x the hour angle, °
t time, s u the geographic latitude, °
t1 the start time of the test, s h incident angle, °
t2 the end time of the test, s hA half-acceptance angle, °
T temperature, K hc the angle around the absorber surface, °
T daily average temperature, K Dhc the angle formed the line [DE], °
V wind speed, m s1 q density, kg m3
W width, m l dynamic viscosity, Pa s
u, v, w x, y, z velocity components, m s1 k thermal conductivity, W m1 K1
x, y, z Cartesian coordinates, m rT turbulent Prandtl number
rk, re turbulent Prandtl numbers for diffusion of k
Subscripts and e
a ambient g thermal efficiency
ape the aperture plane of the CPC collector g daily thermal efficiency
d diffuse solar radiation on the aperture plane of go daily average optical efficiency
the CPC collector
DN direct normal insolation Abbreviations
dp direct solar radiation on the aperture plane of CPC compound parabolic concentrator
the CPC collector HTF heat transfer fluid
out outlet SPETC single-pass evacuated tubular collector
en glass envelope

structure (Duffie and Beckman, 2006), obtained a high effi-
ciency, is widely used as the receiver of the parabolic
trough collector (PTC), whereas it is extremely expensive
and difficult for the glass-to-metal sealing technology.
Hence, it is not suitable for the large-scale application in
the low and medium temperature fields. Development of
a novel single-pass ETC (SPETC) continues to be a partic-
ularly topic of active research.
Previously, a variety of studies on the optical and ther-
mal performance of the CPC and the coated stainless steel
evacuated collectors with the single-pass structure are in
the literature. The CPC collector was invented and pre-
sented by Winston (1974). Winston showed the principle
of the prototypical “ideal” non-imaging reflector. These
reflectors have the capability of reflecting all of the incident
radiation to the absorber within wide limits. McIntire
(1980) presented the new reflector which can eliminate
gap-loss and has a higher optical efficiency. The new reflec-
tor has a cavity at its low part which can reflect all
radiation onto the absorber. The V-shape is primarily
 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289
proposed for the gap-lossless CPC reflector, as which
exhibits less sensitivity to alignment and less loss with a
low reduction in concentration. Eames and Norton
(1993) performed a detail parametric analysis of convective
heat transfer internal CPC collectors using a unified model
for their optical and thermo-physical behavior. An Inte-
grated Collector Storage (ICS) solar water heater with
the asymmetrical CPC was presented by Souliotis and
Tripanagnostopoulos (2008), where the absorbed solar flux
on the absorber surface was performed. A three-dimen-
sional optical model for a pressurized volumetric receiver
with a 3D CPC is developed and corresponding solar radi-
ation propagation process is simulated by the Monte Carlo
Ray Tracing method (Cui et al., 2012). A coupled simula-
tion method (He et al., 2011) based on Monte Carlo Ray
Trace (MCRT) and Finite Volume Method (FVM) is
established to solve the complex coupled heat transfer
problem of radiation, heat conduction and convection in
parabolic trough solar collector system. Detailed numerical
simulations (Garcı́a-Valladares and Velázquez, 2009) of
thermal and fluid-dynamic behavior of a single-pass solar
parabolic trough collector are carried out.
A novel and low-cost ETC with the single-pass structure
have been successfully utilized in a variety of applications
(Product introduction, 2007) such as solar heating and
low-temperature solar thermal power. To date no reports
of such similar detailed analysis of the optical and thermal
performance, as well as the heat transfer mechanism of the
SPETC, have been produced. In this paper, the detailed
numerical simulation of optical, thermal and HTF behav-
ior of the SPETC equipped with a symmetrical CPC is car-
ried out. The governing equations (continuity, momentum,
and energy) inside the absorber tube, together with the
energy equation in the tube wall, envelope wall and the
atmosphere were solved iteratively. In addition, numerical
models have been validated with experimental results
obtained by the testing system in Shanghai Jiao Tong Uni-
versity. The main objective of this present work is to report
(a)
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the SPETC employing a symmetric CPC: (a) sketch diagram and (b) a photo of the SPETC with the CPC.
277
some representative test results of the novel SPETC and
analysis heat transfer behaviors through numerical calcula-
tion under reasonable assumptions.
2. Description of the novel SPETC with a symmetrical CPC
A schematic diagram and a photo of the novel SPETC
prototype with a symmetrical CPC are presented in
Fig. 1a and b, respectively. In order to ensure the optical
accuracy and reduce heat losses between the reflector and
the atmosphere, a wood mold, based on the shape of the
CPC, was made as enclosures of reflectors and absorbers
assembly. The CPC reflectors were fabricated by the stain-
less steel plates with a thickness of 0.3 mm over the wood
mold. Solar mirror film 1100 (3M company, 2012) pro-
duced by 3M Inc., with a high reflectivity of 0.94 was care-
fully pasted over the stainless steel substrate. The SPETC
assembly was positioned over the CPC reflector providing
a small gap of 0.5 mm between the glass envelope of the
SPETC and the reflective tough.
2.1. The single-pass evacuated tubular absorber
The geometry of the novel evacuated solar collector with
a single-pass configuration is shown in Fig. 2. As shown in
Fig. 2a, the SPETC consists of an all-glass evacuated tube
and six expansion joints used as the secure structure to pre-
vent split during the thermal expansion process. The HTF
entrances the inlet port (Fig. 2b) of the SPETC and contin-
ues to move through the absorber along the single-pass
configuration. Ultimately, the working fluid exits the col-
lector through the outlet port (Fig. 2c). In this study, the
all-glass evacuated tube is composed of an absorber tube
deposited the selective absorption coating and a glass enve-
lope with a transmittance of 0.9. The function of the closed
vacuum space is to minimize the convective and conductive
heat transfer between the absorber tube and the glass enve-
lope. The length and the outer diameter of the glass
(b)
278 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289

Vaccum insulation Glass envelope

inlet outlet

Absorber tube covered with

Expansion joint
selective absorbing coating

(a)

(b) (c)
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the all-glass evacuated tubular absorber with a single-pass structure: (a) sketch diagram; (b) a photo of the inlet structure;
and (c) a photo of the outlet structure.

envelope are 1500 mm and 58 mm, respectively, while the involute part, and the V-trough part. Circle 1 is the theoret-
outer diameter of the absorber tube is 47 mm. Transmis- ical absorber tube, while circle 2 is the actual position for
sion losses can be increased due to the use of a 1.6 mm glass the SPETC. Wape = [AA0 ] is the aperture width. The angle
wall thickness compared to a glass wall thickness of 1 mm. Dhc is important because it is used in defining the ideal
However, the 1.6 mm wall thick borosilicate glass has bet- upper reflector shape above the faceted region. hc is the
ter mechanical strength and thermal stability, which can angle that is used to form the involute reflector parts
withstand thermal shock and significant stress without (BC, EF) and the parabolic parts (AB, FA0 ). O1 and O2
damage. The specifications, geometric dimension as well are the centers of the circle 1 and circle 2, respectively.
as optical and thermophysical values of all the relevant The position difference of two circle centers is expressed
parameters and constants used in this study are mentioned as l. The geometry of the curved reflectors relative to the
in Table 1. rectangular axis system (O1, y, z) is based on the above
described parameters and generated using the formulation
2.2. The symmetrical CPC proposed by Rabl (1976):
Involute part (EF):
Certainly, an optimal geometry of the CPC reflector for 9
the novel SPETC can be designed following the gap-loss- y ¼ R1 sin hc  R1 ðhc þ Dhc Þ cos hc >>
=
less methodology described in McIntire (1980). However, z ¼ R1 cos hc  R1 ðhc þ Dhc Þ sin hc ð1Þ
  >
it should be pointed out that the main focus of this paper >
;
2 cos1 R1 6 hc 6 p þ hA
R2 2
is to carry out a case investigation on thermal performance
of the SPETC under a low-concentration condition. There-
fore, an existing CPC reflector, designed for a normal cylin-
drical evacuated tube with the absorber surface diameter of
0.037 m, was equipped for the novel SPETC with seldom
ray losses. As shown in Fig. 3, the symmetrical CPC mainly
consists of three parts, namely, the parabolic part, the
Table 1
The geometric and thermophysical properties of the SPETC.
Materials Parameters Value
Glass envelope Outer diameter 58 mm
Thickness 1.6 mm
Thermal conductivity 1.05 W m1 K1
Length 1500 mm
Expansion joint 70 mm
diameter
Expansion joint width 30 mm
Transmittance 0.88
Absorber glass Outer diameter 47 mm
Thickness 1.6 mm
Thermal conductivity 1.05 W m1 K1
Length 1500 mm
Selective absorption Absorptivity 0.9
coating
Emissivity (at 353 K) 0.1 Fig. 3. Geometry of the symmetric CPC reflector equipped for the
SPETC.
 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289 279

Table 2
Geometric properties of the symmetric CPC.
Parameters Unit The
symmetric
CPC
Geometric concentrating ratio (with truncation) 2.405
 
A
for the SPETC C ¼ Aaper
Aperture width (Wape) m 0.353
Half-acceptance angle (hA) ° 10.0
Length of the CPC collectors m 1.5
Diameter of theoretical absorber surface (R1) m 0.037
Length of the line [O1C] (R2) m 0.047
Dhc ° 31.3
h m 0.023
w ° 51.83
Circle center difference [O1 O2] (l) m 0.0138

Fig. 4. Position of the CPC collector relative to the local reference frame.

Involute part (BC):

9 and positive, when it locates between nc and the negative
y ¼ R1 sin hc þ R1 ðhc þ Dhc Þ cos hc >
> and the positive parts of transversal axis, respectively. hl
=
z ¼ R1 cos hc  R1 ðhc þ Dhc Þ sin hc ð2Þ (east-negative, west-positive) is longitudinal projection
  >
>
; angle, which is the angle between nc and SOL projected
2 cos1 RR12 6 hc 6 p2 þ hA
in a plane parallel with the trough axis (longitudinal axis)
Parabolic part (FA0 ): of the collector.
h i 9 The values of ht, hl and h in a whole day, presented by
h þh þp2þ2Dhc þcosðhc hA Þ
y ¼ R1 sin hc  R1 c A 1þsinðh cos h >
> Pinazo et al. (1992), are calculated by
c hA Þ c >
=
h i
z ¼ R1 cos hc  R1
p
hc þhA þ2þ2Dhc þcosðhc hA Þ
sin hc > ð3Þ cos b cos c cos /  sin b sin a þ cos b sin c cos d sin w
1þsinðhc hA Þ > tan ht ¼
>
; sin b cos c cos / þ cos b sin a þ sin b sin c cos d sin w
p 3p
þ h A < h c 6  h A
2 2 ð6Þ
Parabolic part (AB): sin b cos c cos / þ cos b sin a þ sin b sin c cos d sin w
h i 9 tan ht ¼
h þh þp2þ2Dhc þcosðhc hA Þ  sin c cos / þ cos c cos d sin w
y ¼ R1 sin hc þ R1 c A 1þsinðh cos h >
>
c h A Þ c >
=
h p
i ð7Þ
z ¼ R1 cos hc  R1
hc þhA þ2þ2Dhc þcosðhc hA Þ
sin hc > ð4Þ
1þsinðhc hA Þ >
> cos h ¼ sin d sinðu  bÞ þ cosðu  bÞ cos d cos x ð8Þ
p 3p ;
2
þ hA < hc 6 2  hA
with
V-trough parts (McIntire, 1980) (CD, DE):
  ) sin a ¼ sin d sin u þ cos u cos d cos x ð9Þ
w ¼ cos1 Rh1 ¼ 51:83 cos / ¼  sin d cos u þ sin u cos dcosx ð10Þ
ð5Þ
h ¼ 0:618R1 where b (negative towards North, positive towards South)
The detailed geometric properties of the symmetrical is the tilt angle of the CPC. c = 0° since the CPC is an east–
CPC are summarized in Table 2. west collector. x is the hour angle (negative-east, positive-
west).
3. Optical analysis
3.2. Solar flux distribution on the surface
3.1. Sun-CPC geometry and incident angles
To evaluate thermophysical mechanism of the SPETC
In order to analyze optical behaviors, the Sun-CPC with the symmetrical CPC using the Computing Finite
geometry and incident angles should be determined. The Dynamics (CFD) mathematical method, the solar flux
relative position of the sun to a local reference frame is absorbed by the SPETC at any incident angle must be con-
illustrated in Fig. 4. As seen, S and E are South and East, sidered. The ray tracing program Tracepro (Lambda
respectively. N is the normal vector of the ground plane. ht Research Corporation, 2009) was used in this paper. The
is transversal projection angle, which is the angle between distribution of solar irradiation hitting onto the absorber
the collector normal vector (nc) and the sun position vector surface of the SPETC depends on a variety of factors,
(SOL) projected in a plane perpendicular to the trough axis namely, geometric dimensions of the SPETC and the
of the collector (transversal axis). ht is defined as negative CPC, the reflectivity of the CPC, the transmittance of the
280 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289

Table 3
Optical surface properties of the utilized materials for ray tracing.
Materials Incident angles (h)
0° 20° 40° 60° 80°
Absorptivity (selective absorbing 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90
coating)
Transmittance (glass envelope) 0.88 0.87 0.84 0.75 0.36
(Theunissen and Beckman, 1985) z
Reflectivity (3M mirror film) 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94
x
y
envelope glass, and the absorptivity of the selective
absorption surface. For a reduction of huge data volumes (a)
and simulation time, Monte Carlo Ray Tracing (MCRT)
20
was used to predict solar flux absorbed at the outer surface Solar transversal projection angle θt
o o o o o
of the absorber tube. The detailed optical properties 18 0 2 4 6 8
including absorption, reflectivity, transmittance, as well 16

Local concentration ratio

as concentration ratios around the absorber surface were 14
simulated. Reflective losses for the glass envelope at vari-
12
ous incident angles have been included. The optical surface
properties used in simulation are given in Table 3. To sim- 10
ulate solar radiation from the half-space above the plane of 8
the collector, a radiation source of 1.0  107 rays was ran- 6
domly distributed over the width of the aperture. Two rep-
4
resentative cases, a transversal projection angle of 0° and a
longitudinal projection angle of 30°, were simulated to 2
illustrate the optical performance and solar flux distribu- 0
tion on the absorber surface of the SPETC. 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

Two illustrative ray tracing diagrams, solar radiation Angle around the absorber surface θc (o)
incident at a transversal projection angle of 0° and at a lon- (b)
gitudinal projection angle of 30°, are presented in Figs. 5a
and 6a, respectively. Correspondingly, the predicted local
concentration ratio distributions at the absorber surface
of the SPETC are presented in Figs. 5b and 6b. The loca-
tion of the peak concentration ratio moves from the right
side to the left side as the solar incident angle increases.
It can be seen from Fig. 5b that the asymmetrical concen-
tration ratio distribution on the absorber surface occurs
expect for the transversal angle of 0°. Simulation results
for two typical locations on the x-axis of the SPETC are
presented in Fig. 5b. Since solar rays reflected by the
CPC cannot hit on the location (x = 1.495 m), the concen-
tration ratio distribution at this location decreases to zero
as the angle hc varies between 90° and 270°. By comparing
three-dimensional distribution on the absorber surface
mentioned in Figs. 5c and 6c, it is pointed out that the
effect of thermal expansion joints on the local concentra-
tion ratio distribution for the longitudinal projection angle
(c)
is more obvious than that for the transversal projection
angle. Fig. 5. The optical simulation results for the solar transversal projection
angle of 0°: (a) illustration ray tracing program for the SPETC with the
4. Model and numerical methods for thermal performance symmetric CPC; (b) solar flux distribution on the absorber surface for
solar radiation incident at various transversal projection angles on the
aperture plane; and (c) a three-dimensional diagram for solar concentra-
4.1. Physical model tion ratio distribution on the absorber surface at the transversal projection
angle of 0°.
An ideal three-dimensional numerical simulation and
heat transfer model of the SPETC with the symmetrical the atmosphere, which includes the solar irradiation
CPC is based on an energy balance about the HTF and incident on the SPETC, optical losses due to material prop-
 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289 281

20
18 x = 0.005 m
x x = 0.8 m

Local concentration ratio

16
14
z y 12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Angle around the absorber surface θc (o)
(b)

(a)

(c)
Fig. 6. The optical simulation results for the solar longitudinal projection angle of 30°: (a) illustration ray tracing program for the SPETC with the
symmetric CPC, (b) a two-dimensional solar concentration ratio distribution on the absorber surface, and (c) a three-dimensional diagram of solar
concentration ratio distribution on the absorber surface.

erties, thermal losses from the SPETC, and the heat gain radiation across the vacuum jacket after concentration
into the HTF. The following assumptions have been used: by the CPC reflector. The effective incident solar irradi-
ance is absorbed by the selective absorbing coating.
 Stead-state operation is assumed. Some of the solar energy absorbed by the absorbing
 The SPETC tube is assumed to have a constant coating is conducted from outer surface to inner surface
roughness. of the absorber tube and transferred to HTF by force
 The SPETC tube is assumed to have a constant convection. The thermal energy transferred to the fluid
diameter. by convection will cause a temperature gradient in the
 The wooden mold is assumed to be a perfect thermal flow direction. Remaining energy is transmitted back to
insulation. the glass envelope through radiation and convection.
 The surface temperature of the CPC is assumed to be Particularly, the convection heat transfer mechanism
identical with the ambient temperature. depends on the annulus pressure (KJC Operating Com-
 The absorbed solar radiation by the glass envelope is pany, 1993). It may either be molecular conduction or
assumed to be zero as a result of a relatively low free convection. The energy from the radiation and con-
absorptivity. vection then passed through the glass envelope by con-
 The diffuse solar radiation distribution on the absorber duction and along with the energy absorbed by the
surface is assumed to be uniform. glass envelope are lost to the ambience and the sky by
convection and radiation, respectively, where the convec-
Fig. 7 shows the physical model for the SPETC with tion is either forced or natural, depending on whether
the symmetrical CPC. The SPETC is heated by the solar there is wind around the glass tube.
282 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289

Sun
Ambient Sky
Outer surface of Outer surface of
Sky the glass the absorber tube
Inner envelope
surface of
the glass Absorbed
envelope solar
radiation
Ambient

CPC HTF
reflector

Wooden
mold

HTF Inner surface of

Glass Absorption coating the absorber tube
envelope Absorber tube

Convection Radiation Conduction

Fig. 7. Schematic of the photon-thermal conversion model of the SPETC with the symmetric CPC.

4.2. Governing equations The constant on the standard condition can be given by
Launder and Spalding (1974), Cl = 0.09, c1 = 1.44,
To solve three-dimensional flow and heat transfer c2 = 1.92, rk = 1.0, re = 1.3, rT = 0.85.
dynamic inner the SPETC, series of governing equations The convection heat transfer mechanism between the
for continuity, momentum, energy and k–e two-equation absorber and the glass envelope depends on the annulus
turbulence model can be expressed as follows: pressure (KJC Operating Company, 1993). At low pressures
Continuity equation: (<1 torr), the heat transfer mechanism is molecular conduc-
tion. At higher pressures (>1 torr), the mechanism is free
@
ðqui Þ ¼ 0 ð11Þ convection. For conduction, the flow variables in the closed
@ xi annulus space can be fixed to be zero for the governing equa-
Momentum equations: tions mentioned above, therefore, only the energy equation
   will be solved in this closed annulus domain. For laminar
@ @p @p @ui @uj natural convection, the buoyancy-induced laminar flow
ðqui uj Þ ¼  þ ðlt þ lÞ þ
@ xi @xi @xj @xi @xj model can be used in the closed annulus. In this work, the
 pressure inner the closed annulus vacuum is 0.005 Pa much
2 @ul
 ðlt þ lÞ dij þ qgi ð12Þ less than 1 torr, thus the conduction model is used. It is
3 @xl
pointed out that the thermal radiation heat transfer between
The energy equation can be written as: the outer wall of the absorber tube and the inner wall of the
   glass envelope is taken into account by choosing the DO
@ @ lt l @T radiation model.
ðqui T Þ ¼ þ þ Sh ð13Þ
@xi @xj rT Pr @xi
4.3. Boundary conditions
The standard k–e two-equation turbulence model can be
expressed as follows:
The boundary conditions of numerical models can be
  
@ @ lt @k expressed as follows:
ðqui kÞ ¼ þl þ Gk  qe ð14Þ
@xi rxi rk @xi
   (1) Inlet and outlet boundary conditions (Tao, 2001):
@ @ lt @e e Inlet (velocity inlet uin), k in ¼ 0:01=2qin u2in ; ein ¼ 9k 2in =
ðqui eÞ ¼ þl þ ðc1 Gk  c2 qeÞ ð15Þ
@xi rxi rk @xi k ðuin Din Þ, outlet (outflow).
(2) Outer wall of the absorber tube: the non-uniform
where lt is presented by solar flux distribution calculated by optical simula-
k2 tion and the radiation boundary condition.
lt C l q ð16Þ (3) Outer wall of the glass envelope: mixed boundary of
e
  radiation and convection. The Stefan–Boltzmann law
@ui @ui @uj is used to calculate the net radiation transfer by
Gk ¼ lt ð17Þ
@xj @xj @xi assuming that the envelope is a small convex gray
 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289 283

object in a large blackbody (sky). And the effective and energy terms. The iterative solution is considered to
sky temperature is expressed by Duffie and Beckman have converged when the maximum of the residual across
(2006). all nodes is less than 106 for continuity, velocities and
temperature. A hexahedral grid with the symmetrical con-
T sky ¼ 0:0552T 1:5
a ð18Þ figuration, shown in Fig. 8a, was used. The grid points are
Experimental correlations of heat transfer coefficient distributed non-uniformly over the computational domain,
with and without wind around the glass envelope are given since they have greater density near the walls of the cylin-
by ders in the radial direction, as can be seen in Fig. 8b. Grid
Without wind (Naeeni and Yaghoubi, 2007) check shows that the grids used to model the SPETC has a
similar number with that used in heat flux distribution, and
0:48Ra0:25
Den k can receive acceptable mesh quality.
hw ¼ ð19Þ
Den
With wind (Dudley et al., 1994) 5. Experimental setup and performance indexes
0:42
hw ¼ 4V 0:58 Den ð20Þ 5.1. Experimental setup

4.4. Numerical methods In order to estimate thermal performance including heat

The primary difficult in modeling the SPETC with the
symmetrical CPC is the coupling between thermal radia-
tion and convective heat transfer. The present problem is
solved using a finite volume solver. The velocity–pressure
coupling is treated by using the SIMPLEC algorithm and
the second order upwind scheme is used for the momentum
Fig. 8. Example of a finite element mesh employed for the simulations of
the SPETC: (a) overview of the grid space and (b) enlargement of the inlet
or outlet position.
losses and thermal efficiency of the SPETC and to verify
the accuracy of the numerical models, an open-loop testing
configuration, is illustrated in Fig. 9. In this testing system,
various inlet temperatures could be carried out using an
electric heater which is installed at the inlet position of
the SPETC and is controlled by a variable-output AC volt-
age-transformer. The air is supplied as heat transfer med-
ium using a variable speed fan, where the fan can provide
a variety of volume flow rates circulating in the testing
system.
A prototype of the SPETC was tested under outdoor
field conditions on the roof of a building in Shanghai Jiao
Tong University (latitude 31.14°N, longitude 124.4°E). To
investigate thermal performance of the SPETC, physical
measurement parameters should include air temperatures
at the inlet and the outlet of the evacuated tube, circulating
volume flow rate, ambient temperature, wind speed, and
the incident solar irradiation on the aperture plane of the
CPC. Platinum resistance thermometers (PT1000), placed
at two positions (shown in Fig. 9), were used to measure
inlet and outlet temperatures of the SPETC. All tempera-
ture sensors were calibrated to an absolute measuring error
of 0.1 K and a relative deviation between each other less
than 0.05 K. To minimize temperature measurement error,
two temperature sensors were located as close as possible
to the inlet and outlet of the SPETC. A hot-wire anemom-
eter with a relative error of ±0.25% was set at the outlet of
the SPETC in order to measure the velocity of the air.
Thus, the volume flow rate can be calculated based on
the velocity and the cross-sectional area of the SPETC.
A pyranometer (CM22, Kipp & Zonen) and a pyrheli-
ometer (CHP1, Kipp & Zonen) with the measuring error
less than 5% were employed to measure global irradiation
and direct normal insolation on the aperture plane of the
SPETC. The ambient temperature sensor was housed in a
well-ventilated instrumentation shelter above the ground
and with its door facing north in order to shield from direct
irradiation. A set of Keithley 2700 was utilized as the data
logger, which collects and records the data of sensors and
solar irradiation within a time interval of 30 s.
284 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289

Fig. 9. An open-loop air testing system for the SPETC with the symmetric CPC.

5.2. Performance indexes and error analysis where t1 and t2 is the starting and the final time of the inte-
gration interval, respectively.
5.2.1. Solar irradiation collected by the CPC When the overall heat loss is considered as a constant
To estimate the radiation absorbed by the receiver of a factor c, the thermal performance of the CPC collector
CPC collector, it is necessary to determine if the incident over a period of a day is computed as daily thermal effi-
angle of the direct radiation is within the acceptance angle, ciency g proposed by Zambolin and Del (2010):
and then estimate the contributions of the beam and diffuse
ðT in  T a Þ
radiation, plus the ground-reflected radiation if it is within g ¼ go  c ð25Þ
the acceptance angle. The absorbed radiation can be given Geff
by Duffie and Beckman (2006):
Geff ¼ Gdp þ Gd ð21Þ 5.2.3. Heat losses
The overall heat loss of the CPC collectors could be
Gdp ¼ GDN cosðhÞ ð22Þ determined by measuring thermal loss rate under the con-
( Gg G dition without solar radiation. The primary method is cal-
C
dp
ðb þ hA Þ < 90 culated from the thermal loss rate determination during the
Gd ¼ Gg Gdp 1 ð23Þ
2 C
þ cosðbÞ ðb þ hA Þ > 90 night. The overall heat loss given by Oommen and Jayar-
aman (2002) is calculated as the following equation:
V_ qcp ðT in  T out Þ
5.2.2. Thermal efficiency q_ L ¼ ð26Þ
Ar
Since the instantaneous thermal efficiency based on the
steady-state testing method is inadequate to characterize
the distinct behavior of the CPC collectors. In addition, 5.2.4. Error analysis
the quasi-dynamic testing method provides complicated The uncertainties in the experimental results were
and comprehensive factors on the performance of the caused by errors in the primary measurements. Kline and
CPC. In this paper, the daily test has been carried out McClintock (1953) derived the expressions to calculate
and analyzed in detail. The useful output and input power the experimental accuracy:
of the CPC collector, and collector thermal efficiency can " 2  2
be written as proposed by ANSI/ASHRAE Standard @f 2 @f
DY ¼ ðDX 1 Þ þ ðDX 2 Þ2 þ   
93-2003 (2003): @X 1 @X 2
R t2 R t2  2 #12
q_ dt
t1 u t
V_ qcp ðT out  T in Þdt @f 2
g ¼ R t2 ¼ 1 Rt ð24Þ þ ðDX n Þ ð27Þ
t1
Geff dt Aape t12 Geff dt @X n
 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289
Table 4
Uncertainties of primary measurement instruments and the thermo-
physical property of HTF.
Parameters
Solar irradiances (pyranometer and pyrheliometer)
Inlet and outlet temperatures of the cavity receiver
(PT1000)
Velocity of air (hot-wire anemometer)
Length and outer diameter of the absorber tube
Thermo-physical properties of air
" 2  2  2  2
DY @f DX 1 @f DX 2
¼ þ þ 
Y @X 1 Y @X 2 Y
 2  2 #12
@f DX n
þ ð28Þ
@X n Y
where f is the function of the independent variables, X1, X2,
etc., stand for the variables of the function, DX1, DX2, etc.,
are the absolute error associated with the variables and
DY/Y means the relative error.
Based on these relationships and the uncertainties of
measurement instruments given in Table 4, the uncertain-
ties of heat losses and thermal efficiencies can be obtained.
6. Results and discussion
6.1. Ray tracing model validation
In order to verify the accuracy of the proposed optical
simulation method for calculating the solar energy flux dis-
tribution on the absorber surface of the SPETC with the
symmetrical CPC, the simulation results, shown in
Fig. 10, were compared with that of the reference presented
by Souliotis and Tripanagnostopoulos (2008) under the
same geometrical configurations, material and optical
properties of the collector. As shown in Fig. 10, the
absorbed solar radiation, n, defined as the ratio of the
absorbed solar radiation to the global solar radiation.
The two curves follow the similar trend. It should be
pointed out that the diffuse solar radiation distribution
on the absorber surface in this paper is assumed to be uni-
form, however, the diffuse radiation from the results pre-
sented by Souliotis is considered to be non-uniform.
Thus, an absolute error of about 1.23% appears at the max-
imum absorbed solar radiation within two angle ranges of
70–80° and 280–290°. Correspondingly, an absolute error
of about 0.37% can be obtained within two angle ranges
of 80–120° and 240–280°. The relative error is within the
range of 48% to 23% for the angles between 0° and 360°.
6.2. Numerical models validation for thermal performance
6.2.1. Numerical models without solar radiation
The numerical models without solar radiation can be
validated by comparing the heat losses tested by experi-
285
o
7 Incident angle θ = 0
Results presented by Souliotis
This paper
Absorbed solar radiation n (%)
6
Uncertainties
±5% 5
±0.1 K
4
±0.25%
±0.1 mm 3
±0.4%
2
1
0
0 40 80 120 160 200 240 280 320 360
Angle around the absorber surface (o)
Fig. 10. Validation by comparing the optical simulation in this paper and
the results presented by Souliotis.
ments, based on some representative test conditions given
in Table 5. The simulated outlet temperature, Tout, and
the heat losses, q_ L , are compared with the corresponding
test results Tout,test and q_ L;test , and the comparisons results
are illustrated in Table 5. The error between testing heat
losses and predicted values is within the range of 5.6 to
0.5 W m2, and the corresponding relative error is between
36.16% and 11.9%. Therefore, the simulation and the test
results are identical and have a good agreement with each
other, especially for the outlet temperature of the SPETC
due to the uncertainty of experiments and simulations.
6.2.2. Numerical models with solar radiation
In order to validate the numerical models with the non-
uniform solar flux distribution on the absorber surface, the
numerical simulation can be carried out based on the daily
test results. The tilt angle of the SPETC with the CPC was
set as 5° due to the Sun-CPC geometry during the testing
days. The daily test period ranges between 8:00 and 16:00
(solar time). Inlet temperatures between 25 °C and 40 °C,
a HTF (air) flow rate (about 0.0077 m3 s1) and a wind
speed (in the range of 0.2–4.0 m s1) have been
investigated.
Fig. 11a illustrates the main meteorological parameters
measured during a clear day. As shown in Fig. 11a, the
direct normal insolation is within the range of 400–
600 W m2. The effective solar irradiation collected by
the symmetrical CPC has a similar trend with the global
solar irradiation on the aperture plane of the CPC.
Fig. 11b shows the variations of inlet and outlet tempera-
tures of the SPETC, as well as ambient temperature and
the wind speed. In addition, flow rate of the HTF (air) is
roughly kept constant with a value of 4.4 m s1 during
the whole test process. As can be seen, the inlet tempera-
ture of the HTF entranced into the SPETC depends on
the ambient temperature. The difference between inlet
and outlet temperatures increases as the effective irradia-
tion collected by the CPC increases.
286 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289

Table 5
Representative test conditions without solar radiation in the night.
Test Tin (K) V_ Ta V Tout,test Tout q_ L q_ L;test Uncertainty Relative errors
conditions (m3 s1) (K) (m s1) (K) (K) (W m2) (W m2) (±W m2) (%)
Case 1 308.2 0.00728 292.5 3.1 307.7 307.6 4.7 4.2 5.28 11.9
Case 2 318.3 0.00711 298.0 2.8 317.6 317.6 4.4 5.5 5.01 20.2
Case 3 338.2 0.00763 296.4 3.0 336.6 337.1 8.8 12.8 5.09 31.25
Case 4 348.7 0.00694 295.3 2.5 346.5 347.3 9.9 15.5 4.50 36.16
Case 5 358.3 0.00694 297.6 3.1 355.7 356.4 13.1 17.9 4.40 26.82

1000
60
900
40
Solar irradiance (W m-2)

800

Incident angles (o)

20
700
0
600

500 -20

400 -40 Incident angle θ

Global solar irradiance, Gt Transversal projection angle θt
300 Direct normal insolation, GDN -60 Longitudinal projection angle θl
Effective irradiance collected by the CPC, Geff
200 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00
08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00
Solar time (hh:mm)
Solar time (hh:mm)
(a) (a)
1.0 100
20 Test results
360 Inlet temperature Ambient temperature 90
18 0.9 Simulation results using the numerical models
Wind speed Outlet temperature 80
with solar radiation
350
16 0.8 Relative errors between simualtion and test results 70
Thermal efficiency η

Relative errors (%)

Wind speed, V (m s-1)

340 60
14
Temperatures (K)

0.7
330 12 50
0.6 40
320 10
30
310 8 0.5
20
+10%
300 6 0.4 10
4 0
290 0.3
-10
280 2 -12%
0.2 -20
0 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00
08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00
Solar time (hh:mm)
Solar time (hh:mm)
(b)
(b)
Fig. 12. Comparisons with test results to validate the reliability of the
Fig. 11. The variations versus solar time during a daily test: (a) global numerical models with the solar radiation: (a) various incident angles
irradiation, direct normal insolation and the effective irradiation collected versus solar time and (b) thermal efficiencies at different solar times.
by the CPC and (b) inlet and outlet temperatures, ambient temperature
and the wind speed.
the range of 12% to 10%. Therefore, the numerical mod-
els with the solar radiation are reasonable and reliable.
The incident angle h, transversal projection angle ht and
longitudinal projection angle hl versus solar time in the test 6.3. Visual results for representative simulation
day are shown in Fig. 12a. Based on these incident angles,
the absorbed solar flux on the absorber surface can be Fig. 13 illustrates a representative temperature distribu-
obtained using the optical simulation method. Ultimately, tion of the SPETC based on the numerical models with the
simulated thermal efficiencies of the SPETC, based on the non-uniform absorbed solar flux by slicing it with various
numerical models with the solar radiation, are compared planes. The corresponding boundary conditions used in
with experimental results, and the detailed results are illus- this simulation are the values at 12:00 shown in Figs. 11
trated in Fig. 12b. The predicted thermal efficiencies have a and 12.
good agreement with test results in the daily test, and the Fig. 13a shows the temperature distributions of four dif-
relative error between test and predicted values is within ferent angular slices with hc = 0°, hc = 90°, hc = 180° and
 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289 287

Temperature (K)
Table 6
450 Baseline conditions used in simulation.
440
430 Parameter Unit Value
420 2
410 Global solar irradiation on the aperture plane Wm 805
400
390
Direct normal insolation W m2 574
1.4
-0.04 380 Ambient temperature K 295
1.2
1
370
360
Wind speed m s1 0.4
-0.02 270
o

0.8 350 Incident angle (h) ° 0

y (m)

0 o
0.6 340
0 m)
o
180
x( 330
0.02 90
o
0.4 320
0.2 310
0.04 300
0.04 0.02 0 -0.02 -0.040
z (m)

(a)
Temperature (K)
450
440
430
420
410
400
1.4 390
-0.04 380
1.2 370
-0.02 1 360
0.8 350
y (m)

0 0.6 340
m)
x( 330
0.02 0.4 320
0.2 310
0.04 300
0.04 0.02 0 -0.02 -0.040
z (m)

(b)
Fig. 13. Visible simulation results for the SPECT at solar noon in above
daily test: (a) on various angular slices and (b) on various cross-sections.

hc = 270°. As shown in Fig. 13a, temperatures of the HTF

and the SPETC increase along the axial direction, since the
absorbed solar flux heats the HTF. The temperature distri-
butions along the radial direction are much different from
each other as a result of variations for the absorbed solar
flux distribution and heat transfer rate of the HTF with
angles.
Fig. 13b shows the temperature distributions on four
different cross-sections with x = 0.1 m, x = 0.7 m,
x = 1.3 m and x = 1.45 m. As expected, the temperature
distribution of the absorber surface for a cross-section
is very similar to the solar flux distribution on this sur-
face. The maximal temperature along the radial direction Fig. 14. Effects of volume flow rate on the SPETC for different HTF inlet
on a cross-section occurs on the absorber surface as a temperatures: (a) fluid outlet temperatures versus volume flow rates and
(b) thermal efficiencies versus volume flow rates.
result of the high concentrating solar flux, while the min-
imal temperature is obtained on the glass envelope sur-
face due to the few conduction heat transfer in closed Fig. 14a, a relative plat profile is obtained when the volume
annulus vacuum between the absorber tube and the glass flow rate is larger than 0.007 m3 s1, since the effect of the
envelope, as well as the radiation heat transfer from increase in volume flow rate is offset by the decrease in
outer surface of the glass envelope to the sky. HTF outlet temperature. However, a rapid increase occurs
when the volume flow rate is below than that value. Thus,
6.4. Effect of inlet parameters it is not significant to gain thermal performance by operat-
ing the SPETC at high flow rates. Fig. 14b represents the
According to the baseline conditions given in Table 6, effect of volume flow rate on thermal efficiency of the
the effect of volume flow rate on HTF outlet temperature SPETC with the symmetrical CPC at different inlet temper-
of the SPETC with the symmetrical CPC at different inlet atures. As shown in Fig. 14b, the thermal efficiency of the
temperatures is illustrated in Fig. 14a. As shown in SPETC is reduced as HTF inlet temperature increases due
288 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289

Table 7
Typical test results of daily thermal efficiencies for the SPETC with the CPC.
Date b (°) Geff (kW h m2) q_u (kW h m2) V_ (m3 s1) T in (K) T f (K) T a (K) g
05-May 5 3.92 1.88 0.0078 358.3 366.6 298.7 0.48
06-May 5 4.08 2.24 0.0078 345.7 355.4 299.6 0.55
16-May 5 3.76 2.18 0.0077 331.8 340.9 298.0 0.58
21-May 5 4.31 2.67 0.0077 319.2 329.9 294.4 0.62
27-May 5 4.54 2.95 0.0076 308.7 322.0 295.2 0.65
28-May 5 3.45 2.28 0.0078 299.9 308.4 296.5 0.66

Table 8 difference of about 59.6 K and 3.4 K between the inlet

Curve parameters for test results of daily thermal efficiency. and ambient temperatures, respectively. It is found that
Type Experimental results (linear fit) g ¼ go  c ðT inGT a Þ the data points in the daily efficiency curves can be well fit-
eff
ted with a linear function for average data. The detail
go
 c (W/m2 K)
parameters for the curves are listed in Table 8. Based on
SPETC with the CPC 0.68 1.578 the meteorological parameters for the test days listed in
Table 7, numerical calculation was carried out for predict-
ing the effect of volume flow rate on daily thermal effi-
to the radiation heat loss between the absorber surface and ciency. Some representative volume flow rates were
the sky. Similar to the outlet temperature diagram, the investigated. This is an expected result for the SPETC col-
results show a relatively flat profile when volume flow rates lector: the higher thermal efficiency can be realized at
are larger than 0.007 m3 s1. higher volume flow rates as a result of the better heat trans-
fer between HTF and the SPETC; however, when increas-
ing the volume flow rate above 0.007 m3 s1, the daily
6.5. Daily thermal efficiency thermal efficiency shows a slow growth.

The test conditions and main input and output parame-

ters recorded in daily test days are given in Table 7. The
SPETC with the CPC can keep stationary in all days. In
addition, the daily thermal efficiency can be calculated
and plotted based on Eq. (25), corresponding optical and
heat loss parameters are listed in Table 8.
The effect of the fluid volume flow rate on the daily ther-
mal efficiency of the SPETC collector is shown in Fig. 15.
For a given volume flow rate, the daily thermal efficiency
of the SPETC decreases with the increase in the daily aver-
age temperature difference ðT in  T a Þ=Geff mainly due to
the increase in the radiation losses at higher temperatures.
Under the typical volume flow rate of about 0.0077 m3 s1,
daily thermal efficiencies of about 48% and 66% for the
SPETC with the symmetrical CPC can be achieved at the
0.75
0.70
Daily thermal efficiency η
7. Conclusions
In this paper, a novel and low-cost evacuated tubular
solar collector with the single-pass configuration equipped
a symmetrical CPC is introduced and investigated on solar-
thermal conversion performance. Numerical models with
and without solar radiation are developed, and have been
validated with experimental results obtained by the testing
system in Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The detailed
numerical simulations of optical, thermal and HTF behav-
iors for the SPETC with a symmetrical CPC are performed.
Following conclusions can be drawn:
(1) The daily operation confirmed that the studied CPC
solar collectors are reliable and energy efficient.
Under a given volume flow rate of 0.0077 m3 s1,
3 -1
daily thermal efficiencies of about 48% and 66% for
Test results (about 0.0077 m s )
Linear fit of test results the SPETC with the symmetrical CPC can be

0.65
achieved at the difference of about 59.6 K and 3.4 K
0.60
0.55 between the inlet and ambient temperatures, respec-
0.50 tively. The higher thermal efficiency can be realized
0.45
Numerical results:
at higher volume flow rates as a result of the better
0.40 -1 -1
heat transfer between HTF and the SPETC.
0.00173 m3 s 0.00347 m3 s
0.35 0.0053 m3 s
-1
0.00694 m3 s
-1

0.30 0.00867 m3 s
-1
0.0104 m3 s
-1 (2) The effects of inlet temperatures and volume flow
0.25 0.01214 m3 s
-1
0.01387 m3 s
-1
rates on thermal efficiency are analyzed using the reli-
-1
0.01734 m3 s
0.20 able numerical models. It is found that the opera-
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12
tional volume flow rate between 0.007 and 0.01 m3 s
(Tin-Ta)/Geff (K m2 W-1) 1
of the SPETC is suggested for the HTF (air) under
Fig. 15. Effects of inlet temperatures on thermal efficiencies of the SPETC
the geometry and operational conditions analyzed in
for different volume flow rates. this work.
 X. Li et al. / Solar Energy 98 (2013) 275–289
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Science and Tech-
nology Support Project of China under the Contract No.
2012BAA05B04, and Graduates’ Creativity Fund of
Shanghai Jiao Tong University under the Contract No.
TS0220702002. Thanks are extended to 3M Corp. and
Jinan Xinnuo Solar Tube Co., Ltd. offer the high-efficiency
mirror film and the SPECT for free, respectively.
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