Experimental study on heat losses from external type receiver of a solar parabolic dish collector

Solar parabolic dish systems find applications in steam generation for cooking, laundry process industries etc. Receiver is an important component of a solar parabolic dish collector system. Since the concentration ratios are very high for these kind of systems, high temperatures are present in the receiver, which increases the possibility of large amount of thermal losses. Heat losses from receiver can greatly reduce the efficiency of the collector system. Efficient design is required to minimise losses and improve conversion efficiency. This paper aims to present an experimental investigation of heat losses from circular receiver, external type of a 16m² solar parabolic dish concentrator system. Receiver geometry is of a short cylinder type. Convection and radiation losses from the receiver are studied experimentally. Results show that the receiver surface with high temperature of 150 °C is exposed to ambient leading to average thermal loss of 260 Watts. Results of this experimental investigation emphasize the need for efficient receiver design to reduce heat losses. (paper)