Performance evaluation and optimization of solar dish concentrator in the upper Egypt region

• Published in: Environmental progress & sustainable energy Vol. 43; no. 3
• Main Authors: Mohammed, Ahmed H., Shmroukh, Ahmed N., Ghazaly, Nouby M., Kabeel, Abd Elnaby
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-05-2024
• Subjects: efficiency; focus length; parabolic dish; rim angle
• ISSN: 1944-7442; 1944-7450
• DOI: 10.1002/ep.14325

The goal of this study is to optimize and examine the effect of different rim angles and focus lengths on the performance of a solar parabolic dish. To achieve these goals, a solar parabolic dish concentrator was constructed with different focus point positions and tested under the climatic conditions of the Upper Egypt region in Qena city, with the location of (Latitude: 26.16°, Longitude: 32.71°). The preliminary experimental days started on 18th and lasted on 20th of September 2022, and the tested rim angles were 70°, 80°, and 60°. The results showed that the performance of the proposed solar parabolic dish concentrator was enhanced when the rim angle was between 60° and 70°, otherwise, the performance was regressed when the rim angle was between 70° and 80°. To optimize the rim angle, another available rim angle was selected to increase the performance of the solar dish fixed at 65°, and this angle was tested on 21st of September 2022. The results demonstrated that the thermal efficiency of the solar parabolic dish with rim angle of 65° was higher than that of 70°, 80°, and 60°, and the recorded thermal efficiency reached up to 79.5%, 39.4%, 5.84%, and 28.4%, respectively, under the tested rim angles.