• Advances in Energy Research
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.155-163
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• 2022

The current study presents experimental research on a parabolic trough collector with tube and cavity receivers. The primary concentrating parabolic reflector is designed for an aperture area of 2×2 m² with mirror-polished stainless steel sheet reflectors. The cavity receiver consists of a compound parabolic secondary reflector and a copper tube. Both the conventional tube receiver and the cavity receiver tube are coated with black powder. The experiments are carried out to compare the efficiency of the cavity receiver with the tube receiver for fluid temperature rise, thermal efficiency, and overall losses. The experiments showed significantly higher fluid temperature rise and overall efficiency and lower thermal losses for the cavity receiver compared to the tube receiver within the parameters explored in this study.

• Solar Energy
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.25-30
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• 1998

A sun tracking controller for PTC(parabolic trough concentrator) is a control system used to orient the concentrator toward the sun always, so that the maximum energy can be collected. The work presented here is a design and development of microprocessor based sun tracking control system for PTC. Sun tracking control system consists of a sun sensor and a single axis tracking control system. 80c196KC based control system consists of an analog input unit, 24V DC servomotor drive unit, I/O unit. Sun sensor has been constructed using photodiode and can detect the sun located within ${\pm}50^{\circ}$ measured from the sun sensor normal direction. The sun tracking system developed is being implemented and shows a good sun tracking performance.

• Solar Energy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.73-80
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• 2000

Considering the optical performance of the reflector and analyzing heat losses from the receiver, the optimal diameter of the absorber for a PTC(Parabolic Trough Concentrator) system was numerically determined. The results of this study were compared with the results of the IST (Industrial Solar Technology)-PTC test to verify the validity of the model. Good agreement was obtained with the deviation range from 0.4 to 7.7%. Generally, the net energy gained by the receiver shows the maximum at the particular absorber diameter and the specific gap size between the absorber and the glass envelop because the heat losses from the receiver becomes the minimum. The results showed that the conductive and convective heat losses became the minimum when the gap size was 7 to 10mm. Finally, it was known that the optimal absorber diameter was 62mm at $100^{\circ}C$, 57mm at $150^{\circ}C$, and 53mm at $200^{\circ}C$ of the absorber surface temperature, respectively.

• Solar Energy
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.81-89
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• 2000

In the present study, the characteristics of conductive and convective heat transfer occurred in a circular absorber of PTC (parabolic trough concentrator) for medium temperature solar energy utility were numerically investigated. A circular tube was considered as an absorber and the shape of PTC modeled in this study was based on the system that was installed in Korea Institute of Energy Research. Not only convection inside the tube but also conduction through the wall of the tube were analyzed, simultaneously. Circumferentially non-uniform heat flux that was simulated from the non-uniform solar disc model proposed by Jose was applied as thermal boundary condition on the tube surface. And, hydrodynamically fully developed laminar velocity profile was used as the inlet boundary condition and it was assumed that the working fluid was water. And, local heat fluxes at the interface of the tube and the working fluid were calculated for different wall thickness and thermal conductivity of the tube at various Reynolds number. Based on the results, the effects of thermal conduction of the tube on the local heat transfer were investigated.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.68-68
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• 2011

본 연구에서는 PV cell이 직달 일사에 노출되는 경우와 집광된 태양광에 조사되는 경우의 성능을 비교하는 한편 집광기의 형태에 따른 열적 성능을 검토하고자 하였다. PV cell은 본질적으로 반도체의 특성을 가지므로 작동온도의 상승에 따라 성능이 저하된다는 사실이 알려져 있으며, 태양조사의 강도 및 밀도 등 특성에 따라서도 성능의 변화를 예상할 수 있다. 그러나 이러한 성능변화에 관련된 인자들과 그 영향의 크기에 대한 정량적인 기술자료가 부족하므로 설치와 이용에 한계가 있는 것이 현실이다. 인공태양 장치(solar simulator)를 이용하여 0.7에서 1.2 sun 범위의 태양 조사 환경에서 결정질 실리콘계 PV cell과 집광형 PV cell의 성능을 검토하였다. 집광에 사용한 PTC는 집광면적의 폭이 500 mm이며, 집광 조사면적이 최소 10 mm인 경우 이론적 최대 집광비가 50이었다. PTC의 축방향으로는 균일한 태양조사가 있게된다는 것을 가정하여 모델의 길이는 간편한 실험을 위해 150에서 500 mm의 범위에서 제작하였다. 수평으로 놓인 PTC의 상부 초점 위치로부터 집광면이 아래 쪽에 위치할수록 집광 조사 면적이 증가하므로 PV cell의 크기에 따라 PTC 초점의 위치로부터 거리를 결정하였다. 한편, PTC 자체의 성능도 촛점거리와 집광면 폭의 비에 따라 달라질 수 있다는 가정 하에, 포물면의 최저 위치로부터 촛점거리는 각각 300, 400 및 500 mm가 되도록 세가지 형태를 제작하여 사용하였다. 동일한 형태의 PTC에서 PV cell의 동일한 설치 위치에서도 최고 $110^{\circ}C$ 범위의 PV cell의 작동 (표면) 온도에 따른 성능의 차이를 관찰하기 위해 셀의 후면을 냉각시키는 경우와 그렇지 않은 경우를 비교하였다. PV cell의 표면 온도 측정을 위해서, 후면의 온도와 같이 광선 차단 효과의 우려가 없는 경우에는 열전대를 설치하였으며, 셀의 전면 온도 측정을 위해서는 비접촉식 적외선 온도계를 사용하였다. 냉각 방법으로는 공기를 이용한 자연대류와 액체를 사용하는 강제대류의 경우를 고려하였으며, 필요에 따라 적절히 설계된 히트싱크를 설치하여 비교 실험을 진행하였다. 강제대류 냉각의 경우는 항온조를 사용하여 순환하는 냉각수의 유량과 공급온도를 변화시킴으로써 PV cell의 작동온도를 조절하고, 이에 따른 발전 성능의 변화를 관찰하였다. 본 연구에서 도출한 실험 및 분석 결과는 PV cell의 설치 환경과 작동온도의 변화에 따라 그 성능 변화를 예측할 수 있는 기술적 자료를 제공함으로써 에너지 이용의 합리화를 도모하는데 기여할 수 있을 것이다.

• 한국태양에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.324-327
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• 2011

SolarPACES(Solar Power and Chemical Energy systems) is an international organization under the REWP(Renewable Energy Working Party)in the IEA(International Energy Agency) and focuses on the technology development and market expansion of CSP(Concentrating Solar Power). Seventeen countries including Rep. of Korea participate in the ExCo(Executive Committee) of SolarPACES. The ExCo meeting helds two times in a year and the second ExCo meeting opens in company with the five Task meetings. Rep. of Korea takes part in the Task-1officially. The 81th ExCo and Task meetings were held during September 18 and 19 in Spain with SolarPACES conference which also continued in succession to September 23 in this year. This paper introduces the activities which have been under progressed in the Task-1 and Task-3based on this time attendance of the meeting. In accordance with the expansion of CSP market and technology development, the needs for the standardization and project status underway in the world are increasing. Therefore, build an international project database and standard of the CSP technology are the main activities in the Task-1 and the standardization is also connected with the Task-3. In addition, to increase the reliability of the new technology of CSP and to reduce the concern of investors, the Task-1 is making guidelines for CSP performance prediction which can provide medium quality calculated performance data of PTC(Parabolic Trough Concentrator) type technology widely used and occupies over 90% CSP market.