A Review of the Modeling of Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors Coupled to Solar Receivers with Photovoltaic/Thermal Generation

Abstract

This paper is a summary of the last ten years of work on the study of parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) and compound parabolic collectors (CPCs) coupled to photovoltaic and thermal solar receiver collectors (SCR-PVTs). While reviewing the state of the art, numerous review papers were found that focused on conventional solar receiver collector (SRC) technology for solar thermal generation. However, there is a lack of review papers summarizing SRC-PVT hybrid technology for solar electric/thermal generation, which would be beneficial for researchers interested in this area of research. This paper provides a review of SRC-PVT hybrid technologies. The theoretical foundations for analyzing and modeling PTC and CPC concentrators coupled to SRC-PVT are described, with an emphasis on modeling through thermal resistances and energy balances. Additionally, this section provides a concise overview of previous studies that have addressed the modeling of PTC and CPC collectors coupled to SCR-PVT, as well as experimental information useful for the validation of new mathematical models of SRC-PVT.

Keywords

• concentrated solar thermal
• solar electricity
• parabolic trough collectors