The  aim  of  this  master  thesis  is  an  investigation  of  the  thermal  performance  of  a  thermal compound parabolic concentrating (CPC) collector from Solarus. The collector consists of two troughs with absorbers which are coated with different types of paint with  unknown  properties.  The  lower  and  upper  trough  of  the  collector  have  been  tested individually. In  order  to  accomplish  the  performance  of  the  two  collectors,  a  thorough  literature  study  in  the  fields  of  CPC  technology,  various  test  methods,  test  standards  for  solar thermal  collectors  as  well  as  the  latest  articles  relating  on  the  subject  were  carried  out. In addition, the set‐up of the thermal test rig was part of the thesis as well. The thermal  performance  was  tested  according  to  the  steady  state  test  method  as  described in the European standard 12975‐2. Furthermore, the thermal performance of  a  conventional  flat  plate  collector  was  carried  out  for  verification  of  the  test  method. The  CPC‐Thermal  collector  from  Solarus  was  tested  in  2013  and  the  results  showed  four  times  higher  values  of  the  heat  loss  coefficient  UL (8.4  W/m²K)  than  what  has been reported for a commercial collector from Solarus. This value was assumed to be too large and it was assumed that the large value was a result of the test method used that time. Therefore, another aim was the comparison of the results achieved in this work with the results from the tests performed in 2013. The results of the thermal performance showed that the optical efficiency of the lower trough of the CPC‐T collector is 77±5% and the corresponding heat loss coefficient UL 4.84±0.20  W/m²K.  The  upper  trough  achieved  an  optical  efficiency  of  75±6  %  and  a  heat loss coefficient UL of 6.45±0.27 W/m²K. The results of the heat loss coefficients  are  valid  for  temperature  intervals  between  20°C  and  80°C.  The  different  absorber paintings have a significant impact on the results, the lower trough performs overall better.  The  results  achieved  in  this  thesis  show  lower  heat  loss  coefficients UL and higher optical efficiencies compared to the results from 2013.

abstract: Nanoparticle suspensions, popularly termed “nanofluids,” have been extensively investigated for their thermal and radiative properties. Such work has generated great controversy, although it is arguably accepted today that the presence of nanoparticles rarely leads to useful enhancements in either thermal conductivity or convective heat transfer. On the other hand, there are still examples of unanticipated enhancements to some properties, such as the reported specific heat of molten salt-based nanofluids and the critical heat flux. Another largely overlooked example is the apparent effect of nanoparticles on the effective latent heat of vaporization (hfg) of aqueous nanofluids. A previous study focused on molecular dynamics (MD) modeling supplemented with limited experimental data to suggest that hfg increases with increasing nanoparticle concentration. Here, this research extends that exploratory work in an effort to determine if hfg of aqueous nanofluids can be manipulated, i.e., increased or decreased, by the addition of graphite or silver nanoparticles. Our results to date indicate that hfg can be substantially impacted, by up to ± 30% depending on the type of nanoparticle. Moreover, this dissertation reports further experiments with changing surface area based on volume fraction (0.005% to 2%) and various nanoparticle sizes to investigate the mechanisms for hfg modification in aqueous graphite and silver nanofluids. This research also investigates thermophysical properties, i.e., density and surface tension in aqueous nanofluids to support the experimental results of hfg based on the Clausius - Clapeyron equation. This theoretical investigation agrees well with the experimental results. Furthermore, this research investigates the hfg change of aqueous nanofluids with nanoscale studies in terms of melting of silver nanoparticles and hydrophobic interactions of graphite nanofluid. As a result, the entropy change due to those mechanisms could be a main cause of the changes of hfg in silver and graphite nanofluids. Finally, applying the latent heat results of graphite and silver nanofluids to an actual solar thermal system to identify enhanced performance with a Rankine cycle is suggested to show that the tunable latent heat of vaporization in nanofluilds could be beneficial for real-world solar thermal applications with improved efficiency. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Mechanical Engineering 2015

Submitted by Maicon Juliano Schmidt (maicons) on 2015-07-20T14:17:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ronaldo Bueno de Souza.pdf: 1999281 bytes, checksum: 5dd2b3645a9e4750a12f291e30ba6d41 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-20T14:17:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ronaldo Bueno de Souza.pdf: 1999281 bytes, checksum: 5dd2b3645a9e4750a12f291e30ba6d41 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-04-07 / CYTED - Programa Iberoamericano de Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo / Este trabalho apresenta o estudo de um sistema de refrigeração por absorção assistido por energia solar térmica com intuito de ser empregado no arrefecimento de uma pousada de ecoturismo localizada em um local remoto, desprovida de conexão à rede elétrica. Para o estudo do sistema proposto foi utilizado o software de simulações TRNSYS, onde em uma etapa inicial do trabalho foi realizada a comparação dos resultados do software com os resultados dos modelos matemáticos dos componentes do sistema de refrigeração. Foi desenvolvido um modelo computacional, para realização de simulações horárias que permitiu a simulação de três configurações de sistemas de refrigeração por absorção, podendo assim determinar a influência dos componentes e parâmetros utilizados no sistema no uso da energia auxiliar e no atendimento da carga térmica. O primeiro modelo é constituído por um sistema onde a água aquecida pelo coletor solar térmico e é armazenada em um reservatório térmico, sendo a mesma utilizada para a alimentação do chiller de absorção. A água gelada produzida pelo chiller é armazenada em outro reservatório térmico onde fica disponível para o consumo. Neste modelo observa-se que com o uso de 120 m² de coletores de tubo evacuado chega-se a índices de atendimento dos consumos superiores a 87 %. O segundo modelo é similar ao primeiro, com a inclusão de um aquecedor auxiliar para a água de alimentação do chiller de absorção. Neste modelo observou-se que com o uso de 120 m² de coletores de placas planas chega-se a um consumo de energia auxiliar inferior a 195 GJ, e com o uso de 120 m² de coletores de tubo evacuado chega-se a um consumo de energia auxiliar inferior a 150 GJ. O terceiro modelo é similar ao segundo, onde foi acrescentado um sistema para utilização da água de arrefecimento do chiller de absorção, para uso no consumo de água quente para banho, nos chuveiros. Neste modelo observa-se que o aproveitamento da água de arrefecimento não afeta o consumo de energia auxiliar, se comparado com o consumo do segundo modelo. / This paper presents the study of a cooling system for absorption assisted by solar energy with a view to be used in the cooling of an ecotourism lodge located in a remote location, devoid of connection to the grid. To study the proposed system was used TRNSYS simulation software, where in an initial work step of comparing software results with the results of mathematical models of the components of the refrigeration system is performed. A computer model was developed to perform simulations slot which simulated three configurations absorption refrigeration systems and can therefore determine the influence of the components and system parameters used in the auxiliary power usage and meet the thermal load. The first model is made up of a system where the water heated by the solar thermal collector and is stored in a thermal storage tank, being the same used for feeding the absorption chiller. The chilled water produced by the chiller is stored in another thermal reservoir where it is available for consumption. In this model it is observed that with the use of 120 m² evacuated tube collectors comes to fuel consumption attendance rates of over 87 %. The second model is similar to the first, with the inclusion of an auxiliary heater to supply water from the absorption chiller. In this model we found that with the use of 120 m² of flat plate collectors comes to an auxiliary power consumption of less than 195 GJ, and with the use of 120 m² evacuated tube collectors we arrive at a consumption of auxiliary power less than 150 GJ. The third model is similar to the second, which was added to a system using the cooling water from absorption chiller for use in the consumption of hot water for baths, showers on. In this model, it is observed that the use of the cooling water does not affect the auxiliary power consumption compared with the consumption of the second model.

Traditionally, energy capture by non-concentrating solar collectors is calculated using the Hottel-Whillier Equation (HW): Q(u)=A(c)*F(r)*S-A(c)*F(r)*U(l)*(T(fi)-Tₐ), or its derivative: Q(u)=A(c)*F(r)*S-A(c)*F(r)*U(l)*((T(fi)-T(fo))/2-Tₐ). In these models, the rate of energy capture is based on the collector's aperture area (A(c)), collector heat removal factor (F(r)), absorbed solar radiation (S), collector overall heat loss coefficient (U(l)), inlet fluid temperature (T(fi)) and ambient air temperature (Tₐ). However real-world testing showed that these equations could potentially show significant errors during non-ideal solar and environmental conditions. It also predicts that when T(fi)-Tₐ equals zero, the energy lost convectively is zero. An improved model was tested: Q(u)=A(c)F(r)S-A(c)U(l)((T(fo)-T(fi))/(ln(T(fo)/T(fi)))-Tₐ) where T(fo) is the exit fluid temperature. Individual variables and coefficients were analyzed for all versions of the equation using linear analysis methods, statistical stepwise linear regression, F-Test, and Variance analysis, to determine their importance in the equation, as well as identify alternate methods of calculated collector coefficient modeling.

[pt] Este trabalho tem por objetivo principal a avaliação de desempenho de um sistema piloto de preaquecimento dos motores da central termelétrica Gera Maranhão, via energia solar térmica, em Miranda do Norte, Maranhão, através de uma simulação numérica. Cinco subsistemas independentes, cada um responsável pelo preaquecimento de um motor Wartsila 20V32 de 8,73 MW, foram construídos, somando um total de 500 coletores solares instalados e uma superfície de captação solar total de 1000 metros quadrados. Uma estação meteorológica com sensores de radiação solar global, difusa, direta e temperatura ambiente foi posicionada do lado dos sistemas para medir as condições ambientais na região. A simulação do desempenho do sistema solar foi efetuada ao longo de um ano com dados de radiação solar da estação meteorológica de Buriticupu, no Maranhão, dados que mais se aproximam dos dados disponíveis de Miranda do Norte. Correlações para transformar a radiação global medida numa superfície horizontal para uma superfície inclinada foram selecionadas após uma revisão bibliográfica dentre as disponíveis na literatura. Diferentes cenários de controle do acionamento das bombas de água foram comparados a fim de determinar a melhor configuração de operação. A influência da temperatura de preaquecimento dos motores no desempenho do sistema solar foi avaliada também. Os resultados da simulação foram comparados com os resultados obtidos via o método F-CHART. Uma participação média anual da energia solar de 11,5 por cento foi encontrada para o preaquecimento dos motores levando a uma redução de 24693 kg/ano de óleo combustível usado na caldeira do sistema de preaquecimento dos motores da usina termelétrica. / [en] The present work has as main objective the performance evaluation of a pilot system for preheating the engines of Gera Maranhão power plant, in Miranda do Norte, state of Maranhão, via thermal solar energy using a numerical simulation. Five independent subsystems, each one responsible for the preheating of a Wartsila 20V32 internal combustion engine of 8.73 MW, were installed. These systems amount five hundred solar collectors, with a total solar collecting area of 1000 square meters. A meteorological station with sensors for global, diffusive and beam solar radiation, as well as ambient temperature recorders, was placed by the side of the system in mode to measure ambient condition in the area. The simulation of the solar system performance was processed over a year with data of solar radiation for a meteorological station of Buriticupu, state of Maranhão, Brazil. Correlations to transform the global radiation measured on a horizontal plane to a sloped plane were selected, following a selection from a literature review. For the control of the water pumps, different scenarios were compared in order to determine the best operational configuration. The influence of engine preheating temperature in the performance of the solar system was also evaluated. Simulation results were compared with results obtained with the F-CHART method. An annual average solar energy contribution of 11.5 percent was found for the preheating of the engines. This resulted in a reduction of 24693 kg per year of fuel oil used in the boiler of the traditional preheating system of the power plant.

In this thesis report for Dalarna University in Borlange and Absolicon company the study of a possibility to add an array of concentrating solar collectors to a Torsång district heating system was done. The whole idea of this work was to make a simulation of this kind of system, trying to get 15-20% of solar fraction, and make an economical evaluation. At the same time, another goal was to make two comparisons: between concentrating and flat-plate collector in the same system, and between two tools for collector analysis – Polysun and Absolicon tool, based on TRNSYS, which was designed to estimate the output of the collector for a certain temperature, without any load. During the study, the analysis of the simulating tools was made and the combination of those two tools was used. Using long iteration cycles, involving changing the field layout, number of collectors and distance between collector rows in flat-plate collector case, both types of collectors were analyzed. The method of the analysis was to get an equal output of the field and see the differences, which appear while using different collector types.

A ground source heat pump (GSHP) system utilizes a borehole heat exchanger to extract energy from the ground during the heating season and to deposit energy during the cooling season. This requires the drilling of an extended borehole, typically ranging from 100 to 200 meters in length, with a diameter of approximately 6 to 8 inches. Inside the borehole, a U-shaped tube is placed and surrounded by a grout that aids heat transfer between the tube and the surrounding soil. A heat transfer fluid, often a mixture of water and glycol, circulates through the tube to exchange heat with the ground. During the winter, the system draws energy from the ground for household space heating, while in the summer, when air conditioning is used, it expels energy from the house into the ground. In regions with heating-dominated climates, such as Canada, more energy is withdrawn from the ground during the winter than can be naturally restored during the summer. Consequently, the soil progressively cools over time, leading to reduced heat pump coefficient of performance and a decline in the overall system efficiency. This study explores a solution to this issue by integrating solar domestic hot water systems which employ solar thermal collectors to heat water for domestic purposes. These systems are relatively straightforward, consisting of solar thermal collectors, piping, pumps, a hot water tank, and controllers. The collector area is designed to deliver high solar fractions during the summer, but it typically exhibits lower efficiency in the winter. In Toronto, annual solar fraction, defined as the proportion of energy supplied by the solar thermal system to the total energy required by the load, typically range between 50-70%. This research aims to leverage solar thermal collectors for recharging the ground during the summer months. This approach enables the installation of larger collector areas, improving system performance in the winter, while simultaneously depositing excess energy into the ground during the summer. Notably, this study focuses on a single household located in Toronto, Canada, where the recommended solar thermal collector area is 10 square meters, and the borehole heat exchanger length is 150 meters. Also, it is assumed that four people are living in this house and required energy for heating and cooling of the house are 28000 and 7000 kWh per year, respectively. This approach offers a promising solution to balance seasonal heat transfer to the ground, mitigating the long-term decline in GSHP performance. The study demonstrates that by coupling the solar thermal system with the GSHP, the targeted outcomes are achievable. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The annual gain of stationary solar thermal collectors can be increased by non-focusing reflectors. Such concentrators make use of diffuse irradiance. A collector’s incidence angle modifier for diffuse (diffuse-IAM) accounts for this utilization. The diffuse irra-diance varies over the collector hemisphere, which dynamically influences the diffuse-IAM. This is not considered by state-of-the-art collector models. They simply calculate with one constant IAM value for isotropic diffuse irradiance from sky and ground. This work is based on the development of a stationary, double-covered process heat flat-plate collector with a one-sided, segmented booster reflector (RefleC). This reflector approximates one branch of a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC). Optical meas-urement results of the collector components as well as raytracing results of different variants are given. The thermal and optical characterization of test samples up to 190 °C in an outdoor laboratory as well as the validation of the raytracing are discussed. A collector simulation model with varying diffuse-IAM is described. Therein, ground reflected and sky diffuse irradiance are treated separately. Sky diffuse is weighted with an anisotropic IAM, which is re-calculated in every time step. This is realized by gener-ating an anisotropic sky radiance distribution with the model of Brunger and Hooper, and by weighting the irradiance from distinct sky elements with their raytraced beam-IAM values. According to the simulations, the RefleC booster increases the annual out-put of the double-covered flat-plate in Würzburg, Germany, by 87 % at a constant inlet temperature of 120 °C and by 20 % at 40 °C. Variations of the sky diffuse-IAM of up to 25 % during one day are found. A constant, isotropic diffuse-IAM would have under-valued the gains from the booster by 40 % at 40 °C and by 20 % at 120 °C. The results indicate that the gain of all non-focusing solar collectors is undervalued when constant, isotropic diffuse-IAMs calculated from raytracing or steady-state test data are used. Process heat generation with RefleC is demonstrated in a monitored pilot plant at work-ing temperatures of up to 130 °C. The measured annual system utilization ratio is 35 %. Comparing the gains at all inlet temperatures above 80 °C, the booster increases the an-nual output of the double-covered flat-plates by 78 %. Taking all inlet temperatures, the total annual gains of RefleC are 39 % above that of the flat-plates without reflectors. A qualitative comparison of the new simulation model results to the laboratory results and monitoring data shows good agreement. It is shown that the accuracy of existing collector models can be increased with low effort by calculating separate isotropic IAMs for diffuse sky and ground reflected irradiance. The highest relevance of this work is seen for stationary collectors with very distinctive radiation acceptance.

In Sweden, the residential and industrial energy demand is provided by a significant part of district heating. In a decarbonization plan to reduce the CO2 emissions, the integration of a large-scale solar system in the district heating can be a suitable option. The most used types of collectors are flat plate collectors (FPC), for which efficiency drops at high temperature levels. Parabolic through collectors (PTC) have seen increased interest in later years, due to their higher efficiency at higher temperature levels, which could improve system performance both energetically and economically. A hybrid concept using a combination of FPC and PTC for a solar thermal system has previously been studied for a solar district heating system in Denmark, with the aim to maximize the solar production by operating the solar collectors in the temperature ranges where they excel. The first aim of this thesis was to adapt the hybrid solar system in a district heating system for a Swedish case study and to evaluate if the hybrid optimization studied has similar positive effects in the overall thermal production of the system in Sweden, as it did in Denmark. The second aim of this thesis was to investigate the use of photovoltaic thermal collectors (PVT) instead of FPC for parts of the solar thermal system. With PVT, a single solar collector module allows for simultaneous production of heat and electricity and integration of photovoltaic thermal collectors in the solar assisted district heating could improve the overall performance of the system, both in terms of energy production and economical gain.The study was performed using the simulation tool TRNSYS based on a model developed in a danish case study. It was performed a parametric analysis on the percentage of share of the different types of solar collectors in the total area. The results given from the simulations have been used to carry out an economic evaluation based on the levelized cost of substituted energy, the annual operation and maintenance costs, and the marginal operational cost difference between a conventional district heating system supplied by a boiler only and a solar assisted district heating system. Based on the results found, it has been proved that a greater proportion of parabolic trough collectors in the solar field contribute to a greater production of thermal energy but also to higher expenses in the economy of the project. The best configuration which balanced these two factors was composed by 70 % of flat plate collectors and 30 % of parabolic trough collectors, based on the total area. The integration of photovoltaic thermal has been demonstrated to be not cost-effective for the studied location compared to the optimized ratio of FPC to PTC, mainly due to the high and uncertain price of the new technology. The use of photovoltaic thermal system is not yet widely developed in projects and there are only a few existing projects in operation today. In the future, the development of photovoltaic thermal in solar assisted district heating projects might have a higher realizable economic potential due to the industry learning curve, but more studies will need to be performed on this.

The performance of ground-source heat pump (GSHP) systems can be negatively affected over time by soil temperature degradation of boreholes (BH) in heating dominated climates. Land area is scarce in the dense urban environments typical of multi-family houses (MFH) and can lead to accelerated degradation- in tight BH fields. Heat extracted from photovoltaic thermal collectors (PVT) can help with BH regeneration; thus, limiting degradation. Additionally, free cooling (FC) is proposed in this study to tackle the anticipated cooling demandi ncrease in Sweden, while resolving the listed challenges of GSHP systems. A novel multi-source (MS) system integrating FC, PVT and GSHP together shall be investigated in this study. Firstly, implementing FC in a GSHP system for the scenario considered only provided marginal regeneration of the BH in the longterm. Both the SPF4+ and total life cycle cost (TLCC) of an FC+GSHP and GSHPsystem remained virtually constant. Furthermore, operation interference of FC and PVT in the MS system can be mitigated by considering their relative location in the system. In this study, cooling is the priority, thus placing the FC system after the BH field but before the PVT system in the brine loop is recommended. In that case, only 0.56% of the annual cooling is not delivered due to FC operation interference and the PVT thermal yield is decreased on average by 3.52%. By decreasing the BH spacing from 15 to 5 m, a slight SPF4+ increase to 3.22 is possible in a system with FC and 48 PVT collectors. With a sensitivity analysis it was shown that if a 15% decrease is achieved in electricity prices then the TLCC of this system can be lower than the TLCC of 2.13 MSEK for a GSHP system. / Prestandan hos ytjordvärmepump (GSHP) kan påverkas negativt över tid av försämrad marktemperatur i borrhål (BH) i klimat som domineras av uppvärmning. I täta stadsmiljöer med flerfamiljshus (MFH) är markytan knapp, vilket kan leda till accelererad nedbrytning i trånga BH-fält. Värme som utvinns från solfångare (PVT) kan bidra till regenerering av BH, vilket begränsar nedbrytningen. Dessutom föreslås frikyla (FC) i denna studie för att hantera den förväntade ökningen av kylbehovet i Sverige, samtidigt som man löser de listade utmaningarna med GSHP-system. Ett nytt multikällsystem (MS) som integrerar FC, PVT och GSHP tillsammans ska undersökas i denna studie. För det första gav implementeringen av FC i ett GSHP-system för det aktuella scenariot endast marginell regenerering av BH på lång sikt. Både SPF4+ och den totala livscykelkostnaden (TLCC) för ett FC+GSHP och GSHP-system förblev praktiskt taget konstant. Dessutom kan driftstörningar från FC och PVT i MS-systemet minskas genom att ta hänsyn till deras relativa placering i systemet. I denna studie prioriteras kylning, och därför rekommenderas att FC-systemet placeras efter BH-fältet men före PVT-systemet i brineslingan. Endast 0.56% av den årliga kylningen levereras inte på grund av störningar i FC-driften och PVT:s värmeutbyte minskar i genomsnitt med 3.52%. Genom att minska BH-avståndet från 15 till 5 m är en liten ökning av SPF4+ till 3.22 möjlig i ett system med FC och 48 PVT-kollektorer. En känslighetsanalys visade att om elpriserna minskar med 15% kan TLCC för detta system bli lägre än TLCC på 2.13 MSEK för ett GSHP-system.