THERMAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A SOLAR PARABOLIC TROUGH COLLECTOR FORADSORPTION REFRIGERATION APPLICATION SYSTEM

摘要

Thermal and structural design of a solar parabolic trough collector for adsorption refrigeration application system is carried out and the thermal performance is evaluated experimentally. The results signify that the solar parabolic trough collector is a promising option for providing energy required to drive the proposed adsorption refrigerator designed for air cooling of a room. Energy balance analysis of the collector tube reveals that heat loss by radiation and convection to the surrounding is significant for the case of a bare collector tube considered in this study. Use of a collector tube covered with an evacuated tube transparent to solar radiation would aid to develop thermally efficient parabolic trough collectors for adsorption refrigeration application systems.