Numerical Investigation of Predicting the Performance of a Linear Fresnel Concentrated Solar Thermal System for Steam Production

Due to the global warming and the increasing energy demand, there is an urgent need to develop technologies to ensure clean and sustainable energy production. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia receives an average insolation of 5.78 kWh/m2/day, making it one of the most likely candidates for a country to be using solar energy for meeting its energy needs in the near future. Concentrated solar power (CSP) technology is a promising alternative to fossil fuels. The most common concentrated solar thermal technologies are the parabolic trough, central tower, linear Fresnel reflector (LFR) and dish. The advantages of LFR include high ground usage, a stationary receiver, low wind loads and relatively simple construction. Hence, the present research proposes to evaluate the performance of a LFR in local environment of Saudi Arabia to produce steam. In LFR technology, the receiver collects the concentrated solar radiation reflected by a number of slightly curved or small flat optical faces reflector placed on the ground and the optical surfaces are positioned in long parallel lines. They are arranged to reflect direct sunlight onto a heat absorber receiver tube that contains fluid situated along the collector focal line. The possibility of using LFR solar concentrator for steam generation will be numerically investigated using two-phase flow theory and its performance will be analyzed.