Approach to designing a solar concentrator for small-scale remote power application

A small-scale concentrated solar power (CSP) unit was designed to provide electricity and hot water using an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) for Egypt as part of an undergraduate capstone project. The system was designed for a target power output of 3 kW. It uses parabolic troughs to heat ethylene glycol used as the heat transfer fluid, which absorbs heat in the trough collector and transfers it to the working fluid through a heat exchanger. The system consists of 9 parabolic troughs and a total aperture area of 67 m ², providing the required 3 kW of energy to the ORC. One parabolic trough was manufactured to test its thermal efficiency according to ASHRAE standard 93-2003 [Methods of Testing to Determine the Thermal Performance of Solar Collectors (ASHRAE, Inc., 1791 Tullie Circle, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, 2003)] and compared it to its calculated value. A simple microcontroller-based system was used to track the sun.