Parabolic Concentrated Solar Systems for Heating, Cooling, And
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Parabolic Concentrated Solar Systems for Heating, Cooling, and Power Generation in Cold Climates and Remote Communities By Faezeh Mosallat A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Copyright © 2017 by Faezeh Mosallat Abstract To date, concentrated solar trough collectors have focused primarily on electricity generation in low latitudes using 400oC thermal oil temperatures. To adapt this technology to remote communities—that rely on diesel and heating oil and reach ambient temperatures of -40°C for extended periods—it is postulated that lowering the fluid temperature below 100oC is a preferred approach to reduce safety risks and operator qualification requirements. This approach mitigates higher heat losses in cold climates and still allows refrigeration and heating loads to be displaced by thermal energy; however, it significantly reduces thermal power generation efficiency. To regain electrical efficiency, the system is redesigned using concentrated photovoltaic cells secured to each receiver tube that can be cooled by glycol, an environmentally safer working fluid compared to thermal oil, operating at temperatures below 100oC. To investigate lower operating fluid temperatures and control issues related to cold climates, the methodology adopted is to design and build a 52-kW parabolic solar trough pilot plant in Winnipeg, as this location is chosen by some industries to perform cold weather testing. In addition, a transient model is developed to investigate how to integrate solar troughs in remote community applications. The model is validated using the pilot plant, predicting the fluid outlet temperature of the solar field with an average deviation of 1°C from measurements during thermal energy generation. A concentrated-photovoltaic-thermal configuration is then introduced to achieve attractive payback periods for remote communities in cold climates experiencing high energy costs and implementing renewable energy. Furthermore, to maximize revenues in these communities, a pump control strategy is implemented to reduce parasitic power by 80%; a i multi-objective optimization algorithm results demonstrate the need to adjust the solar field flow rate in cold climates during operations. ii Acknowledgment First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Eric Bibeau whose support, knowledge, joy, enthusiasm, and contributions of time, ideas and funding made my Ph.D. experience dynamic and encouraging. I am also thankful to my co-advisor Dr. Tarek ElMekkawy for his helpful guidance and constructive advice. I wish to thank the members of my examining committee: Dr. Douglas W. Ruth and Dr. Kris Dick for generously offering their time, support, guidance, and good will throughout the preparation and review of this document. The development of a parabolic concentrated solar trough research pilot plant at Red River College (RRC) was supported by the Department of Emerging Energy Technologies at Manitoba Hydro. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Tom Molinski for his role in obtaining funding for RRC to build the solar pilot plant, and actively participate in setting its research focus to develop new approaches to generate renewable energy in remote communities. I also would like to acknowledge the project team of RRC for their collaboration to provide the required information at various stages of this research. This research was funded by NSERC/Manitoba Hydro Industrial Research Chair to whom I am deeply grateful. Additionally, I would like to thank the financial support of the University of Manitoba Graduate Fellowship and Manitoba Graduate Student Fellowship. iii I would like to thank my parents for all their love and encouragement. For the heartwarming presence and support of my brother Farid in Winnipeg during the past 5 years. And most of all for my loving, encouraging and patient husband Foad who has been my rock in this long journey and his faithful support during all the stages of this Ph.D. is greatly appreciated. Last, but definitely not least, my gratitude goes to my friends who supported me during difficult moments. Thank you for your thoughts, well-wishes, emails, phone calls, visits and being there whenever I needed a friend. iv Dedication To my parents who offered unconditional love and support and my loving husband Foad who has always been there for me. v Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Earth’s energy outlook ............................................................................................ 1 1.2 Energy use in Canada .............................................................................................. 5 1.3 Canada’s solar potential .......................................................................................... 6 1.4 Canada’s northern remote and aboriginal communities ......................................... 8 1.5 Applying concentrated solar technology in Canadian remote communities......... 12 1.6 Research objectives ............................................................................................... 17 1.7 Methodology ......................................................................................................... 18 1.8 Contributions to the state of knowledge ............................................................... 23 1.9 Thesis outline ........................................................................................................ 25 Chapter 2 Literature Review .......................................................................................... 26 2.1 Concentrated solar trough plants in cold climates ................................................ 26 2.2 Transient numerical simulation ............................................................................. 29 2.3 Solar power generation ......................................................................................... 35 2.3.1 Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) ......................................................................... 35 2.3.2 Hybrid photovoltaic/thermal system ................................................................. 37 Chapter 3 Parabolic Solar Trough Experimental Pilot Plant and Numerical Model ..... 42 3.1 Concentrated solar trough demonstration pilot plant ............................................ 43 3.1.1 Circulating pump .............................................................................................. 48 3.1.2 Expansion tank .................................................................................................. 49 3.1.3 Heat exchanger .................................................................................................. 50 vi 3.1.4 Weather station ................................................................................................. 51 3.1.5 Pyrheliometer .................................................................................................... 53 3.1.6 Instrumentation ................................................................................................. 53 3.1.7 Sun-tracking sensors ......................................................................................... 58 3.1.8 Controller hardware .......................................................................................... 59 3.2 Solar trough pilot plant simulation model developed ........................................... 62 3.2.1 Convection heat transfer between the HTF and the absorber ........................... 65 3.2.2 Convection heat transfer from the receiver to the glass envelope .................... 66 3.2.3 Convection heat transfer from the glass envelope to the atmosphere ............... 70 3.2.4 Radiation heat transfer between the receiver and glass envelope ..................... 72 3.2.5 Radiation heat transfer between the glass envelope and sky ............................ 73 3.2.6 Solar irradiation absorption in the glass envelope ............................................ 74 3.2.7 Solar irradiation absorption in the receiver ....................................................... 76 3.3 Solar trough pilot plant transient numerical model implementation ..................... 76 3.4 Solar trough pilot plant model validation ............................................................. 79 Chapter 4 Thermal Storage, Heating, Cooling and Power Generation Models Using Hardware-Based Simulation ............................................................................................. 87 4.1 Latent heat thermal storage using phase change material ..................................... 87 4.2 Solar space heating model with thermal storage ................................................... 96 4.2.1 Results of the solar space heating model ........................................................ 102 4.3 Solar absorption cooling/refrigeration with thermal storage .............................. 105 4.3.1 Results of the absorption cooling model ......................................................... 113 4.4 Solar power generation ....................................................................................... 116 vii 4.4.1 ORC power generation model ........................................................................ 117 4.4.2 CPV power generation model