Theoretical Study of Parabolic Trough Solar Water Heater

Abstract

All of the energy on the planet comes from solar radiation. Our planet's principal source of energy comes from the sun in the form of radiation. In the tropical zone, the average solar energy received at the earth's surface is almost 1 kw/m². It is a renewable form of energy that does not pollute the environment in the same way as oil, coal, methane, and other fossil fuels do. It is not decreasing in terms of time, thus it will continue to exist in nature indefinitely. This work is about the design and testing of a parabolic trough solar water heater with various reflecting materials. For the water heating process, a novel arrangement of parabolic trough solar water heater with manual radiation tracking system has been devised. It is made of aluminium foil and then mirror strips that run the length of the trough's focal length. The experiment was carried out in four different trough conditions, and it was discovered that mirror glass strips as reflecting materials provide the best heat transmission to the working fluid, i.e. water in the absorber tube. The experiment was carried out at SRCEM College Banmore in the month of May 2021 (summer season) (M.P).