Simulation of a Standalone, Portable Steam Generator Driven by a Solar Concentrator

Energies

Mohamed Sabry²  Mouaaz Nahas¹  Saud H. Al-Lehyani² 

[1] Electrical Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia; E-Mail:;Physics Department, College of Applied Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia; E-Mail:

关键词: solar energy;    steam generation;    Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation;   

DOI  :  10.3390/en8053867

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Solar energy is a good solution for energy-deficiency problems, especially in regions such ‎as rural areas in the Middle East that have not been electrified yet or are ‎under electrification. In ‎this paper, with the aid of a Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation, we propose a ‎system that comprises a trough solar concentrator and a pipe—with flowing water—that ‎is set in the concentrator focus. The aim of this work is to investigate the feasibility of generating steam ‎from such a system as well as analyzing the generated steam quantitatively ‎and qualitatively. Effects of variation of solar radiation intensity, ambient temperature, water ‎flow rate and pipe diameter on the quantity and quality of the generated steam have been investigated. The results ‎show that a quantity of about 130 kg of steam could be generated per day with a 0.01 m diameter with 0.0042 kg/s flowing water, although qualitatively, a narrower pipe achieves better performance than a wider one. About 74 kg of daily accumulated steam mass with a temperature >423 K could be achieved for a 0.005 m diameter tube compared to about 50 kg for the 0.01 m diameter tube. Steam quality factor is higher at all flow rates for the 0.005 m diameter tube compared to that of 0.01 m.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.