Manufacturing of Low-Cost Parabolic Dish Concentrators with Manual Dual-Axis Tracking

Abstract

The increased rate of energy crises around the world results in expanding the role of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology for different applications, comprising heating process and power generation applications. The Parabolic Dish Concentrator (PDC) with its large concentration ratio and its modular capacity attracts researchers’ efforts. In this research work, we have designed and developed a PDC with back silvered mirrors as reflector material. Then we have sized the following geometric parameters: the dish diameter, the focal length, the aperture area, the rim angle, the geometric concentration ratio, the receiver material, and the receiver diameter. Furthermore, a dual-axis manual tracking system has been built for this PDC. It should be mentioned that the different components of the PDC have been recycled from a scrap yard to develop a low-cost PDC system. Finally, we have investigated the temperature evolution as a function of time at the focus spot. The maximum temperature obtained is 112 °C for the PDC with mirror. The findings of the study reveal the possibility of building a low-cost solar concentrator with good performance and high quality, only by employing recycled materials, and it could be operated in various applications.