Development and Performance Characteristics of a Low-Cost Parabolic Solar Collector

Abstract. The paper presents development and performance characteristics of a low-cost Parabolic solar collector. The scope of this paper is to simulate the design process of a solar thermal parabolic trough collector (PTC). The design effort starts off with the selection of parameters namely, the aperture area and the diameter of the receiver. The developed parabolic solar collector consists of trough moulded from an acrylic sheet and polymer mirror film used as reflecting surface. The aim was to keep the development cost low and use of easily available material. The collector is connected to a bi-axis sun-tracking system operated manually. The concentrated collector is then used to regenerate Zeolite. A fixed quantity of zeolite is brought to saturated condition. The extraction of water from the zeolite is then achieved through solar concentrated energy. Experiments are conducted across full one year cycle to gain the insight into the usefulness of the device across all seasons