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9th International Conference on Applied Energy, ICAE2017, 21-24 August 2017, Cardiff, UK

Simulation and optimization of parabolic trough receiver with non-

The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling
uniform heat flux distribution: A review
Assessing the feasibility of using the heat demand-outdoor
Zhi Wang, Jiaxin Ni, Li Zhao*, Shuai Deng, Dongpeng Zhao
temperature
Key Laboratory of
Key Laboratory
function
of Efficient
Efficient Utilization
for
Utilization of
of Low
a long-term
Low and
and Medium
Medium Grade
district
Grade Energy,
Energy, MOE,
MOE, Tianjin
heat demand
Tianjin University,
University, Tianjin
Tianjin 300072,
forecast
300072, China*
China*

I. Andrića,b,c*, A. Pinaa, P. Ferrãoa, J. Fournierb., B. Lacarrièrec, O. Le Correc

Abstract
Abstract
a
IN+ Center for Innovation, Technology and Policy Research - Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
b
The parabolic
The parabolic trough
trough collector
collectorVeolia
(PTC)
(PTC)Recherche
is the
is & Innovation,
the most
most mature 291
mature and Avenue
and Dreyfoustested
commercially
commercially Daniel,technology
tested 78520 Limay,
technology Franceconcentrating
among
among concentrating solarsolar power
power
c
technologies. Département
In the Systèmes
concentration Énergétiques
process of et Environnement
sunrays, non-uniform - IMT Atlantique,
heat flux
technologies. In the concentration process of sunrays, non-uniform heat flux distribution (NUHF) forms 4 rue
distributionAlfred Kastler,
(NUHF) 44300outside
forms Nantes, the
outside France
the absorber tube.
absorber tube.
As a result, temperature gradients and temperature peaks in the absorber tube emerge, which bring challenges to the efficiency and
As a result, temperature gradients and temperature peaks in the absorber tube emerge, which bring challenges to the efficiency and
reliability of
reliability of parabolic
parabolic trough
trough receivers
receivers (PTRs).
(PTRs). ThisThis work
work presents
presents aa brief
brief overview
overview of of researches
researches on on NUHF
NUHF of of PTCs,
PTCs, including
including
the
the calculation
calculation methods
methods of of NUHF,
NUHF, simulation
simulation studies
studies ofof PTRs
PTRs andand various
various optimization
optimization methods
methods ofof NUHF.
NUHF. For For solutions
solutions to
to NUHF,
NUHF,
Abstract
there
there are
are no
no set
set standards
standards available
available forfor comparison
comparison and and selection
selection ofof them.
them. More
More efforts
efforts are
are needed
needed forfor theoretical
theoretical studies
studies to
to avoid
avoid
repeated
repeated works
works and
and for
for economic
economic studies
studies to
to justify
justify these
these optimization
optimization methods.
methods.
District heating networks are commonly addressed in the literature as one of the most effective solutions for decreasing the
© 2017
© 2017 The
The Authors.
Authors. Published
Published by by Elsevier
Elsevier Ltd.Ltd.
©greenhouse gas emissions
2017 The under
Authors. fromby
Published the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat
Peer-review
Peer-review under responsibility
responsibility of Elsevier
of the
Ltd.
the scientific
scientific committee of of the
the 9th
9th International
International Conference
Conference on on Applied
Applied Energy.
Energy.
Peer-review
sales. Due underto theresponsibility
changed climate scientific committee
of theconditions committee
and building of the 9th International
renovation policies,Conference
heat demandon Applied
in the Energy.
future could decrease,
prolonging
Keywords: the investment
Parabolic return Non-uniform
trough collector;
collector; period. heat flux
flux distribution;
distribution; Receiver
Receiver tube;
tube; Optimization
Optimization method
method
Keywords: Parabolic trough Non-uniform heat
The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand – outdoor temperature function for heat demand
forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665
buildings that vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district
1. Introduction
1.renovation
Introductionscenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were
compared with results from a dynamic heat demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors.
Since the
the 1970s,
Since showed
The results 1970s, more
moreonly
that when and more
more attentions
andweather attentions have
have been
change is considered, beenthedrawn
marginon
drawn onof renewable
renewable
error could beenergy
energy with increasing
with for
acceptable increasing energy
energy
some applications
demand
demand and
(the errorand environment
environment
in annual deterioration.
demand deterioration. Concentrating
was lower thanConcentrating
20% for all weathersolar power
solar scenarios
power (CSP)(CSP) technologies
technologies
considered). However,playplay an important
afteranintroducing role
role in
importantrenovation in
solving
solving the
thethe
scenarios, present
error and
present valuefuture
and future electricity
electricity
increased problems.
problems.
up to 59.5% Among
Amongonthe
(depending thefour
the four available
available
weather CSP
CSP technologies
and renovation scenarios (i.e.,
technologies (i.e., parabolic
parabolic
combination trough,
trough,
considered).
parabolic
The value dish,
parabolic of slope
dish, solar
solar tower
tower and
coefficient linear
linearonFresnel),
increased
and the
the parabolic
average within
Fresnel), the range trough
parabolic of 3.8%collector
trough up to 8%(PTC)
collector is
is the
per decade,
(PTC) thethatmost
most mature
mature toand
corresponds andthe
commercially
decrease in the tested
number technology
of heating [1-3].
hours The
of major
22-139h advantages
during the associated
heating
commercially tested technology [1-3]. The major advantages associated with PTC are modular systems, season with PTC
(depending are
on themodular
combination systems,
of storage
weather
storageand
capability,
capability, commercially
renovation commercially proven On
scenarios considered).
proven investment costs,
the other costs,
investment hybrid
hand, hybrid concept,
functionconcept, operating
interceptoperating costs
increased costs and land-use
land-use
for 7.8-12.7%
and factor(depending
per decade
factor [4].
[4]. on the
coupled
In scenarios).
PTCs, direct The
solarvalues suggested
radiation is could
reflected be used
onto to modify
parabolic the
trough function
receivers parameters
(PTRs)
In PTCs, direct solar radiation is reflected onto parabolic trough receivers (PTRs) positioned along the focal line, for the
positioned scenarios
along considered,
the focal and
line,
improvethe
causing the non-uniform
accuracy of heat heatdemand estimations. (NUHF) on the absorber tube. As a result, temperature gradients and
flux distribution
causing the non-uniform heat flux distribution (NUHF) on the absorber tube. As a result, temperature gradients and
temperature peaks
temperature peaks in
in the
the absorber
absorber tube
tube emerge
emerge which
which bring
bring challenges
challenges to
to the
the efficiency
efficiency and
and reliability
reliability of
of PTRs.
PTRs. The
The
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and
** Corresponding
Corresponding author.
Cooling. author. Tel.:
Tel.: +86
+86 22
22 27890051;
27890051; fax:
fax: +86
+86 22
22 27404188.
27404188.
E-mail address:
E-mail address: jons@tju.edu.cn
jons@tju.edu.cn
Keywords: Heat demand; Forecast; Climate change
1876-6102 ©
1876-6102 © 2017
2017 The
The Authors.
Authors. Published
Published by
by Elsevier
Elsevier Ltd.
Ltd.
Peer-review
Peer-review under
under responsibility
responsibility of
of the
the scientific
scientific committee
committee of
of the
the 9th
9th International
International Conference
Conference on
on Applied
Applied Energy.
Energy.

1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
1876-6102 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 9th International Conference on Applied Energy.
10.1016/j.egypro.2017.12.115
 Zhi Wang et al. / Energy Procedia 142 (2017) 700–707 701
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 2

PTR is the key component of PTC plants and typically accounts for 30% of the material cost of the construction of a
solar field [5]. The failure of a single receiver could affect thousands of components in a large solar field, so operation
and maintenance costs will increase. The average annual PTR replacement rate was still 5.5% for SEGS III–VII during
the period 1997–2001 [6]. The SEGS results in 2010 showed annual PTR failures was still 3.37% of the total field
receivers [7]. Therefore, it is natural that the failure or degradation of PTRs is the single largest cost factor for present
current and future PTC plant [8]. Therefore, the PTR’s cost and reliability are crucial to guarantee that PTC plants
work reliably, efficiently and above all, economically.
The NUHF on the outer surface of the absorber tube is one of the primary causes of PTR failures: (1) The large
circumferential temperature gradient can result in the deflection of the absorber tube, which results in absorber tube's
deviation from the focus line of the reflector, increasing the optical loss [9]. The absorber tube can even touch the
glass cover as a result of the tube bending and rupture it [10,11]. Differential expansion between the absorber tube and
the glass cover is also the primary cause of seal failures, leading to a loss of vacuum [12]. (2) When the local
temperature of the absorber is too high, the selective coating tends to degrade and reduce the absorption of solar
radiation. Besides, hydrogen formation and permeation occur as a result of the thermal degradation of the oil [13] and
the gas adsorption capacity of getters can also be weakened [14], resulting in the reduction of vacuum.
Reducing temperature gradients and temperature peaks caused by NUHF can help to increase the life span of the
receiver and avoid the reduction of collector efficiency [15]. To study and solve the challenges induced by NUHF, a
lot of works have been done by researchers. This work presents a brief overview of researches on NUHF of PTRs,
including calculation of heat flux distribution, simulation of PTR and optimization methods, as shown in Fig. 1.
Deformation of Breakage of Degradation of Degradation of
absorber glass cover selective coating heat transfer fluid

Temperature gadients Temperature peaks

Challenges
Non-uniform heat flux
distribution of PTR
Research fields

Calculation of Boundary Simulation of Design Optimization

heat flux condition receivers guidance methods

Fig.1 Challenges and research fields of NUHF

2. Calculation of non-uniform heat flux distribution

NUHF serves as a key boundary condition of the flow of heat transfer fluid (HTF) in the absorber tube. Through
analyses of the resulting temperature distribution of the absorber tube, Eck et al. [16] concluded that there is no
significant difference between the Gaussian distribution and typical curve in terms of temperature distribution and
chose the Gaussian distribution in analysis. Rectangular distribution assumption [17,18] was also adopted by some
researchers in the analysis of the thermal behaviour of the absorber tube.
To establish a more realistic 3-D model, the accurate calculation of realistic NUHF of PTRs is necessary.
Realistic NUHF can be derived with analytical methods [19,20]. These methods commonly employ concise physical
concepts, but often involve complicated mathematical manipulations which are hard to handle [21]. The ray-tracing
method is an efficient numerical method to simulate the concentration process of sunrays, which can be divided into
Monte Carlo ray-tracing (MCRT) method and commercial software (mainly SolTrace for PTCs).
MCRT is a statistical method that simulates the concentration process with stochastic movement of sunrays.
Rays are generated randomly and traced as they undergo several optical interactions, including reflection by the
reflector, refraction by the glass cover and absorption by the absorber tube. As a result, distributions of rays that reach
the target surface are obtained. The accuracy of simulation results increases with the number of rays traced, but larger
ray numbers mean more processing time. This method is flexible and rigorous to simulate the concentration process
of CSP systems and codes can be developed by researchers themselves. Its advantages include simple theoretical
model, convenient operating process and easy programming [22,23]. SolTrace is developed by the National
702 Zhi Wang et al. / Energy Procedia 142 (2017) 700–707
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 3

Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) with MCRT methodology [24]. It implements a GUI and allows users to
graphically design optical geometries through logical steps. Results can be displayed and saved as scatter plots, flux
maps, and performance graphs [25]. One of its advantages is that it can model very complex optical systems
conveniently. However, the inner workings of the software are unknown to the user, so it is difficult to identify causes
of discrepancies between experimental and simulated results [26]. Kutscher et al. [7] thought that SolTrace should be
improved to increase its speed and improve its user interface.
In calculation of heat flux distributions, ray-tracing methods is able to take into account a good number of relative
realistic circumstances, such as sun shape, the incidence angle, optical properties and various optical errors, etc. For
example, the MCRT method can be used to simulate collector tracking errors [27], absorber misalignment errors [28]
and reflector slope errors [29]. Mwesigye et al. [30] adopted SolTrace to calculate heat flux distribution and intercept
factor for slope errors and specularity errors. Afterwards, their influences on the thermal and thermodynamic
performance of a PTC was investigated.

3. Numerical simulation of PTR with non-uniform heat flux distribution

The characteristics of HTF flow within receivers and the temperature distribution of PTRs are required to identify
the causation of PTR failure and are the prerequisite to design and optimize the structure of PTRs. Three-dimensional
computational fluid dynamics simulation is an effective way to study the thermal behaviour of PTRs under NUHF.
The temperature distribution of PTRs with UNHF has been numerically studied by a lot of researchers and many
factors have been investigated: (1) Optical geometry of PTC: He et al. [31] combined MCRT and Finite Volume
Method to simulate heat transfer in the absorber tube and obtained its temperature distribution. The effects of
geometric concentration ratios and rim angles on NUHF were examined. (2) HTF properties: Cheng et al. [32] studied
the flow and heat transfer of some typical HTF types under UNHF and concluded that properties of HTF affect the
temperature distributions in the receiver, thus affect the thermal loss and the collector efficiency. (2) Operating
conditions: Wang et al. [33] studied the temperature distribution of the receiver using molten salt as HTF. They found
that the circumferential temperature difference (CTD) of the absorber increases with decreasing HTF inlet velocity or
temperature and increasing direct normal irradiance (DNI). However, the simulation results of supercritical CO 2 (s-
CO2) by Qiu et al. [34] indicated that CTD of the absorber tube increases with decreasing increasing inlet temperature
of HTF. Their different conclusions may be due to the different HTFs they adopted. (4) Joint of PTR: Wu et al. [35]
numerically studied the temperature distribution of a whole PTR including the joint of metal tube-to-bellow and
bellows. They found that the temperature of the joint is very high, which offers a reference for PTR's failure
The more detailed characteristic of the flow and heat transfer of HTF under NUHF is also researched. One of the
most distinguishing feature of NUHF is that it can induce natural convection in the absorber tube, causing vortices
occur in the cross section. The temperature of tube wall is higher on the face exposed to the reflector while the other
side is subjected to direct sunlight. Hot HTF in contact with this surface starts an upward movement toward the top
colder surface. In contact with the wall, it cools and drops down. As a result, symmetrical vortex structures are
observed [36]. Huang et al. [37] studied the mixed turbulent flow in receiver tube heated by NUHF and found that the
magnitude of secondary flow velocity increases with the increase of Gr and decreases with the increase of Re. The Nu
number of mixed convection is increased under NUHF due to secondary flow but the friction factor is also increased.
Besides, the intensity of secondary flow is also related to the variation of properties with temperature. The more
sharply properties vary with temperature, the bigger velocity of secondary flow is [34].
In practice, the flow of HTF in the absorber tube is turbulent flow. However, the flow rate of HTF may be auto-
adjusted to keep the outlet parameters stable due to the instability of solar radiation, which means the laminar flow is
worth investigation. Li et al. [38] numerically studied the flow and heat transfer for forced and mixed laminar
convection in absorber tube heated by UHF and NUHF respectively. Their findings revealed the effect of natural
convection induced by NUHF. They found that the value of f*Re and Nu is independent of heat flux distribution, such
as its position and shape, in the absence of natural convection. For the mixed convection, the conclusion is just the
contrary. That is, the value of f*Re is larger than 64, increasing with Gr, and both of the position and shape of heat
flux distribution have a great effect on Nu at the same Gr and Re, larger than 4.36. Okafor et al. [39] studied the effect
of NUHF intensity and profile, namely circumferential angle span, on convection heat transfer and friction factors in
the laminar flow regime considering buoyancy-driven secondary flow. They concluded that the wall temperature
 Zhi Wang et al. / Energy Procedia 142 (2017) 700–707 703
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 4

increases with increasing heat flux span. However, it seems that the overall heat flux increases with the circumferential
angle span in this study, so this conclusion may be debatable. Without secondary flow, average internal heat transfer
coefficient is independent of flux intensity and profile. The friction factor decreases with increasing Re or increasing
HTF inlet temperature. With buoyancy effect, the friction factor is higher.
The summary of these works is shown in Table 1. Given that the development direction of PTC is higher
operation temperature to increase efficiency, more studies on the flow of molten salt or gas as HTF in PTRs are needed.
Considering various influence factors involved, future works should be directed towards the raise of non-dimension
parameters taking account of heat flux condition, PTC geometry, HTF properties, etc. for scaling models of PTCs.
NUHF does not necessarily mean lower collector efficiency. Wang et al. [40] calculated and compared the
thermal efficiency under UHF and NUHF when HTF is Dowtherm A and solar salt respectively. They concluded that
NUHF has a little influence on the thermal efficiency of PTCs. Chang et al. [41] used film electric heater to heat the
underside of a stainless steel tube with water as HTF. They found that the Dittus-Boelter correlation is still applicable
to calculate the overall heat transfer in the absorber tube under NUHF. In fact, the thermal resistance between HTF
and the absorber tube is negligible compared to the thermal resistance of vacuum envelope. Thus the uncertainty in
evaluating the convection heat transfer coefficient under NUHF has only a minor effect on the heat loss and thus
collector efficiency [42].
Above all, NUHF doesn't reduce overall heat transfer between HTF and the absorber tube. On the contrary, the
heat transfer coefficient under NUHF can be even higher than under UHF. The challenge of NUHF is that the relative
uniform convection heat transfer within the absorber tube cannot match the non-uniform heat flux distribution outside
the tube wall. As a result, non-uniform temperature distribution of the tube occurs [43]. Therefore, the decrease of
heat flux non-uniformity or enhancement of heat transfer where local heat flux is high is needed.
Table 1. Numerical studies of fluid flow and heat transfer of receivers under NUHF
Turbulence NUHF
Author PTC type HTF type Remarks/Findings
model calculation
Syltherm 800,  HTF properties affect fluid flow and heat transfer, thus
Cheng (2012) [32] LS2 STD k-ε MCRT
etc affect thermal loss and collector efficiency.
 CTD of the absorber increases with decreasing HTF
inlet velocity or temperature and increasing DNI.
Wang (2015) [33] LS3 Dowtherm A k-ω SolTrace  If the ends are permitted expansions in the axial
direction, the effective stress of the absorber tube is
reduced
 CTD of the absorber increases with decreasing HTF
inlet velocity or increasing HTF inlet temperature.
Qiu (2017) [34] LS3 s-CO2 STD k-ε MCRT
 The intensity of secondary flow is related to the
variation of properties with temperature.
 The temperature of the joint of metal tube-to-bellow
and bellows is very high.
Wu (2014) [35] LS3 Therminol 55 STD k-ε MCRT
 It is very dangerous to expose the empty receivers to
the concentrated solar radiation.
 Increasing the metallic thickness of the absorber tube
Ghomrassi (2015) improves the PTC thermal performance.
[36] self-defined Syltherm 800 RNG k-ε SolTrace
 The increase in absorber tube diameter causes a rise in
the HTF outlet temperature.
 There are significant differences in velocity and
temperature distribution between UHF and NUHF.
Huang (2015) Superheated  The fluid flow and heat transfer of mixed flow can’t
LS2 SST k-ω MCRT
[37] steam be uniquely determined by Ri.
 The solar elevation angle has a strong influence on the
mixed turbulent convection.
Li (2016) [38] LS2 Superheated laminar MCRT  The intensity of the secondary flow increases and the
704 Zhi Wang et al. / Energy Procedia 142 (2017) 700–707
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 5

steam flow vortex core moves upward as Gr increases.

 Tube wall temperature distribution becomes more
uniform with increasing solar elevation angle.
 The value of f*Re and Nu is independent of heat flux
distribution in the absence of natural convection.
 Average heat transfer coefficient increases with the
heat flux intensity, shape or HTF inlet temperature.
Okafor (2017) laminar Sinusoidal  Without secondary flow, average heat transfer
self defined Liquid water
[39] flow distribution coefficient is independent of flux intensity and profile.
 The friction factor decreases with increasing Re or
increasing HTF inlet temperature.
Wang (2014) [40] LS3 Molten salt k-ω SolTrace  NUHF has a little influence on the collector efficiency.

4. Solutions to non-uniform heat flux distribution of PTRs

To reduce temperature gradients and temperature peaks of the absorber tube, many solutions have been put
forward, which can be divided into two categories [43]. The first one is to decrease the non-uniformity of concentrated
solar heat flux. The second one is to improve the heat transfer of the tube wall or enhance convective heat transfer of
HTF. Meanwhile, the overall collector performance can be increased by heat transfer enhancement. Liu et al. [44]
applied the minimum CTD of the absorber tube as the optimization objective to establish optimization flow equation
of HTF and solved it with FLUENT. They found that the optimal flow field of HTF is featured by longitudinal vortexes
in the cross section and the flow with much more vortexes would further reduce the CTD. Their findings provide a
theoretical guidance for the structural optimization of PTRs. More efforts are needed for such theoretical studies to
avoid repeated works. The summary of optimization methods is given in Table 2.
Table 2. Summary of solutions to non-uniform heat flux distribution of PTRs
Methods Principle Drawback Examples
 Secondary reflector [45]
Concentration Create relatively uniform heat flux
 Technology challenge  Reflector profile modification [46, 47]
process distribution by optical geometory
 Manufacture cost  Tube shape modification [48, 49]
optimization modification of PTC
 glass cover shape modification [50]
(a) inserts
 twisted [51-53] or perforated [54] tape
 porous discs [55, 56]
Improve heat transfer by increasing
 Increase in pressure drop  multiple-fin array [57]
Turbulators the contact area and creating
 Manufacture cost (b) inner surface modification
turbulence of HTF
 helical [11] or pin fin [58]
 dimples [59]
 converging-diverging surface [60]
 Compound copper-steel wall [61]
Improve heat transfer or thermal stress
Tube wall  Material improvement [62]
resistance by material or structure  Material cost
optimization  Tube size optimization [63]
optimization of tube wall
 Eccentric tube [64]
 Higher production cost  CuO/water [65]
Improve heat transfer by increased
 Increase in pressure drop due to  Al2O3/synthetic oil [66, 67]
Nanofluids thermal conductivity and decreased
higher viscosity  Cu/Therminol VP-1 [68]
thermal boundary layer thickness
 Instability and agglomeration  Nanofluids with insert [69, 70]

Because of extremely various methods proposed and adopted to optimize the temperature distribution and
thermal stress of the absorber, it is a grand work to review all kind of these methods thoroughly. Fortunately, there
exist a few literature reviews on heat transfer enhancement methods of PTC, as shown in Table 3. It can be seen that
 Zhi Wang et al. / Energy Procedia 142 (2017) 700–707 705
Author name / Energy Procedia 00 (2017) 000–000 6

reviews on nanofluids are the most and a comprehensive review of optimization methods is still needed. Heat transfer
enhancement methods proposed and studied by most papers are just limited to a given condition. In other words, there
are no set standards available for comparison and selection of these modifications. Though various methods have been
proposed, it seems that there has not been commercial application. The future researches must be directed towards
economic studies for justification of these methods
Table 3. Summary of literature reviews on heat transfer enhancement methods of PTC
Author Enhancement Methods Main remarks
 In this study the dimple and wall detached twisted tape turbulaors have high heat
transfer performance when compared to other turbulators.
 Turbulators inside the absorber tube
Kumaresan  There are many numerical studies but there is a need for experimental study and
 Nanofluids
(2017) [71] selecting appropriate heat transfer augmentation technique of turbulators.
 Selective coatings
 CuO/water and Cu/therminol VP-1 nanofluids have better heat transfer
enhancement than other nanofluids.
 The effect of nonofluid agglomeration can be suppressed by inserts. Further rise
 Use of evacuated receivers
Sandeep can be achieved using nanofluids with inserts.
 Nanofluids
(2017) [72]  Research carried out till date are focused more on aqueous based than oil based
 Inserts in absorber tube
nanofluids. Hence, further research on oil based nanofluids is essential.
 The experimental and analytical researches of nanofluids are in disagreement in
 Geometrical modifications
terms of performance dependence on particle size, volume fraction and pH value,
Suman (2015) (artificially roughened absorber tubes)
so there is no universally accepted model for predicting nanofluids' behaviour.
[73]  Solar selective coating
 There are no set standards available for exact determination of types of
 Nanofluids
modifications, which will result in better performance for a given condition.
 More efforts are needed to study the reliability of nanofluids in solar collectors
from both environmental and economical point of view.
Hussein  The future researches must be directed towards inventing non-toxic and low cost
Nanofluids
(2016) [74] nanoparticles to further reduce the cost of nanofluid based solar collector.
 More researches are needed to study the effect of nanoparticles sedimentation on
the performance of solar collectors.

5. Conclusion

Calculation methods of non-uniform heat flux distribution, simulations of fluid flow and heat transfer in PTRs
and optimization methods have been reviewed and outcome of the study is summarized below:
1. The ray-tracing methods including MCRT method and commercial software are efficient to simulate the
concentration process of sunrays of PTCs.
2. NUHF can increase overall convective heat transfer in the absorber tube. The challenge of NUHF is that
relative uniform convection heat transfer within the tube cannot match NUHF outside the absorber tube. As for
simulation works, the future researches should be directed towards the raise of non-dimension parameters for scaling
models of PTCs. Given that the development direction of PTC is higher operation temperature to increase efficiency,
more studies on the flow of molten salt or gas as HTF in PTR are needed.
3. As for heat transfer enhancement methods, there are no set standards available for comparison and selection
of these methods. More efforts are needed for theoretical studies to avoid repeated works and for economic studies to
justify these optimization methods.

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