Energy engineering and software tools

Solar concentrator and sizing tool

Sizing of a parabolic trough solar concentrator for direct steam generation, with an interface built in MATLAB App Designer.

Objective

The project

An academic project on sizing a parabolic trough solar concentrator for direct steam generation. The project report was produced collaboratively; the visuals come from the material shared on LinkedIn.

Project visuals

Renders and documents

MATLAB App Designer interface with optical and geometric parameters for a solar concentrator — Figure 1. Interface of the sizing tool developed in MATLAB App Designer.

Cover of the report on sizing a parabolic trough solar field — Figure 2. Cover of the collaborative academic report on the solar field.

Approach

Work covered

A summary of the work described in my CV and LinkedIn profile.

Review of the thermal phenomena involved in a solar concentrator.
Definition of simplifying assumptions and a sizing approach.
Implementation of the calculation relationships in MATLAB.
Development of an App Designer interface to guide parameter input and sizing.