This document describes the design and fabrication of a solar concentrator by a group of students. It aims to construct a parabolic trough solar concentrator to produce heat energy from sunlight. The document discusses the methodology, including types of solar concentrators and selection of a parabolic trough. It details the design, fabrication, working and testing of the parabolic trough concentrator. The tests showed temperature increases when using the concentrator compared to no concentrator, validating its functioning. The conclusion states that the concentrator fulfills practical application criteria and can enable easier installation of energy production.

1. DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
DESIGN AND FABRRICATION OF SOLAR
CONCENTRATOR
by
KALEESWARAN.M (710313114020)
KAVINPRASATH.K.S (710313114025)
KAVINPRASATH.S (710313114026)
KIRAN KUMAR.D (710313114028)
Under the Guidance of
Mr.P.Manoj Kumar AP/MECH

2. ABSTRACT
• The use of concentrators in the forms of solar
energy collectors in order to concentrate sunrays
for better usage is increasing worldwide.
• Different types of solar concentrators have being
developed over the years for various applications.
• In this project we are focusing on parabolic
trough collector and its application and also
calculating the heat transfer efficiency.

3. INTRODUCTION
o The sun is the most plentiful energy source for the
earth. All wind, fossil fuel, hydro and biomass
energy have their origins in sunlight.
o Solar energy falls on the surface of the earth at a
rate of 120 petawatts, (1 petawatt = 1015 watt).
o This means all the solar energy received from the
sun in one day can satisfy the whole world’s
demand for more than 20 years.

4. LITERATURE SURVEY
[1]A. Borah, S.M. Khayer and L.N. Sethi “flat
plate collector and its mechanism”
[2]Hank Price et al “solar techology”
[3]R. McConnell, M. Symko-Davies, and H.
Hayden., “solar characteristic”
[4]Soteris A. Kalogirou., “solar concentrators and
its application”

5. THE POTENTIAL FOR RENEWABLE ENERY SOURCES
SOURCE:WORLD WATCH INSTITUTE

6. OBJECTIVE
 The objective of our project is to construct a solar
concentrator which serves as an energy utilizer for
various applications.
 To design a parabolic trough to produce heat
energy by capturing naturally available sunlight.
 The process output via depending upon light
energy from the sun.

7. METHODOLOGY
SOLAR CONCENTRTORS:
Solar concentrator is a device which concentrates the
solar energy incident over a large surface onto a
smaller surface.
The concentration is achieved by the use of suitable
reflecting or refracting elements.

8. TYPES OF SOLAR
CONCENTRATORS
STATIONARY COLLECTORS:
Flat Plate Collector (FPC)
Compound Parabolic Collectors (CPC)
Evacuated Tube Collectors
 SUN TRACKING CONCENTRATING
COLLECTORS:
• Linear Fresenal Reflector (LFR)
• Parabolic Dish Reflector (PDR)
• Parabolic trough

9. SELECTION OF SUITABLE
CONCENTRATOR
PARABOLIC TROUGH:
Reasons:
• It delivers high temperature.
• Better efficiency compared to other concentrators.
• High performance with low cost.

10. DESIGN AND CALCULATION
o After discussing we planned to design a
parabolic trough.

11. FABRICATION
 Components of parabolic trough.
 Reflector (sheet metal)
 Receiver (copper pipe)
 Water collecting tank.
 Connecting tubes.
 PTCs are made by bending a sheet of reflective
material into a parabolic shape. A metal black tube,
covered with a glass tube to reduce heat losses, is
placed along the focal line of the receiver. When the
parabola is pointed towards the sun, parallel rays
incident on the reflector are reflected onto the
receiver tube.

12. BLOCK DIAGRAM

13. WORKING
• A parabolic trough is a type of solar thermal
collector that is straight in one dimension and
curved in the other dimension and with a polished
metal mirror. The energy of sunlight which enters
the mirror parallel to its plane of symmetry is
focused along the focal lines, where the objects
are positioned that are intended to be heated.

14. First test is that the copper pipe was filled with
water and kept undisturbed in the sunlight for about
half an hour.
After the respective time was over the temperature
of the water was noted as 45°C.
Then the second test was followed by the next half
an hour. In this testing the required arrangement of a
solar concentrator was setup.
The temperature was noted using the thermometer
and was found to be above 70°C. The difference in
the results prescribe the working of our solar
concentrator.

15. CONCULSION
In this project, the Solar Concentrator has fulfilled
the criteria for practical applications.
Being technically feasible, eco-friendly, customer
oriented, locally available, saving fossil fuels and
providing more employment opportunities.
By this project, the energy producing technology
can be changed and it became very easier to
install the energy producing method for a long
period of time.

16. REFERENCE
• A. Borah, S.M. Khayer and L.N. Sethi., “Development Of A Compound
Parabolic Solar Concentrator To Increase Solar Intensity And Duration Of
Effective Temperature”, International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science
Technology, ISSN 2249-3050, Volume 4, Number 3 , pp. 161-168, 2013.
• Charles Kutscher, Frank Burkholder, Kathleen Stynes., “Generation Of A
Parabolic Trough Collector Efficiency Curve From Separate Measurements Of
Outdoor Optical Efficiency And Indoor Receiver Heat Loss”, October 2010.
• R. Forristall., “Heat Transfer Analysis And Modelling Of A Parabolic Trough
Solar Receiver Implemented In Engineering Equation Solver”, October 2003.