Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Dascomb, John
Author's Email Address	jpd03c@fsu.edu
URN	etd-04142009-100533
Title	Low-Cost Concentrating Solar Collector for Steam Generation
Degree	Master of Science
Department	Mechanical Engineering, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Anjaneyulu Krothapalli Committee Chair Brenton Greska Committee Member Juan Carlos Ordóñez Committee Member William S. Oates Committee Member
Keywords	Solar Thermal Collector Aborber Tilt Angle Receiver Cavity Optimization
Date of Defense	2009-03-26
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a unique renewable energy technology. CSP systems have the ability to provide electricity, refrigeration and water purification in one unit. This technology will be extremely helpful in improving the quality of life for many people around the world who lack the energy needed to live a healthy life. An economic parabolic dish concentrating system was built at the Sustainable Energy Science and Engineering Center (SESEC) at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. The goal of the project was to provide 6.67 kW of thermal energy. This is the amount of energy required to produce 1 kW of electricity with a conventional micro steam turbine. The system had a price goal of $1000 per kW and must be simple enough to be maintained by non-technical personnel. A 14 m^2 fiberglass parabolic concentrator was made at SESEC to ensure simplicity of production and operation. The concentrator was coated with a highly reflective polymer film. The cavity type receiver was filled with sodium nitrate to act as a heat storage and transfer medium. The collection efficiency of the cavity was estimated at 70%. The gross thermal conversion efficiency of the system was 39%, which represented a 333% improvement over the first concentrator assembled at SESEC. At peak insolation 5.46 kW of thermal energy was produced. The material cost for the system was $3,052.
Files	Filename       Size       Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)     28.8 Modem   56K Modem   ISDN (64 Kb)   ISDN (128 Kb)   Higher-speed Access    DascombJThesis.pdf 6.09 Mb 00:28:12 00:14:30 00:12:41 00:06:20 00:00:32