INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH

L. Akana et al., Vol.11, No.3, September, 2021

Thermal Analysis of Parabolic Trough Solar

Collector and
Assessment of Steam Power Potential at Two
Locations in Cameroon
L. Akana Nguimdo*‡ , Josiane Teka** , Frank D. Fopossie**

* Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Buea, PO Box
63 Buea, Cameroon

** Environmental Energy Technologies Laboratory (EETL), Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaoundé 1, PO Box 812
Yaoundé, Cameroon

‡ Corresponding author; email: languimdo@yahoo.fr

Received: 20.04.2021 Accepted:15.06.2021

Abstract- Over the past two decades, Cameroon has devoted enormous financial resources to the construction of thermal
power plants operating on Heavy Fuel Oil. Despite these efforts, it has been noted that the production of electricity from fossil
sources has not been up to the expectations of the population. In this context, it becomes a necessity to explore other sources of
energy production most precisely renewable sources. This paper is concerned with the assessment of the steam production
potential from solar sources in the stations of Maroua and Yaoundé using Parabolic Trough Collectors. Two production modes
are considered in this study: The direct mode using water and the indirect mode with TherminolVP1 as heat transfer fluid. The
system is modeled based on the study of the energy balance between the receiver and the calorific fluids in order to assess the
impact of the irradiance on the calorific fluid outlet temperature at hourly time scale over the day. The assessment of the
collector characteristics shows an optical efficiency varying between 0.73 and 0.75 while the overall heat loss coefficient
extends over wide ranges depending on the environmental conditions and generation mode. It was shown that the temperature
of the steam increases with the number of collectors. For an association of 8 collectors, the average daily production time of
pressurized steam at 40bars is 8 hours with a maximum temperature of 600 °C in direct mode and 490 °C in indirect mode for
the month of February in Maroua. The maximum thermal efficiency for the same month is 72.7% in direct generation and
60.7% in indirect generation. These results confirm the real steam potential for electricity generation for complementing
existing heavy fuel oil stations with solar sources for better supply. However, further investigations about the energy demand
and the supply are necessary for appropriate sizing of the solar generator.

Keywords- Parabolic Trough Collector; Steam Potential; Heat Exchange; Generation Mode; Calorific Fluid.

Nomenclature

Latin Symbols Tfo Outlet temperature of the fluid (°C)

2
Aa Aperture area (m ) Tr Temperature of the absorber (°C)
Ag Glass area (m2 ) UL Overall heat loss coefficient (W/m−2 /K)
Ar Area of the receiver (m2 ) v̇ Volumic flow rate (m3 /𝑠)
Cpf Heat capacity of the fluid in the receiver Greek Symbols
Cpf2 Heat(Jcapacity
/ kg K) of the water in the second loop αr Absorption coefficient of the absorber tube
(J / kg K)
Dg,e External diameter of the glass (m) εg Emissivity of glass
Dg,i Internal diameter of the glass (m) εr Emissivity of absorber
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL of RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH
L. Akana et al., Vol.11, No.3, September, 2021

e Heat exchanger efficiency (%) θi Incident angle

f Focal distance of the collector 𝜆 Thermal conductivity (W/m.K)
Fr Heat dissipation factor along the tube σ Stephan Boltzmann constant (W/m2K4)
hr,g−amb Radiative heat exchange coefficient between ζs Geometric intercept factor of the collector
the glass and the ambient (W/m−2 /K)
hc,g−amb Convective heat exchange coefficient between ηopt Optical efficiency of the concentrator (%)
the glass and the ambient (W/m−2 /K)
hr,r−g Radiative heat exchange coefficient between the ρ Reflectance of the mirror
absorber and the glass (W/m−2 /K)
Ib Incident−2direct solar irradiance (Wm−2) ρf Specific mass of heat transfer fluid (Kg/m3 )
(W/m /K)
L Collector length τg Transmission coefficient of the glass
K Incident angle modifier factor
ṁ Mass flow rate (Kg / s) Subscripts
ṁf2 Mass flow rate of water in the exchanger (Kg / s) amb Ambient
Qab (°C (Kg
Heat / s) by the absorber (W)
received c Convective
qr−g Heat exchanged between the receiver and glass e External
cover (W)
Qf (x) Heat received by the fluid at abscissa x (W) g Glass
QLoss Heat lost (W) i Inlet
Qu Usefull heat (W) o Outlet
qr−amb Heat exchanged between the glass and the r Absorber /Radiative
ambient air (W)
R𝑒 Reynolds number Abbreviations
Tamb Ambient temperature (°C) ETP Emergency Thermal Program
Tfi Inlet temperature of the fluid (°C) PTCs Parabolical Trough collectors
Tg Temperature of the glass Cover (°C) PVGIS Photovoltaic Geographical Information
1. Introduction System

The global increase in the demand for energy caused by energy gap by building thermal power stations connected to
industrialisation and development has made the need for the national electricity grid and operating on Heavy Fuel Oil.
energy a priority at planetary scale. In 2018, this increase The Emergency Thermal Program (ETP) unfortunately
amounted to 2.3% in conventional fossil energy and 4% in seems insufficient as the country continues to experience
electrical energy for an overall demand of 23000 TWh [1]. crises in the electricity sector characterized by poor quality
This situation has motivated progress in the development of supply and untimely power outage. Indeed, the cost per kWh
new generation modes of so-called clean energy because they is very high in these power plants due to the increase in the
are environmentally friendly and has forced many countries price of fuel as well as the financial impact of maintenance.
around the world to search for fossil energy sources as well. As a result, these plants do not provide a viable solution
A situation that has been the origin of most of the conflicts in though the existing ones are still functional. This is what
the world over the past decades. In fact, global primary caused the termination of ETP two years after it was
energy consumption remains dominated by fossil fuels, i.e. launched.
81.3% in 2019 [1], with an increase on environmental
consequences. In this light, it will be important to point out To handle this situation, the production of electricity
the rising cost of electric energy due to the increase in the from renewable sources and primarily solar energy is an
prices of fossil and fissile resources, the reduction in fossil alternative that can meet a significant part of the country's
fuels potentials at global scale, their contribution to pollution electricity demand given its abundance [2]. Cameroon's solar
and climate change whose adverse impact has become tragic potential varies from one region to another, ranging from
to the populations around the world. about 4 kWh / m2 / Day in its southern part to about
In spite of these limitations, Cameroon in its plan to 5.74 kWh / m2 / Day in the northern region [3].
emerge by 2035 has set up programs aimed at filling its
This solar energy could be used for electricity generation in technologies that can be used in steam power plants [8].
different ways, with the most promising being photovoltaic These include; Solar towers, parabolic collectors, Fresnel
and concentrated solar thermal [4] [5] [6]Solar concentrating mirrors and parabolic trough collectors (PTCs). Nowadays,
technologies use direct sunlight and support a good tilt to the most proven method for steam production is PTCs
collect the maximum amount of energy [7]. Concentrated because this technology is easy to implement compared to
solar thermal energy mainly consists of 4 different tower plant and parabolic concentrator and it is more

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profitable than Fresnel mirrors [9] [10]. Steam production attempt to the characterization of this potential and represents
with PTCs can be done in two modes, each having its own a step toward complementing existing Heavy Oil Thermal
particularity and technical constraints. The direct mode [10] stations in Cameroon to enhance the power supply of the
uses water as heat transfer fluid in the absorber tubes to country. Besides the study of optical and thermal
generate steam, while the indirect mode [11] uses thermal performances of parabolic trough collectors, this work
oils as heat transfer fluid and water as working fluid, both focuses on the assessment of the steam production potential
fluids being connected by a heat exchanger. Nowadays, the in Cameroon using solar sources as alternative to save fuel
advancement of this technology has led to innovative steam and boost the efficiency of existing power plants, while
generation systems using nanofluids as calorific fluid [12] reducing the environmental impact of the plant operation.
and combining thermal energy storage systems to enhance Two production methods are taken into account according to
the thermal efficiency [13]. the calorific fluid, including water for the direct generation
For the above reasons, many countries have opted for and Therminol vp-1 and water for the indirect generation.
PTCs as electricity generation technology. This is for The study also applies to two stations; Maroua (10.59° N,
instance the case of Morocco with its NOOR program which 14.31° E, 423 m) located in the Sahelian (semi-arid) region
includes the Ouarzazate parabolic plant with an installed of Cameroon where the solar potential is the highest and
capacity of 200MW [14]. Also, researchers have been Yaoundé (3°52 N, 11°31 E, 726 m) in the tropical humid
interested in the geometrical and thermal analysis of PTC in area. The iraradiance data used for each station correspond to
view to further its efficiency in steam production. Ghodbane five-year averages (2012-2016) for the sunniest and the least
[15] using the direct steam production mode for converting sunny months respectively in both localities.
solar energy into thermal energy in Algeria obtained a The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Section 2
thermal efficiency exceeding 60%. However, this study gives the details on PTCs, calorific fluids and discusses the
which is limited to solar data for a period of four days could optical and thermal analysis of PTCs. Section 3 presents the
not provide objective information on the real potential of the daily profiles of output temperature of water along with the
region. Boukkelia [16] dealing with the optimization of the steam power generated and discusses their significance while
performance of a parabolic collector system using thermal oil section four summarizes the work.
and operating in indirect generation mode obtained an output
power of 50MW with a maximum conversion efficiency of 2. Materials and method
69%. The work uses solar data corresponding to period of
two months and shows important advances in terms of 2.1. Details on PTCs
optical and thermal performances of PTCs as it takes into
consideration energy losses and non-uniform distribution of The parabolic collector consists of a reflector in the form
solar flux on the receiver. In the same context of of a parabolic cylinder which concentrates the radiation on a
optimization, Martin and Mariano [17] used a mathematical linear receiver placed in its focal plane [21]. The receiver is
programming technique to optimize the operation of a made up of an absorber protected by a glass envelope. The
concentrated solar plant working on regenerative Rankine reflector and absorber assembly is mounted on a metal frame
cycle in the south of Europe. Ghodbane et al. [18] conducted placed on the ground [22]. The main tracking system used is
under real weather data an investigation of a solar power one axis with rotation in the axis of the receiver. The
plant of PTCs. The study which assessed numericaly the geometric parameters of the system (focal distance,
geometric and optical characteristics of a solar collector inclination of the receiver, the opening angle of the
showed optical efficiency exceeding 77.22 % and localized concentrator) influence its operation, in particular at the level
the maximum local concentration ratio in the lower part of of the energy exchange between the concentrator and the
the receiver tube. Behar et al. [19] carried out the validation absorber [23]. The cylindro-parabolic reflector is made up of
of a novel parabolic trough solar collector model by a reflective material mounted on a frame which can be a
comparing experimental data with results of previous studies metal, composite material or glass. Depending on its nature
and obtained improvements in the accuracy of thermal (thick or thin), the reflector can be placed directly on a frame
performance prediction. However, knowledge of the power or curved to adapt to the frame. The metal structure of the
generation potential of a typical area using such optimized reflector must be strong enough to withstand the significant
concentrating systems is of great importance [20]. In fact, mechanical stress associated with the wind. A good quality
although thermal performance of a parabolic trough solar reflector can reflect up to 97% of incident radiation [24].
power plant is critical to the global performance of the The absorber is the main component of the parabolic
system, information on energy potential of a given region trough. It generally represents 30% of the cost of
ultimately goverm the decision for technical implementation construction [25]. In order to limit losses by convective and
of CSP plants. radiative exchange with the surrounding, a glass casing
covers the absorber. Creating a vacuum in the annular space
It is evident from the literature that most of the research
limits heat losses between the absorber tube and the casing
work on design, performance assessment and optimization of
glass. These losses can also be limited by reducing the
PTC solar power plants in Africa is carried out in the
infrared emissivity of the absorber tube (copper or
Northern part of the continent which possess very large
aluminum) using so-called selective surfaces [26].
exposed areas. However, equatorial Africa also exhibits high
Nowadays, manufacturers employ coatings using chromium,
enough solar potential that should be harnessed in order to
nickel or titanium oxides. Table 1. presents the details of
overcome its energy gap. The study presented here is an

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optical and geometric characteristics of LS2 parabolic trough

collector used in this work.

Table 1. Optical and geometrical characteristics of LS2 PTC [27]

Optical parameters Values Geometric Parameters Values

Intercept factor 0.89 Length of the collector (m) 5
Incident angle modifier factor 0.99 Width of the collector (m) 47
Concentrator reflectance 0.94 Internal diameter of the absorber (mm) 66
Glass cover transmittance 0.95 External diameter of the absorber (mm) 70
Absorber absorptivity 0.94 Internal diameters of the glass (mm) 109
External diameters of the glass (mm) 115
Thermophysical properties of Therminol VP1 as function of temperature(*) [28]
Property Formula
Density −0.90797 T + 0.00078116 T2 − 2.367 × 10−6 T3 + 1083.25

Heat capacity 0.002414 T + 5.9591 × 10−6 T2 − 2.9879 × 10−8 T3 + 4.4172 × 10−11 T4

Thermal conductivity + 1.92257

−8.19477 10−5 T − 1.498 × 10−7 T2 + 2.5034 × 10−11 T3 − 7.2974 × 10−15 T4
+ 0.137743
(*)
Similar properties for water are directly obtained from thermodynamic tables.

generator [30] [31]. The condenser in the water loop reduces

2.2. Calorific fluids and description of the model the temperature of the working fluid while assuring its total
phase change in order to maximize heat collection at the
The choice of working fluid is of utmost importance level of the heat exchanger.
when designing a concentrating solar power plant. Indeed, Figure 1.a shows the direct production system where
this fluid determines the range of the operating temperature steam is directly generated in the absorber tubes of the solar
as well as the working pressure. In addition, it guides collector . Only one pump is used to circulate water in this
technical aspects such as the integration of thermal storage, case since the steam goes directly to the turbine after the
the use of an exchanger as well as the generation mode. solar collector. The use of water as heat transfer fluid allows
Commercial power plants with indirect steam generation for higher temperatures of about 600 °C with high pressures
have two fluid cycles, including the calorific fluid which is a [27], which induces high efficiencies. The absence of heat
thermal oil and the working fluid which is water. Thermal exchanger allows for higher conversion efficiency and a
oils are fluids that allow temperatures of around 400 °C at reduction of almost 10% in the production cost of electricity
the outlet of the solar generator. They guarantee stable [28]. However, the absence of an intermediate heat transfer
operation of the system due to their thermophysical fluid can affect the system stability and performance as the
properties and low operating pressures [29]. For these system has to cope with the intermittent nature of incident
reasons, Therminol vp 1 is used in this study. Figure 1.a give solar energy. In addition, rapid fluctuations in heat input can
the details of the indirect steam generation system used in result in incomplete vaporization of the water and thus
this work. Pump 1 takes care of the circulation of the thermal damage the turbine. Another technological challenge is the
oil while pump 2 maintains the pressure in the water loop. construction of a receiver that can withstand the high
The flow in the two loops is at constant mass rate in pressures and temperatures relevant for a Rankine cycle [32].
accordance with the security conditions provided by the
constructors. The thermal connection between the two loops
is made through a heat exchanger which serves as steam

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a (a) (b)

Fig 1. Direct (a) and (b) indirect steam generation systems

year chosen in this work. This peak is globally followed by a

2.3. Solar data decrease until sunset.

The solar irradiance data used in this work is obtained from

Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS)
[33]. PVGIS is the official website of the European Union
which provides access to solar irradiance data, ambient
temperature and tools for assessing the performance of
photovoltaic systems. Satellite data used for solar irradiance
estimates are provided by METEOSAT satellites covering
Europe, Africa and most of Asia. The site produces for a
given station one image at hourly time scale from January to
December, which allows generating averages at desired time
scale. The resolution of satellite images is higher just below
the satellite (nadir) and decreases as we move towards the
edge of the image. In Cameroon, the northern region has the
highest solar potential [2]. This is the reason for the choice
of Maroua site which is one of the three stations with the
highest solar potential in the country with an annual average
of 2080.5 kWh / m2 / year. Yaoundé station located in the Fig 2. Daily profile of incident solar irradiance for Maroua
equatorial area was chosen because of its power demand that and Yaoundé [35].
grows rapidly with the consequence of regular power
outages which cause significant losses in economic 2.4. Thermal Analysis of PTCs
activities. The annual average irradiance there is 1350.6 kWh
/ m2 / year. The average direct normal solar irradiance data Thermal modelling of the collector allows to assess the
used for both stations corresponds to five-years period temperature of the heat transfer fluid at the outlet of the
ranging from 2012 to 2016. absorber, as well as heat losses and thermal efficiency. The
energy balance of the absorber tube in this analysis is based
Figure 2 illustrates the daily profile of incident solar on following hypotheses [15]:
irradiance as a function of time during February and August
for Maroua and Yaoundé. It can be noticed that Maroua • The heat transfer fluid is incompressible and undergoes a
station receives significantly more sunshine with an average permanent and one-dimensional flow.
peak exceeding 750W/m2 during the hottest month • The incident solar flux on the absorber is uniformly
(February). This can be explained by its geographical distributed and the ambient air temperature assumed to
situation since Maroua is located in the semi-arid region of vary over the day.
Cameroon unlike Yaoundé which is in the equatorial region. • The glass is considered opaque to infrared radiation.
The maximum solar irradiance is usually reached in the late • Heat transfer by conduction in all the elements of the
morning (11:00-12:00) in both stations for the periods of the concentrator is neglected.

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• Thermophysical properties of the working fluid change as

function of its temperature. The useful heat Qu supplied to the fluid can be expressed as

Figure 3 describes the longitudinal section of the Qu = ṁ Cpf (Tfo − Tfi ) (8)
absorber tube and heat transfer processes involved in the
energy balance analysis. with ṁ the mass flow (kg/s).

This heat can also be computed by [18]

QU = Fr × [ηopt Ib Aa − UL Ar,e (Tfi − Tamb )] (9)

Where Fr is the heat dissipation factor along the tube.
Combining Eq. (8) and (9) yields
ṁ Cpf (Tfo −Tfi )
Fr = [A (10)
aIb ηopt −Ar,eUL (Tfi −Tamb )]

ηopt is the optical efficiency of the concentrator given by

[18]

nopt = K(θi ) ζs ρ τg αr (11)

Fig 3. Longitudinal section of the absorber tube and heat K(θi ) is the correction coefficient of the incidence angle.
transfer processes. This factor allows to take care of the deviation between sun
rays and the normal at the collector due to imperfection in
Heat exchange by forced convection between the tracking system, imperfection in support structure or the
internal surface of the absorber and the fluid in a tube section imperfections resulting from manufacture and is given as
between x and x + dx leads to the following equation:
f l2
K(θi ) = 1 − L [(1 + 48f2 )] tan (θi )
qf (x + ∆x) − qf (x) = qu (x) ∆x (1)
(12)
Where qf (x + ∆x) = ρf cpf v̇ Tf (x + ∆x), qf (x ) =
ρf cpf v̇ Tf (x) and qu the useful power necessary to heat the Where f is the focal distance, L and l the length and
width of the collector respectively. θi is the incidence angle.
fluid.
Replacing qf (x + ∆x) and qf (x) in Eq. (1) yields:
UL is the overall heat loss coefficient [34] defined based
on the collector geometry and its operating condition as
ρf Cpf v̇ Tf (x+∆x)− ρf Cpf v̇ Tf (x)
= qu (x) (2) Ar,e 1
∆x
UL = [(h + ]−1 (13)
c,g−amb +hr,g−amb )Ag,e hr,r−g
∂Tf (x)
i.e ρf cpf v̇ − qu (x) = 0 (3) Where hc,g−amb is the convective heat exchange
∂x
coefficient between the glass and the ambient given by [34]
Heat exchange between the absorber and the glass casing
gives: 0.3 R𝑒 0.6 λ
hc,g−amb = Dg,e
(14)
qu (x) + q r−g (x) = qab (4)
R 𝑒 is the Reynolds number, λ the thermal conductivity
and Dg,e the external diameter of the glass.
Where qr−g is the amount of heat exchanged by
convection and by radiation between the absorber and the hr,g−amb is the radiative heat exchange coefficient between
glass i.e. the glass and the ambient given by

qr−g = qc,r−g + qr,r−g (5) 2

hr,g−amb = εg σ(Tg + Tamb )(Tg2 + Tamb ) (15)

Considering now the glass envelope and the environment, we hr,r−g the radiative heat exchange coefficient between the
have: absorber and the glass given by
qr−g (x) − qg−amb (x) = 0 (6)
σ(Tg +Tr )(T2 2
g +Tr )
Where qg−amb is the amount of heat exchanged between hr,r−g = 1 Ar 1 (16)
+ ( −1)
the glass and the environment by convection and radiation: εr Ag εr

qg−amb = qc,g−amb + qr,g−amb (7)

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The fluid outlet temperature from equation (8) can then be 3. Results
written as a function of QU and the inlet temperature as [35]
The following results were obtained using a LS2
Qu parabolic trough collector with the optical and geometric
Tfo = Tfi + (17)
ṁ.Cpf characteristics summarized in Table 1. The heat transfer fluid
Similarly, the thermal efficiency [36] is given by (water in direct mode and Therminol vp-1 in indirect mode)
circulates inside the absorber at a rate of 0.6Kg/s. The
Q ṁCpf (Tfo −Tfi )
η = Qu = (18) pressure of the working fluid (water) for both modes of
ab noptIb Aa
steam generation is 40 bars with the corresponding saturation
temperature of 250 °C. Beyond this temperature, the working
For the indirect generation mode, the heat transfer fluid fluid changes to the vapor.
leaving the absorber passes through a counterflow heat
exchanger of efficiency 𝑒 where it releases part of its heat to
the water of mass flow rate ṁf2 , specific heat Cp,f2 and inlet
temperature Tf2,i. The temperature of the water at the outlet
of such an exchanger is expressed as:

e ṁCpf
Tf2,o = Tf2,i + m ̇ (Tfo − Tf2,i ) (19)
f2 Cp,f2

Figure 4 presents the flowchart used to conduct the

numerical study of the plant.

Fig. 5. Optical efficiency of the collector

According to Fig. 5 obtained from Eq. (11), the

minimum value of optical efficiency (0.73) is obtained at
sunrise and sunset and the maximum value 0.75 at the zenith.
The optical efficiency is reduced for greater values of
incident angle. Indeed, the variation of optical efficiency is
always inversely proportional to the incidence angle and
reducing the value of this angle decreases the total loss at the
collector aperture [18].
Figure 6 shows the daily variation of the overall heat
loss coefficient in both generation modes. This coefficient
varies as a function of the geometric configuration and
thermophysical properties of the heat exchange medium.
Because these properties change with the thermal profile of
the material which in turn is controlled by climatic
conditions, there is a strong dependence of UL on irradiance.
In fact, the greater the difference between the temperature of
the absorber and that of the ambient air, the more energy is
Fig. 4. Assessment procedure flowchart lost from the absorber to the environment. This result is in
agreement with Godbane et al [29] who obtained a maximum
UL of 8.963 W/m2.°C for a collector of 2m long. For an
assembly of 8 collectors, the present study demonstrated
maximum values of 35 W/ m2 °C and 28 W/ m2 °C for the
month of February respectively in Maroua and Yaoundé,
confirming the high dependence of UL on the irradiance. It is
important to point out in agreement with Ghodbane et al [34]
that the maximum values are recorded at peak sunshine when
the highest temperature difference occurs.

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() (a) (b)
Fig. 6. Profile of the overall heat loss coefficient (a) in direct generation and (b) in indirecte generation modes.

3.1. Direct generation mode the number of sensors connected in series makes it possible
to achieve higher heat transfer fluid outlet temperatures.
This mode assumes that the steam used in the energy With one concentrator (Fig. 7a), the fluid’s temperature takes
production process comes directly from the solar generator. on significant values from 8:30 am and the peak is reached
Figure 7 shows the variations of the outlet temperature of the around 12:00 at both stations. However, the maximum
heat transfer fluid over time for a steam production system temperatures of 135° C and 95° C reached in February in
having respectively 1, 2, 4 and 8 PTCs mounted in series at Maroua and Yaoundé respectively are not sufficient to
Maroua and Yaoundé. produce steam at 40 bars. With an association of 2 collectors
The temperatures obtained in both stations in February (Fig. 7b) in series, the thermal profile remains substantially
are higher than those obtained in August with consistent the same as for 1 collector, but the temperatures obtained are
differences between the two stations. These deviations once higher. In the case of 4 collectors (Fig. 7c), the temperatures
again show the great solar potential of Maroua because the obtained are very high in February, sometimes exceeding
outlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid is a close 250° C.
function of the incident solar flux. Moreover, the increase in

Fig. 7. Water outlet temperature for (a) one, (b) two, (c) four and (d) eight PTCs mounted in series.

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At Maroua station in February for instance, the steam expressed by table 2 that summarizes the daily duration of
production capacity is achieved between 9 am and 3 pm. In steam production in the two stations as a function of the
August, however, it is not possible to generate steam in both number of concentrators.
stations because the temperatures are below 250 °C. In the
case of 8 concentrators (Fig. 7d), satisfactory temperatures Table 2. Daily duration for steam generation at 40 bars.
are obtained at both stations even in August, the least sunny
month at both localities. There is high a possibility for steam Daily duration for steam generation
production at 40 bars between 9 am and 3 pm because during Number of (Hours) Maroua
Yaoundé
this time interval, outlet temperatures are higher than 250° C Concentrators
(N) February August February August
for both stations.
In conclusion, the increase in the number of collectors N=1 0 0 0 0
connected in series yields higher heat transfer fluid outlet N=2 0 0 0 0
temperatures. In fact, the increase in the length of the tube N=4 3 0 6 0
(number of manifolds in series) leads to that of the exchange
surface and thus more heat collection. This feature is clearly N=8 7 2 8 6

Fig. 8. Output power of steam for (a) one, (b) two, (c) four and (d) eight PTCs mounted in Séries.

The power carried by the calorific fluid follows the same

pattern as the outlet temperature of the fluid which varies as
function ot the irradiance and the number of PTCs in the
system. The maxima are then obtained at the peak of the
sunshine around midday and for an association of larger
number of collectors. As shown in figure 8d, with eight
concentrators connected in series, the steam power is
sufficiently high in the two stations and varies globally
between 10 and 710 KW. This result shows that the PTC-
based solar plant could be localy used in conjunction with
heavy fuel thermal station in a view to reduce the
dependence of the country in fossil fuel. However, the
number of PTCs in the association in this case should be in
perfect agreement with power generation objectives. Fig. 9. Thermal conversion efficiency for an
association of 8 collectors

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The thermal efficiency in the case of 8 collectors is 3.2. Indirect generation mode
relatively high, varying between 0.67 and 0.70 for the two
stations as shown in figure 9. The system is more efficient In this mode of steam generation, Therminol vp1 is used
and stable when there is sufficient sun (from 7.50 to 15.50). as heat transfer fluid and water as working fluid. This
It can also be noticed that the decrease in the efficiency after thermal oil was chosen because of its high heat capacity
the maximum value of 70% becomes very significant as from compared to other oils and its low corrosion potential. The
16.50. Indeed, at this period of the day, the incident solar temperature range it can reach is limited to about 400 °C and
energy has consistenly reduced and also the difference (Tfi − does not require working at high pressures as it is the case in
Tamb ) (see Eq. 9) tends to increase, a situation that stimlates the direct mode with water. The connection between the two
thermal losses from the water to the ambient. Similar profile fluids is made via a counter-flow heat exchanger with 70%
was obtained by ghodbane et al. [34] with mean value of the efficiency. Figure 10 shows the profile of the outlet
thermal efficiency of 74.30 % although the analysis was done temperature of the working fluid and figure 8 presents the
on a shorter collector. steam power produced as a function of solar time at the two
stations involved with this analysis.

Fig. 10. Water outlet temperature for (a) one, (b) two, (c) four and (d) eight PTCs mounted in series.

The temperature profile of the calorific fluid at the outlet case of indirect generation too, the increase in the number of
of the collector in the indirect mode of steam generation is collectors leads to the increase in the outlet temperature of
broadly similar to that of the irradiance. For a single steam which is directly related to the outlet temperature of
collector, the energy transferred during the day by Therminol the calorific fluid. However, temperatures remain lower than
vp1 via the heat exchanger allows the water circulating with that those obtained under the same conditions in direct mode.
a flow rate of 0.6 Kg/s to raise its temperature up to a Table 3 summarizes the daily duration of steam production
maximum value of 98 °C (figure 10a ). This temperature is as a function of the number of concentrators at both
165 °C (figure 10b) for an association of 2 PTCs, 310 °C locations. It can be seen from table 3 that additional
(figure 10c) for 4 PTCs and 490 °C (figure 10d) for 8 PTCs collectors are needed to generate steam at Yaoundé during
at Maroua in February. Indeed, these maxima are recorded at least sunshine period.
the peak sunshine. Lower values are achieved at Yaoundé for
similar collectors associations. These results show that in this

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L. Akana et al., Vol.11, No.3, September, 2021

Table 3. Daily duration for steam generation at 40 bars for indirect mode.

Daily duration for Steam Generation

Number of (Hours) Maroua
Yaoundé
Concentrators
Yaoundé
February August February August
(N)

N=1 0 0 0 0
N=2 0 0 0 0
N=4 0 0 3 0
N=8 4 0 8 2

Fig. 11. Output power of steam for (a) one, (b) two, (c) four and (d) eight PTCs mounted in séries.

Figure 11 shows the steam power produced by the

concentrator in indirect mode for series associations of PTCs.
It can be observed that for an association of 8 collectors, a
maximum power of 600 KW (figure 11d) is achieved in
February at 12.50 pm at Maroua while 410 KW is obtained
at Yaoundé. The increase in the number of sensors thus
makes it possible to achieve higher thermal power at the
output as with the temperature. This result confirms the
possiblibity of energy generation combining solar sources
with existing heavy fuel oil stations for better efficiency.
However, further investigations about the energy demand
and the supply are necessary for appropriate sizing of the
solar generator.

Fig. 12. Thermal efficiency for an association of four

concentrators.

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L. Akana et al., Vol.11, No.3, September, 2021

datasets", Sustainable Energy Technologies and

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