Field Survey of Parabolic Trough Receiver Thermal Performance

Abstract

This paper describes a technique that uses an infrared (IR) camera to evaluate the in-situ thermal performance of parabolic trough receivers at operating solar power plants. The paper includes results to show how the glass temperature measured with the IR camera correlates with modeled thermal losses from the receiver. Finally, the paper presents results of a field survey that used this technique to quickly sample a large number of receivers to develop a better understanding of how both original and replacement receivers are performing after up to 17 years of operational service.