Mechanical Engineering Commons^™

Development Of Novel Solar Tracking And Heat Extracting Technologies, Hassan Latif Hassan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The global energy and water crises are looming due to the exponential population growth and the shrinking reserves of conventional fossil fuels and fresh water. The present research is aimed at the development of novel components/technologies that would lead to efficient and affordable concentrated solar thermal systems. A novel dual-axis solar tracking system has been developed, built and extensively tested on a field parabolic dish solar collector model. The tracker has two main novel components; active dual axis tracker; and load compensator. The tracker is characterized with simplicity and reliability. Two geometries of novel conical thermal receivers were designed, constructed …