A comprehensive physical model was developed to predict
the thermal performance of parabolic trough solar collectors
during transient operations.
The model is based on a detailed heat transfer analysis.
Four sets of outdoor tests were conducted to verify the model using a nearly 100 m
long row of parabolic trough solar collectors. The model includes the effect of the incidence angle on the thermal
performance and the effective thermal capacitance, which
makes this test model practical for on-site parabolic trough
solar collector tests.