Documentation on Parabolic Trough Empirical Model?

Hi everyone,

I am trying to find the documentation of the empirical model for parabolic trough plants but I could only find a paper from 2003 written by Price which is mainly results and validation of the model without an explanation of the model per se. 

Is it possible for you to share the manual or documentation with the equations behind the empirical model for Parabolic Trough Plants? where can I find this?

Hi Mayra,

I am not aware of any additional documentation for the Empirical Trough model (or the "Excelergy" model it is based on).

You may be able to find some of the equations you are looking for by exploring the SAM source code on GitHub.com. The links below should help you find code for different parts of the model.

The code in cmod_tcstrough_empirical.cpp makes calls to the different parts of the model like the power block, storage, and solar field modules. The code for the individual modules is in the TCS folder , and you can use the code around Line 509 in cmod_tcstrough_empirical.cpp to identify the modules:



For example, if you were looking for the SCA end loss calculation, you would look in the code for the Solar Field module because the SCA is part of the solar field. The code in Line 510 cmod_tcstrough_empirical.cpp shows that the solar field code is in type805, which you can find in the TCS folder: sam_trough_model_type805.cpp.

Best regards,
Paul.