Parabolic Trough Power Plants

Parabolic trough power plants are the only type of solar thermal power plant technology with existing commercial operating systems until 2008. In capacity terms, 354 MWe of electrical power are installed in California, and a plenty of new plants are currently in the planning process in other locations.

The parabolic trough collector consists of large curved mirrors, which concentrate the sunlight by a factor of 80 or more to a focal line. Parallel collectors build up a 300–600 metre long collector row, and a multitude of parallel rows form the solar collector field. The one-axis tracked collectors follow the sun.

The collector field can also be formed from very long rows of parallel Fresnel collectors. In the focal line of these is a metal absorber tube, which is usually embedded in an evacuated glass tube that reduces heat losses. A special high-temperature, resistive selective coating additionally reduces radiation heat losses.

In the Californian systems, thermo oil flows through the absorber tube. It is known that this tube heats up the oil to nearly 400°C, and a heat exchanger transfers the heat of the thermal oil to a water steam cycle (also called Rankine cycle). A feedwater pump then puts the water under pressure. Finally, an economizer, vaporizer and superheater together produce superheated steam. This steam expands in a two-stage turbine; between the high-pressure and low-pressure parts of this turbine is a reheater, which heats the steam again. The turbine itself drives an electrical generator that converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy; the condenser behind the turbine condenses the steam back to water, which closes the cycle at the feedwater pump.It is also possible to produce superheated steam directly using solar collectors. This makes the thermo oil unnecessary, and also reduces costs because the relatively expensive thermo oil and the heat exchangers are no longer needed. However, direct solar steam generation is still in the prototype stage.

2.Переведите на русский язык следующие английские сочетания:

1)reasonable efficiencies

2)concentrating systems

3)large-scale power plants

4)focal point

5)two-axis tracking

6)resistive selective coating

7)thermo oil

8)Rankine cycle

9)feedwater pump

10)prototype stage

3.Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты следующих словосочетаний:

неконцентрированные солнечные накопители

отражающие концентраторы

источник радиации

поверхность солнца

теоретический максимум

изогнутые зеркала

множество параллельных рядов

потеря тепла

двухступенчатая турбина

теплообменник

4.Найдите в тексте слова, имеющие общий корень с данными словами. Определите, к какой части речи они относятся, и переведите их на русский язык:

necessity

production

reduction

undo

existence

criticize

prolong

vapor

direction

deformer

5.Задайте к выделенному в тексте предложению все типы вопросов (общий, альтернативный, разделительный, специальный: а) к подлежащему, б) к второстепенному члену предложения.

6.Выполните анализ данных предложений, обратив внимание на следующие грамматические явления: формы и функции причастия, независимый причастный оборот, формы и функции герундия, герундиальный оборот, инфинитивные конструкции (сложное дополнение, сложное подлежащее), существительное в роли определения, функции слов one (ones), that (those), условные предложения (сослагательное наклонение 1 и 2 типов):

1.The maximum theoretical concentration temperature that can be achieved is the sun’s surface temperature of 5500°C; if the concentration ratio is lower, the maximum achievable temperature decreases.

2. This tube is known to heat up the oil to nearly 400°C, and a heat exchanger transfers the heat of the thermal oil to a water steam cycle

3.If the heat transfer process stops, though, the receiver can reach critically high temperatures.

4.They consider it to be finite because the sun is not really a point radiation source.

5.Parallel collectors build up a 300–600 metre long collector row, and a multitude of parallel rows form the solar collector field.

7.Ответьте на вопросы по тексту:

1.What do most techniques for generating electricity from heat need?

2.What shape does a focal point have?

3.How do one-axis tracking systems work?

4.Why don’t real systems reach theoretical maxima?

5.What does the parabolic trough collector consist of?

6.How does an absorber tube work?

7.What are the advantages of producing superheated steam directly using solar collectors?