Défense de Thèse de Doctorat en “Mechanical Engineering” par Mr. Justin BYIRINGIRO

The Euromed University of Fes (UEMF) is pleased to inform the public of

the doctoral thesis defense in ” Mechanical Engineering ”

The thesis defense will take place on Friday, October 17, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. at l’UEMF

Location: The Great Hall of the Incubator (LOC001994)

The thesis will be presented by Mr. Justin BYIRINGIRO

under the topic :

“ STUDY OF NOVEL ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED SOLAR RECEIVER GEOMETRIES FOR PARABOLIC TROUGH COLLECTORS: ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND COST OPTIMIZATION ”

Summary

Concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies offer a promising pathway to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate their environmental impact. Among these, parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) present a mature and scalable solution for clean power generation. However, their competitiveness remains constrained by relatively low efficiency and high capital costs, primarily due to the non-uniform heat flux distribution around the absorber tube. This thesis aims to enhance the thermal performance of PTC systems through the development of novel absorber configurations. The main objective of this research is to improve the thermal efficiency of PTC systems while minimizing their capital cost.

Numerical simulations were conducted using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in ANSYS Fluent with various heat transfer fluids, including Syltherm800, MWCNT-TiO2/Syltherm800, and Liquid sodium. The actual heat flux distribution was determined using the Monte Carlo ray-tracing method in SolTrace software, and the numerical model was validated against published experimental data. Multi-objective optimization was performed in ANSYS DesignXplorer using the NSGA-II algorithm, with thermal efficiency and cost defined as the objective functions. The economic feasibility of the novel absorbers was subsequently assessed using the solar field of the Noor II PTC plant as a case study.

The results demonstrated significant performance improvements for the novel absorber configurations, with the Nusselt number and thermal efficiency increasing by 125.3% and 3.49%, respectively, while the circumferential temperature difference was reduced by 56.63%. Furthermore, the study indicated that the overall capital cost of the Noor II PTC plant could be reduced by up to 21%. The thesis concludes by highlighting that the modified absorber tubes, combined with additive manufacturing, could significantly enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of CSP systems, making them more competitive within the renewable energy sector.

This thesis will be presented to the jury members: