In the urge to make solar energy competitive enough to directly face fossil fuels, several approaches result crucial for their intended capacity to maximise the energy that can be produced with a given photovoltaic area. Low Concentration Photovoltaics (LCPV) and tracking methods can be integrated in V-Trough solar devices to increase their effective solar harvesting area through low-cost non-imaging optics. As a tool to support the design and simulation of such devices, this work proposes an analytical and numerical model that simulates the interactions of direct solar radiation with the V-Trough's elements. The proposed model is design-oriented and was developed seeking high parameter flexibility, high geometrical detail and low computational demands. The model was experimentally validated through several simulations of V-Trough set-ups which results were compared against measurements with a testing platform. Through a non-parametric statistical analysis, the model proved to be satisfactory and highly accurate. Furthermore, the calculations regarding optical concentration performance were complemented with a cost analysis and integrated into a cost-effectiveness index. The results from this work serve as a useful modelling tool for designing and comparing alternatives of V-Trough solar devices.
Solar competition cars are a very interesting research laboratory for the development of new technologies heading to their further implementation in either commercial passenger vehicles or related applications. Besides, worldwide competitions allow the spreading of such ideas where the best and experienced teams bet on innovation and leading edge technologies, in order to develop more efficient vehicles. In these vehicles, some aspects generally make the difference such as aerodynamics, shape, weight, wheels and the main solar panels. Therefore, seeking to innovate in a competitive advantage, the first Colombian solar vehicle "Primavera", competitor at the World Solar Challenge (WSC)-2013, has implemented the usage of a Concentrating Photovoltaic (CPV) system as a complementary solar energy module to the common silicon photovoltaic panel. By harvesting sunlight with concentrating optical devices, CPVs are capable of maximizing the allowable photovoltaic area. However, the entire CPV system weight must be less harmful than the benefit of the extra electric energy generated, which in adjunct with added manufacture and design complexity, has intervened in the fact that CPVs had never been implemented in a solar car in such a scale as the one described in this work. Design considerations, the system development process and implementation are presented in this document considering both the restrictions of the context and the interaction of the CPV system with the solar car setup. The measured data evidences the advantage of using this complementary system during the competition and the potential this technology has for further developments.
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