A review of nonimaging solar concentrators for stationary and passive tracking applications

Madala, Srikanth; Boehm, Robert F.

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2016.12.058

Cited by 57 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Compound parabolic concentrating collectors are non-imaging devices which have great potential to supply sustainable solar thermal energy in the medium (90-300 • C) temperature range [1,2]. CPC collectors, generally, don't need continuous tracking mechanisms for lower concentration range (below 3×) and only seasonal or intermittent adjustments are required for medium concentration range (3-10×) [3,4]. The ability of CPC collectors to collect diffuse radiation [5] provides an additional advantage, especially in tropical regions where the percentage of diffuse radiation is relatively higher [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optical Performance Analysis of Single Flow Through and Concentric Tube Receiver Coupled with a Modified CPC Collector Under Different Configurations

et al. 2019

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Compound parabolic concentrating (CPC) collectors have great potential to provide sustainable solar thermal energy for many applications operating in the medium temperature range. This paper presents the design, development and performance evaluation of a modified CPC collector integrated with an evacuated tube receiver. The optical performance of the designed CPC paired with concentric tube receiver is compared with that of a CPC coupled with single flow through evacuated tube receiver for stationary installation in the East-West and North-South directions. Ray tracing simulations of different configurations demonstrate that CPC coupled with single flow through receivers suffer high gap losses, especially at smaller incidence angles which are considerably alleviated by a concentric tube receiver arrangement. East-West installation of CPC paired with concentric tube receiver exhibited superior optical performance than all other configurations. The yearly average optical efficiency of CPC with concentric tube receiver was 5% higher than that of a single flow through receiver within the acceptance angle. A 60% truncated CPC coupled with concentric tube receiver emerged as the most effective design, which was fabricated for experimental testing. The tests conducted under actual outdoor tropical environmental conditions demonstrated that the experimental optical efficiency reached to about 69% in the case of N-S installation and 66.5% in an E-W arrangement. The experimental results closely match the simulation outcomes, which indicate the proposed performance prediction technique as instrumental for selecting the most effective configuration of CPC collectors for medium temperature heat supply.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After the introduction of CPC as a potential candidate for solar energy collection [13], many research studies have been conducted in this field [3,14,15]. Gallagher and Winston [16] reviewed basic principles of the non-imaging optical design of CPCs for some selected arrangements of evacuated and non-evacuated solar collectors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical Performance Analysis of Single Flow Through and Concentric Tube Receiver Coupled with a Modified CPC Collector Under Different Configurations

et al. 2019

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“…This paper captured the history of concentrator and provided an up-to-date review of concentrator technology in the last eight years and its future prospect. Other published literature only capture certain element of the CPV technology, such as the review on specific type of concentrator, e.g., compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) designs [21], volume holographic concentrator designs [22], non-imaging concentrator designs [23], or on certain thematic theme such as the development of concentrator for portable PV system [24] and the LCA and environmental aspect of utilising concentrator technology [25].…”

Section: Target Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Static Concentrator Technology to Achieve Global Energy Goal

et al. 2019

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Solar energy has demonstrated promising prospects in satisfying energy requirements, specifically through solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. Despite that, the cost of installation is deemed as the main hurdle to the widespread uptake of solar PV systems due to the use of expensive PV material in the module. At this point, we argue that a reduction in PV cost could be achieved through the usage of concentrator. A solar concentrator is a type of lens that is capable of increasing the collection of sun rays and focusing them onto a lesser PV area. The cost of the solar module could then be reduced on the assumption that the cost of introducing the solar concentrator in the solar module design is much lower than the cost of the removed PV material. Static concentrators, in particular, have great promise due to their ability to be integrated at any place of the building, usually on the building facade, windows and roof, due to their low geometrical concentration. This paper provides a historic context on the development of solar concentrators and showcases the latest technological development in static PV concentrators including non-imaging compound parabolic concentrator, V-trough, luminescent solar concentrator and quantum dot concentrator. We anticipated that the static low concentrating PV (LCPV) system could serve to enhance the penetration of PV technology in the long run to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7—to open an avenue to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030.

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“…19,35,36 In the literature, some review studies have been carried out on solar concentrating systems. However, these studies provide a very general overview of the solar collectors without sufficient details on the application of CPCs to PV conversion 12,[37][38][39][40][41] or discuss CPCs for different applications 42,43 or discuss CPCs under different themes such as optics 41,44 or PV/thermal. 45 This study, therefore, aims at providing a comprehensive review of the developments in the application of CPCs to solar photovoltaic conversion for the past five decades.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of compound parabolic concentrators to solar photovoltaic conversion: A comprehensive review

Paul

2019

Int J Energy Res

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Summary The use of concentrating systems has been proposed as a way to reduce the cost of electrical energy from photovoltaic (PV) module. Since 1970s, different solar collector designs have been used to increase energy flux on the PV module. This study aims at providing a comprehensive review of development in the application of compound parabolic concentrators (CPCs) to solar photovoltaic conversion for the past five decades. By narrowing down the application of CPCs to electrical energy only gives a reader an opportunity to clearly understand the detail development stages, challenges, and research opportunities for further improvement. From this review, it has been found that during 1970s, all studies on the application of CPCs to solar photovoltaic conversion were mainly focused on establishing technical feasibility and cost effectiveness. Thereafter (1981‐May 2018), extensive studies were carried out to resolve challenges that were observed during the establishment stage. However, it has been found that even though the power output of the PV modules with the CPC was always higher than similar modules without the CPC, the values were less than the expected (theoretical) results. This was due to optical losses, series resistance losses, non‐uniform illumination effect, and high operating cell temperature effect. In addition, high cost of the PV‐CPC systems and low concentration ratio of the CPCs were also the main concerns of various researchers.

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A review of nonimaging solar concentrators for stationary and passive tracking applications

Cited by 57 publications

References 55 publications

Optical Performance Analysis of Single Flow Through and Concentric Tube Receiver Coupled with a Modified CPC Collector Under Different Configurations

Optical Performance Analysis of Single Flow Through and Concentric Tube Receiver Coupled with a Modified CPC Collector Under Different Configurations

Using Static Concentrator Technology to Achieve Global Energy Goal

Application of compound parabolic concentrators to solar photovoltaic conversion: A comprehensive review

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