A review on the recent research progress in the compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) for solar energy applications

Tian, Meng; Su, Yuehong; Zheng, Hongfei; Pei, Gang; Li, Guiqiang; Riffat, Saffa

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2017.09.050

Cited by 185 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 116 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Several studies are performed in order to focus electromagnetic radiation in order to produce heat. Almost all these applications are powered by sunlight and use parabolas in order to focus the radiation in a single point [3][4][5]. According to the reflecting property of a parabola, rays originating in the focal point of the parabola will be reflected parallel to each other.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimisation of a Heat Source for Infrared Thermography Measurements: Comparison to Mehler Engineering + Service-Heater

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Featured Application: In order to optimise dynamic line scan thermography, one should use an optimised line heating source. The more the heat is concentrated in a single line, the higher the moving speed of samples could become in order to get the same amount of energy inserted in the sample. Higher movement speeds are needed in order to use the technique of dynamic line scanning in manufacturing processes inspecting the objects while they move over the conveyor belt.Abstract: Using an optimised heating source in active thermography can facilitate the processing of measurement results. By designing a custom heat source for dynamic line scan thermography, we reduced the excitation power needed to heat the sample and decreased the unwanted side effects originating of a wide-range heating source. The design started from a regular halogen tube lamp and a reflector is composed to provide the desired heating power in a narrow band. The reflector shape is optimised using ray-tracing software to concentrate the electromagnetic radiation along with the heat in a slim line. A comparison between the optimised heat source and a commercially available line-heater is performed. The width of the heated region from the Mehler Engineering + Service-heater is larger than prescribed in the datasheet. The optimised line heater has several advantages over the comercially available heat source.

show abstract

“…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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

A review on the recent research progress in the compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) for solar energy applications

Cited by 185 publications

References 116 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

Optimisation of a Heat Source for Infrared Thermography Measurements: Comparison to Mehler Engineering + Service-Heater

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

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About