Optical Characterization of Nonimaging Planar Concentrator for the Application in Concentrator Photovoltaic System

Abstract

The design and construction of miniature prototype of nonimaging planar concentrator, which is capable of producing much more uniform spatial irradiance and reasonably high concentration ratio, were presented in the previous paper. In this paper, we further explore the optical characteristics of the new concentrator that is specially designed to be incorporated in concentrator photovoltaic systems. For this study, we have carried out a comprehensive analysis via numerical simulation based on all the important design parameters, i.e., array of facet mirrors, f/D ratio, receiver size, and the effect of sun-tracking error, which lead to the overall optical performance of the new concentrator.

General Formula for On-Axis Sun-Tracking System

“…A suitable geographical location was selected for the installation of solar concentrator so that it is capable of receiving the maximum solar energy without the blocking of any buildings or plants. The planar concentrator, applies the concept of non-imaging optics to concentrate the sunlight, has been proposed in order to achieve a good uniformity of the solar irradiation with a reasonably high concentration ratio on the target (Chong et al, 2009a;Chong et al, 2010). Instead of using a single piece of parabolic dish, the newly proposed on-axis solar concentrator employs 480 pieces of flat mirrors to form a total reflective area of about 25 m 2 with adjustable focal distance to concentrate the sunlight onto the target (see Fig.…”

Enhancing the efficiency of solar concentrators by controlled optical aberrations: Method and photovoltaic application

“…Alternative ways of redesigning the primary collector have been poorly investigated but some good results has been obtained by Chong et al [29]. The proposed planar faceted concentrator coupled to a dense array has been optimized to give a large uniform illumination over the target area with a peak intensity of 391 suns.…”

A novel solar concentrator system for combined heat and power application in residential sector

“…The irradiance pattern should rather be as uniform as possible and, at the same time, the spot shape should resemble the typical rectangular/square shape of the array to prevent spillage losses. Flux uniformity and spot reshaping are theoretically possible by redesigning the optics of a concentrator using non-imaging optics [25], by approximating standard imaging mirrors with an array of flat elements, as commonly done in the dishes [26], and/or by adding Secondary Optics (SOs) to tailor the flux delivered by the dish [27,28]. At present, no commercial systems seems to embed SOs coupled with dense arrays.…”