Scientrace: An open source, programmable 3D ray tracer

Bos-Coenraad, J.; Bunthof, L.A.A.; Schermer, J.J.

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2017.07.003

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…On the photovoltaic applications side, optical simulation tools based on MCFRT for solar cells are also used [ 8 ]. While there are many proprietary software packages, for example, CROWM [ 9 ], actually, to the best knowledge of the authors, Scientrace [ 10 ] is the only open-source ray tracing software focused on photovoltaic cells [ 11 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

OTSun, a python package for the optical analysis of solar-thermal collectors and photovoltaic cells with arbitrary geometry

Cardona

Pujol-Nadal

2020

PLoS ONE

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Ray tracing software systems are commonly used to analyze the optics of solar energy devices, since they allow to predict the energy gains of devices in real conditions, and also to compare them with other systems constantly emerging in the market. However, the available open-source packages apply excessive simplifications to the model of light-matter interaction, making that the optical behaviour of the systems can not be properly characterized, which in turn implies disagreements between physical experiments and computer simulations. We present here the open source python package OTSun, which applies the Fresnel equations in their most general form, without further simplifications, and is suitable for the simulation of both solar-thermal and photovoltaic systems. The geometrical objects used in this package are created using the parametric 3D modeler FreeCAD, which is also a free and open source program and allows for the construction of arbitrary geometries that can be analyzed with OTSun. These, and other software capabilities, make OTSun extremely flexible and accurate for the optical analysis of solar devices with arbitrary geometry. Additionally, OTSun has a companion webtool, OTSunWebApp, that allows for the usage of certain features of the package without the need to install anything locally. We also show here two numerical experiments that we performed in order to validate the model and implementation: The analysis of the optical efficiency of a Linear Fresnel Reflector (with moving objects), and of a second surface mirror (with variable wavelengths). In each case, the numerical computations had deviations of less than 0.25% from reference models (either computed with another program or with exact formulas).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

OTSun, a python package for the optical analysis of solar-thermal collectors and photovoltaic cells with arbitrary geometry

Cardona

Pujol-Nadal

2020

PLoS ONE

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“…In BICPV applications in particular, these inhomogeneities will be strong as a consequence of the more complex optical systems. The nature and severity of such inhomogeneities, as well as the expected illumination pattern caused by a specific BICPV system, can be determined by ray tracing simulations, such as for example described in Bos-Coenraad et al (2017). This can be a very valuable part of the design process, as problems and challenges may be detected early on.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%