Simulation and Experimental Evaluation of a Refractive-Reflective Static Solar Concentrator

Guillermo Luque-Zuñiga, Rubén Vázquez-Medina, G. Ramos-López, David Alejandro Pérez-Márquez, H. Yee-Madeira

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Static solar devices have advantages over solar tracking systems. In pure reflective systems, solar reception is limited by the entry angle of the reflector. Many reflective systems are based on mirror Compound Parabolic Concentrators. The solar collection can be improved by placing a lens on top of the reflector. In this work, a static system is proposed, consisting of a mirror funnel concentrator with a prism on top. The system is designed using ray-tracing software and is subsequently built and experimentally evaluated. The system designed for an effective concentration factor of 4× reaches an effective concentration of 3.2× at 11:30 a.m. and has an acceptance angle of 60°. Considering the time interval from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., the system harvests 30.7% more energy than the flat surface. If the time interval considered is from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the increase in harvest is ∼77%. The incorporation of the prism represents an increase of ∼6% compared to the bare reflective system.
Original languageEnglish
Article number1071
Pages (from-to)1071
JournalEnergies
Volume16
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2023

Keywords

  • collected energy
  • refractive-reflective system
  • solar concentrator
  • solar energy

Cite this