Abstract
Optical errors decrease the performance of solar concentrators. Here we assess the sensitivity of a novel 2-stage dish concentrator against optical errors. We use Monte Carlo ray-tracing, probability statistics, and optical geometrical principles in the analyses. The key finding is that the novel concentrator can reach a high radial distribution of flux concentration and high optical efficiency over a range of optical errors. Compared to a traditional 2-dish concentrator, the performance was clearly better. The results are in good agreement with results from the TracePro® tool. The results also imply improved tracking stability with the novel 2-stage dish concentrator.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 603-615 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Renewable Energy |
| Volume | 123 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Aug 2018 |
| MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Funding
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (No. 51476099) as well as the China-Finland cooperation project (Systemic Research & Development on PV-CST Integration).
Keywords
- Concentrating solar power
- Monte-Carlo method
- Optical error
- Overlap method
- Solar dish