Analysis of a small-scale modified beam-down solar concentrator system for low temperature applications

Erick Moreno Resendiz, Javed Akhtar, Young Ho Park, Huiyao Wang, Pei Xu, Krishna Kota and Sarada Kuravi

Renewable Energy, 2023, vol. 215, issue C

Abstract: A small-scale beam-down solar concentrator (BDSC) without a receiver concentrator (RC) was studied for the first time for its applicability to low-temperature heating systems. A comprehensive theoretical model was developed that combines solar ray tracing with existing BDSC models to include solar angle variations for different days in a year at any location. The model allows the estimation of image magnification based on the heliostat area and the resultant uniform solar enhancement area on the RR. A test setup with a footprint area of 2.25 m2 and a tower height of 1.5 m, consisting of 11 heliostats, a single hyperbolic central mirror, and a RR, was built and tested to validate the model. It was found that cosine efficiency is an essential factor that dictates the system's performance. Increasing the number of mirrors from 11 to 41 showed the number of suns on the RR will increase from 1.45 to 4.5. A 22% reduction in total insolation on the RR was observed at solar noon due to the shadow of the central mirror, suggesting a prominent effect of shadow in small-scale BDSC systems. The system analyzed could achieve temperatures up to 200 °C, making it suitable for low-temperature applications.

Keywords: Concentrating solar power; Low temperature heating; Solar heating; Beam-down solar concentrators; Heliostat design; Compact solar concentrator (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:215:y:2023:i:c:s0960148123009199

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2023.119007

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