Characterization of Core-Shell Spherical Lens for Microtracking Concentrator Photovoltaic System

Masakazu Nakatani and Noboru Yamada
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Masakazu Nakatani: Department of Energy and Environment Science, Nagaoka University of Technology, 1603-1 Kamitomioka-machi, Nagaoka 940-2188, Japan
Noboru Yamada: Department of Energy and Environment Science, Nagaoka University of Technology, 1603-1 Kamitomioka-machi, Nagaoka 940-2188, Japan

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: The optical characteristics of a radially symmetrical core-shell spherical (CSSP) lens is analyzed for its suitability to application in microtracking concentrator photovoltaic systems (MTCPVs). The CSSP lens is compared to a conventional homogenous spherical lens through both ray-tracing simulations and outdoor experiments. Simulation results show that the CSSP lens is superior to the conventional homogenous spherical lens in terms of its optical efficiency for long focal lengths, for which the CSSP lens exhibits less spherical and chromatic aberrations. Outdoor experiments are conducted using test concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules with prototype CSSP and homogenous spherical lenses; the trend of the measured short circuit current agrees with the that of the simulated optical efficiency for both lenses. Furthermore, compared to the homogenous lens, the CSSP lens significantly increases module efficiency because of its better illumination uniformity at the solar cell surface. The optical characteristics of the CSSP lens are preferable for MTCPVs with a spherical lens array to achieve a higher module efficiency for a wider incidence angle although further studies on more practical system configurations are needed.

Keywords: photovoltaics; solar concentrators; solar cells; geometrical optics; concentrator photovoltaics; spherical lens (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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