Development of an Elevation–Fresnel Linked Mini-Heliostat Array

Isaías Moreno-Cruz, Juan Carlos Castro, Omar Álvarez-Brito, Hilda B. Mota-Nava, Guillermo Ramírez-Zúñiga, José J. Quiñones-Aguilar and Camilo A. Arancibia-Bulnes
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Isaías Moreno-Cruz: Instituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Privada Xochicalco s/n, Colonia Centro, Temixco, Morelos 62580, Mexico
Juan Carlos Castro: Instituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Privada Xochicalco s/n, Colonia Centro, Temixco, Morelos 62580, Mexico
Omar Álvarez-Brito: Gadgets & Design, S. A. de C. V., Periférico Sur 4302-105, Colonia Jardines del Pedregal, Coyoacán, Ciudad de Mexico 04500, Mexico
Hilda B. Mota-Nava: Gadgets & Design, S. A. de C. V., Periférico Sur 4302-105, Colonia Jardines del Pedregal, Coyoacán, Ciudad de Mexico 04500, Mexico
Guillermo Ramírez-Zúñiga: Instituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Privada Xochicalco s/n, Colonia Centro, Temixco, Morelos 62580, Mexico
José J. Quiñones-Aguilar: Instituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Privada Xochicalco s/n, Colonia Centro, Temixco, Morelos 62580, Mexico
Camilo A. Arancibia-Bulnes: Instituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Privada Xochicalco s/n, Colonia Centro, Temixco, Morelos 62580, Mexico

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-19

Abstract: Heliostats are critical components of solar tower technology and different strategies have been proposed to reduce their costs; among them diminishing their size to reduce wind loads or linking nearby heliostats mechanically, to reduce the overall number of actuators. This document aims to describe the development of a linked array of mini-heliostats which move together in an elevation–Fresnel configuration. This configuration consists of an array of mirrors rotating around linked parallel axes, in a linear Fresnel style with an added elevation mechanism allowing all axes to incline simultaneously in the plane North–South–Zenith; that is equivalent to an array of N linked mini-heliostats moved by only two drives instead of 2N. A detailed analytical study of the Sun-tracking performance of this kind of heliostat arrays was carried out, and an 8-mirror prototype based on optical and mechanical analyses was designed, built and tested. Even though the mirrors are flat, the array produced a rather compact radiative flux distribution on the receiver. The flux distribution is compatible with a slope error of the order of 1 mrad. Peak and mean concentration ratios reached 6.89 and 3.94, respectively.

Keywords: linked heliostats; solar tracking; solar tower; central receiver technology (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: 2020
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