Paper
17 November 1978 First-Order Design Variables For Concentrating Solar Collectors
Jan F. Kreider
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Abstract
Solar flux is inherently of very high thermodynamic quality (low entropy). However, the terrestrial use of solar heat at high temperature can only be achieved by means of solar concentrators of the reflecting or refracting type. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the three major design variables of concentrators - optical efficiency, heat loss coefficient and heat removal factor. The optical efficiency no embodies many important concentrator properties including mirror surface reflectance and slope, tracking accuracy, receiver transmittance and absorptance and solar beam incidence angle effects. The heat loss coefficient Uc of a solar concentrator represents its thermal performance and depends upon the relative magnitudes of convection and conduction flux rates, surface emittances of receiver components and operating temperature relative to the environment. The third design parameter - the heat removal factor FR - is a measure of the efficiency of the receiver when viewed as a heat exchanger. Its value is governed by working fluid properties and flow rates as well as the thermal properties of the receiver material. The principal factors which determine the value of no, Uc and FR are described in the paper.
© (1978) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Jan F. Kreider "First-Order Design Variables For Concentrating Solar Collectors", Proc. SPIE 0161, Optics Applied to Solar Energy IV, (17 November 1978); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.956866
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KEYWORDS
Receivers

Solar concentrators

Solar energy

Mirrors

Glasses

Reflectivity

Reflectors

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