Development of compound parabolic concentrators for solar thermal applications
The compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) is a non-focusing concentrator which achieves maximal concentration with minimal tracking requirements. It allows, for example, concentration values up to 10 without any diurnal tracking. The potential applications of the CPC cover space heating and cooling, process heating, solar thermal conversion, and photovoltaic power generation. Several CPC collectors for high temperature (up to 200/sup 0/C) operation have been designed and constructed. A variety of different configurations, materials, and fabrication techniques have been tried to determine the best possible design for a given application. Performance with non-selective and with selective (black-chrome) absorber coatings is compared. One of the collectors uses an absorber inside an evacuated glass tube. The test procedures are described and preliminary results are presented.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL
- OSTI ID:
- 6463857
- Journal Information:
- Am. Soc. Mech. Eng., (Pap.); (United States), Vol. 76-WA-SOL-11
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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