Comparison of predicted optical performance with measured results for dish concentrators
Several optical design tools have been developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) during the past two years. These have been used extensively both in-house and by industry to analyze dish concentrator systems and to optimize performance of such designs. The first program, OPTDSH, models single-element dish concentrators. The second code, ODMF, allows multifacet dish arrays to be modeled. The accuracy of performance simulations by these programs has been established by comparing predicted results with measured on-sun data. ODMF evolved from NREL`s High-Flux Solar Furnace (HFSF) design tool, SOLFUR, and in fact is a special case of SOLFUR in which the primary facet array is ``on sun.`` Consequently, confirmation of the accuracy of SOLFUR would verify the results from ODMF as well. Furthermore, because OPTDSH can be viewed as a single-facet case of ODMF, determination of the precision of SOLFUR/ODMF would also substantiate OPTDSH. Thus, the approach to verifying the correctness of all three codes was to compare flux patterns as predicted by SOLFUR with those actually measured at NREL`s HFSF. Measured vs. calculated data have been compared on the basis of flux distribution (in terms of contour plots) and peak flux for both single-facet and multiple-facet cases. Agreement in measured vs. predicted peak flux values has been obtained within the uncertainty associated with the measurement/calibration process. Excellent agreement has also been demonstrated by comparing contour maps of measured vs. computed flux levels. 7 refs.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-83CH10093
- OSTI ID:
- 10151021
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/TP-257-4245; CONF-910802-5; ON: DE92010572
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: World congress of the International Solar Energy Society,Denver, CO (United States),19-23 Aug 1991; Other Information: PBD: Apr 1991
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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