Evaluation and comparison of an adaptive method technique for improved performance of linear Fresnel secondary designs

Hack, Madeline; Zhu, Guangdong; Wendelin, Timothy J.

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.09.009

Title: Evaluation and comparison of an adaptive method technique for improved performance of linear Fresnel secondary designs

Journal Article · Wed Sep 13 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Applied Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.09.009· OSTI ID:1395096

Hack, Madeline ^[1];

^[1]; Wendelin, Timothy J. ^[1]

National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

As a line-focus concentrating solar power (CSP) technology, linear Fresnel collectors have the potential to become a low-cost solution for electricity production and a variety of thermal energy applications. However, this technology often suffers from relatively low performance. A secondary reflector is a key component used to improve optical performance of a linear Fresnel collector. The shape of a secondary reflector is particularly critical in determining solar power captured by the absorber tube(s), and thus, the collector's optical performance. However, to the authors' knowledge, no well-established process existed to derive the optimal secondary shape prior to the development of a new adaptive method to optimize the secondary reflector shape. The new adaptive method does not assume any pre-defined analytical form; rather, it constitutes an optimum shape through an adaptive process by maximizing the energy collection onto the absorber tube. In this paper, the adaptive method is compared with popular secondary-reflector designs with respect to a collector's optical performance under various scenarios. For the first time, a comprehensive, in-depth comparison was conducted on all popular secondary designs for CSP applications. In conclusion, it is shown that the adaptive design exhibits the best optical performance.

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Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1395096

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1550014

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5500-68680

Journal Information:: Applied Energy, Vol. 208; ISSN 0306-2619

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 24 works

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