Fixed position concentrating solar collector
A fixed position concentrating solar collector in the form of a trough having an inner surface reflective to solar radiation and formed to direct the sun's rays entering the trough onto a radiation absorber element, the trough having end structures capable of selectively reflecting solar radiation into the trough or of being made transparent for passing solar radiation into the trough which would otherwise be blocked off by the trough end. Devices responsive to the position of the sun relative to the trough automatically control clearness-reflectiveness of the trough ends. End structures include flexible sheets on a roller, movable ends, jointly movable slats, leaves which may be aligned or fanned out, inflatable bags and flexible sheets controlled by bourdon tubes. A highly efficient configuration of the trough reflecting surface has a transverse plane profile defined by a compound parabolic curve comprising a half parabola joined to the other half of the parabola by a quarter circle shifted 90/sup 0/ with respect to the first half, the distance between the focus of the parabola being equal to the radius of the quarter circle and the focus of both of the half parabolas and the circle being in the same position.
- Assignee:
- IFI; EDB-86-086330
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4546757
- OSTI ID:
- 6053928
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
141000* -- Solar Collectors & Concentrators
CONCENTRATING COLLECTORS
DESIGN
EFFICIENCY
EQUIPMENT
HELIOSTATS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PARABOLIC COLLECTORS
PARABOLIC TROUGH COLLECTORS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POSITIONING
REFLECTIVITY
SHEETS
SOLAR ABSORBERS
SOLAR CELL ARRAYS
SOLAR COLLECTORS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR TRACKING
SOLAR TRACKING SYSTEMS
SPECTRALLY SELECTIVE SURFACES
SURFACE PROPERTIES
SURFACES