Optical and thermal properties of compound parabolic concentrators

Journal Article · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1976 · Sol. Energy; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(76)90069-4· OSTI ID:7123398

Rabl, A

Compound Parabolic Concentrators (CPC) are relevant for solar energy collection because they achieve the highest possible concentration for any acceptance angle (tracking requirement). The convective and radiative heat transfers through a CPC are calculated, and formulas for evaluating the performance of solar collectors based on the CPC principle are presented. A simple analytic technique for calculating the average number of reflections for radiation passing through a CPC is developed; this is useful for computing optical losses. In most practical appliations, a CPC will be truncated because a large portion of the reflector area can be eliminated without seriously reducing the concentration. The effects of this truncation are described explicitly. The paper includes many numerical examples, displayed in tables and graphs, which should be helpful in designing CPC solar collectors.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL
• OSTI ID: 7123398
• Journal Information: Sol. Energy; (United States), Journal Name: Sol. Energy; (United States) Vol. 18:6; ISSN SRENA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
141000* -- Solar Collectors & Concentrators
COMPOUND PARABOLIC CONCENTRATORS
DESIGN
ENERGY TRANSFER
HEAT TRANSFER
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PERFORMANCE
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SOLAR CONCENTRATORS