Method of and apparatus for collecting solar radiation utilizing variable curvature cylindrical reflectors

Patent · Mon Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1979

OSTI ID:863296

Treytl, William J ^[1]; Slemmons, Arthur J ^[2]; Andeen, Gerry B ^[3]

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1. San Jose, CA
2. Los Gatos, CA
3. Menlo Park, CA

A heliostat apparatus includes a frame which is rotatable about an axis which is parallel to the aperture plane of an elongate receiver. A plurality of flat flexible mirror elements are mounted to the frame between several parallel, uniformly spaced resilient beams which are pivotally connected at their ends to the frame. Channels are mounted to the sides of the beams for supporting the edges of the mirror elements. Each of the beams has a longitudinally varying configuration designed to bow into predetermined, generally circular curvatures of varying radii when the center of the beam is deflected relative to the pivotally connected ends of the beams. All of the parallel resilient beams are simultaneously deflected by a cam shaft assembly extending through openings in the centers of the beams, whereby the mirror elements together form an upwardly concave, cylindrical reflecting surface. The heliostat is rotated about its axis to track the apparent diurnal movement of the sun, while the reflecting surface is substantially simultaneously bowed into a cylindrical trough having a radius adapted to focus incident light at the plane of the receiver aperture.

• Research Organization: FMC CORP
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76ET20426
• Assignee: FMC Corporation (San Jose, CA)
• Patent Number(s): US 4141626
• OSTI ID: 863296
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/359/126/
adapted
aperture
apparatus
apparent
assembly
axis
beam
beams
bow
bowed
center
centers
channels
circular
collecting
collecting solar
concave
configuration
connected
curvature
curvatures
cylindrical
deflected
designed
diurnal
edges
elements
elongate
extending
flat
flexible
focus
form
frame
heliostat
incident
incident light
light
longitudinally
method
mirror
mounted
movement
openings
parallel
pivotally
pivotally connected
plane
plurality
predetermined
radiation
radiation utilizing
radii
radius
receiver
reflecting
reflecting surface
reflectors
relative
resilient
rotatable
rotated
shaft
shaft assembly
simultaneously
solar
solar radiation
spaced
substantially
substantially simultaneous
substantially simultaneously
sun
supporting
surface
track
trough
uniformly
uniformly spaced
upwardly
utilizing
variable
varying
whereby