Abstract
In this study, we present the conjugate refractive reflective homogeniser (CRRH) to be used in a 500× Cassegrain photovoltaic concentrator. The CRRH is a dielectric crossed v-trough lined with a reflective film whilst maintaining an air gap between them. This air gap between the two surfaces helps in trapping the scattered light from the refractive geometry and ensures both total internal reflection and standard reflection of the escaped rays. A 10–42% drop in optical efficiency has been shown to occur due to varying the surface roughness of the homogeniser in these ray trace simulations for the Cassegrain setup. The CRRH increased the overall optical efficiency by a maximum of 7.75% in comparison with that of a standard refractive homogeniser simulated within the same concentrator system. The acceptance angle and flux distribution of these homogenisers was also investigated. The simple shape of the CRRH ensures easy manufacturing and produces a relatively uniform irradiance distribution on the receiver. The theoretical benefit of the CRRH is also validated via practical measurements. Further research is required but a 6.7% power increase was measured under a 1000 W/m2 solar simulator at normal incidence for the experimental test.
Highlights
There is a growing interest in concentration photovoltaic (CPV) technologies due to their reduced need for photovoltaic (PV) material and higher potential efficiencies
A selection of bidirectional scattering distribution Function (BSDF) were used in the simulations for this investigation, their plots are given in figure 3 and all taken from the breault software ASAP scattering library [32]
It can be drawn from these results that as long as there is some percentage (>2%) of light reaching the solar cell for the standard refractive homogeniser case, the Conjugate Refractive Reflective Homogeniser (CRRH) will improve the optical efficiency by a non-negligible amount
Summary
The version presented here may differ from the published version. You are advised to consult the published version for pagination, volume/issue and date of publication. Katie Shanks 1a*, Hasan Baig 1b, S. Environmental and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK. Heat Transfer and Thermal Power Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600 036, India a*
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