Optimization design and performance analysis of a novel asymmetric compound parabolic concentrator with rotation angle for building application

Abstract

A novel asymmetric lens-walled compound parabolic concentrator (ALCPC) for integration with the building south wall was proposed and manufactured. Besides of the asymmetric lens-walled structure, the special rotation angle at the bottom is also introduced to optimize the performance. The electrical and optical performance of the ALCPC-PV was detailed analyzed through the experiment and ray tracing simulation. The indoor experiment was conducted by a solar simulator (Oriel Sol3A Model 90943A) from Newport Corporation at the dark environment with the temperature of 25 °C. Form the experiment results, the ALCPC increases the maximum power by a ratio of 1.74x compared to the bare cell. The decrease of the geometric concentration ratio is mainly due to manufacturing errors, mismatch losses, series resistance losses, etc. The optical performance of the ALCPC was also investigated by the software Lighttools, and the optical efficiency and the distribution percentage of the energy collected through the total internal reflection and the specular reflection at different incidence angles are identified at various incidence angles. A good agreement is observed between the experiment results and the ray tracing results. The optical efficiency at the incidence angles of 0–60° is all within 90% of its peak value which means that the proposed ALCPC can achieve 60° acceptance angle with high optical efficiency that it shows a good potential as a static concentrator for the building south wall integration.