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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2020) | Viewed by 35246

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Dr. Loreto Valenzuela

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CIEMAT, Plataforma Solar de Almería, Carretera de Senés km. 4,5, P.O. Box 22, E-04200 Tabernas-Almería, Spain
Interests: solar energy; solar thermal energy; csp; parabolic trough
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Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

In the last decade, large-scale deployment in the commercial use of tracking solar collectors has occurred thanks to new large solar power plants using parabolic troughs or solar tower plants. This fact has piqued the interest of the research community and of industry in new optical designs of solar collectors, but also in investigating the performance, limitations, and operational and maintenance issues of current solar collector designs, including specific research on receivers, optical concentrators, tracking systems, etc. It has been also found that in some cases there is a lack of standard test procedures to perform a complete characterization of specific designs of solar collectors, especially for those developed for high solar-energy concentrations (line-focus or point-focus solar collectors of large aperture).

This Special Issue is intended to invite recent research on solar collectors for medium temperature applications, both line-focus and point-focus, conceived for industrial process heat or combined thermal and electrical applications (e.g., concentrated photovoltaic thermal CPV/T solar collectors), and high temperature applications, independently if the final application is the coupling of the solar system to a power block for electricity production or the supply of high-temperature thermal energy to any industrial application.

Research on parabolic troughs, linear Fresnel collectors, parabolic dishes, heliostats, and/or any other innovative tracking solar collector design is welcome to this Special Issue, whose main emphasis is on articles related to solar collectors’ development, testing, and/or performance and not to specific applications of the technology.

Dr. Loreto Valenzuela
Guest Editor

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

concentrated solar-energy
tracking solar collector
parabolic trough
CPVT
linear Fresnel
parabolic dish
heliostat

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 14783 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Low-Cost Solar Electricity Using Stationary Solar Fields; Technology Potential and Practical Implementation Challenges to Be Overcome. Outcomes from H2020 MOSAIC Project

by Cristóbal Villasante, Saioa Herrero, Marcelino Sánchez, Iñigo Pagola, Adrian Peña, David Olasolo and Ana Bernardos

Energies 2020, 13(7), 1816; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13071816 - 10 Apr 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5208

Abstract

At any time of the day, a spherical mirror reflects the rays coming from the sun along a line that points to the sun through the center of the sphere. This makes it possible to build concentrated solar power(CSP) plants with fixed solar fields and mobile receivers; that is, solar fields can be significantly cheaper and simpler, but challenging tracking systems for the mobile receiver need to be implemented. The cost-cutting possibilities for this technology have been under-researched. This article describes the MOSAIC concept, which aims to achieve low-cost solar energy by boosting the benefits of spherical reflectors while addressing their challenges. This new concept proposes to build large modular plants from semi-Fresnel solar bowls. One of these modules has been designed and is under construction in Spain. This article reports the main lessons learned during the design phase, describes the advantages and challenges of the concept, details the proposed routes to overcome them, and identifies the steps needed to develop a fully competitive industrial solution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Solar Collector)

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19 pages, 5702 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Methodology for an Opto-Geometric Optimization of a Linear Fresnel Reflector for Direct Steam Generation

by Eduardo González-Mora and Ma. Dolores Durán García

Energies 2020, 13(2), 355; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13020355 - 10 Jan 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3206

Abstract

A methodology for an optical optimization of the intercept factor concerning a linear Fresnel reflector is described to increase the amount of solar irradiation that will be delivered in the absorber for Agua Prieta, Sonora; taking the FRESDEMO’s Fresnel field as the reference design. For the performed optimization, the intercept factor is determined as a function of the receiver’s height, establishing a simple criterion for the optimization. The FRESDEMO’s field description is determined and briefly discussed, next compared with the proposed optimization. The compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) Winston function for a circular absorber is modified to relocate the cusp of the reflector and the absorber. This modified CPC will redirect all the reflected rays that do not hit directly the absorber, as in the FRESDEMO field, so all of them are captured by the absorber. Through ray-tracing, the graphic flux distribution in the receiver aperture is conceived. This flux distribution is compared with the FRESDEMO field and with a PTC with a flat absorber, ensuring an adequate optimization regarding the intercept factor. The result of the opto-geometric optimization is compared between the FRESDEMO and the optimized field for a specified thermal process, addressing a considerable reduction in the length of the loops. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Solar Collector)

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24 pages, 6603 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Optimized Dispatch and Operation Strategies for Heliostat Fields in a Concentrated Solar Power Tower Plant

by Dongchang You, Qiang Yu, Zhifeng Wang and Feihu Sun

Energies 2019, 12(23), 4544; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12234544 - 28 Nov 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2330

Abstract

Concerning solar flux densities during the operation of a concentrated solar power tower plant, their uneven distribution on a central receiver not only leads to abrupt variations of thermal gradient on the receiver surface but also makes it possible for the receiver to break down. Specific to such problems, a “concentrating-receiver” coupling system of a 1 MWe concentrated solar power tower plant in Yanqing was selected as the research object. On this basis, a spliced heliostat model was firstly established in this paper. The model was used to investigate solar flux distribution on the receiver surface. Considering that heliostats in different positions make diverse contributions to receiver surface energy and the incidence cosines of adjacent heliostats are similar to each other, a new grouping method for heliostat fields was subsequently proposed; moreover, focal point selection criteria were designed for the receiver surface according to solar spot sizes. Finally, an optimized dispatch and operation strategy was established based on the genetic algorithm for the heliostat field. Therefore, a standard deviation of solar flux distribution can be minimized. To verify the reliability of the established model and the proposed strategy, a small-scale heliostat field was adopted to check the simulation results by means of experiments. It has been demonstrated that a heliostat field subjected to optimized dispatch makes solar flux densities distribute more uniformly on the receiver surface. Hence, the safe and steady operation of the receiver is guaranteed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Solar Collector)

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14 pages, 10147 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research of the Energy Losses of Photovoltaic (PV) Modules after Hail Simulation Using a Newly-Created Testbed

by Kristina Kilikevičienė, Jonas Matijošius, Artūras Kilikevičius, Mindaugas Jurevičius, Vytautas Makarskas, Jacek Caban and Andrzej Marczuk

Energies 2019, 12(23), 4537; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12234537 - 28 Nov 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2811

Abstract

The impact of hail ice cubes on composite structures (such as solar cells) causes actual defects. This article presents a series of tests, in which solar cell modules were exposed to hail simulation testbed balls, allowing to assess the following: the impact energy, which causes the major defects in solar cells; the formed micro-cracks in the structure of solar cells, resulting in the loss of power generated by a solar cell; and the solar cell parameters necessary for modelling. In addition, this article presents a digital analysis of hail simulation. Information received from the digital analysis was used to optimize the structure of solar cells in order to improve its resistance properties. The aim of this study was to present a simple method for experimental hail simulation. The proposed hail impact estimation method can be successfully applied to study the influence of the mechanical–dynamic impact of photovoltaic (PV) modules of different structures on the technical characteristics of these modules (structural stability, power generation, etc.). The study showed that PV modules are subjected to an irreversible effect of the excitation force (i.e., micro-cracking) and it can reduce the generated power by 2.33% to 4.83%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Solar Collector)

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18 pages, 9291 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Experimental Study on Vacuum Performance of Parabolic Trough Receivers based on a Novel Non-destructive Testing Method

by Fangyuan Yao, Dongqiang Lei, Ke Yu, Yingying Han, Pan Yao, Zhifeng Wang, Quanxi Fang and Qiao Hu

Energies 2019, 12(23), 4531; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12234531 - 28 Nov 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2023

Abstract

The loss of vacuum in the parabolic trough receivers is one of the most common problems in the parabolic trough solar power plants. The vacuum level and gas species in the annulus of the receiver determine the heat loss and have an important influence on the thermal efficient of the solar system. If hydrogen is inside the annulus, it can cause heat losses to be almost four times that of a receiver with good vacuum. However, it is hard to non-destructively measure the gas species and partial pressure in the annulus of the receiver. In this paper, a novel non-destructive method was presented to evaluate the vacuum performance by using combined dielectric barrier discharge and the spectral analysis technology. The discharge characteristics and spectrometric properties of four kinds of gases, which are the most likely gases to be found in the receivers, were studied in the experiments. The test results of the non-destructive vacuum evaluation method agree well with the results of the residual gas analysis. The feasibility and accuracy of the non-destructive test method was verified. The relationship between the vacuum performance of receiver and the spectral characteristics of dielectric barrier discharge were obtained by a series of experiments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Solar Collector)

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18 pages, 5523 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influences of Optical Factors on the Performance of the Solar Furnace

by Zhiying Cui, Fengwu Bai, Zhifeng Wang and Fuqiang Wang

Energies 2019, 12(20), 3933; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12203933 - 17 Oct 2019

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2966

Abstract

In this paper, an optical structure design for a solar furnace is described. Based on this configuration, Monte Carlo ray tracing simulations are carried out to analyze the influences of four optical factors on the concentrated solar heat flux distribution. According to the practical mirror shape adjustment approach, the curved surface of concentrator facet is obtained by using the finite element method. Due to the faceted reflector structure, the gaps between the adjacent mirror arrays and the orientations of facets are also considered in the simulation model. It gives the allowable error ranges or restrictions corresponding to the optical factors which individually effect the system in Beijing: The tilt error of heliostat should be less than 4 mrad; the tilt error of the concentrator in the orthogonal directions should be both less than 2 mrad; the concentrator facets with the shape most approaching paraboloid would greatly resolve slope error and layout errors arising in the concentrator. Besides, by comparing the experimentally measured irradiance with the simulated results, the optical performance of the facility is evaluated to investigate their comprehensive influence. The results are useful to help constructors have a better understanding of the solar furnace’s optical behavior under conditions of multiple manufacture restrictions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Solar Collector)

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15 pages, 7896 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of Core-Shell Spherical Lens for Microtracking Concentrator Photovoltaic System

by Masakazu Nakatani and Noboru Yamada

Energies 2019, 12(18), 3517; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12183517 - 12 Sep 2019

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2087

Abstract

The optical characteristics of a radially symmetrical core-shell spherical (CSSP) lens is analyzed for its suitability to application in microtracking concentrator photovoltaic systems (MTCPVs). The CSSP lens is compared to a conventional homogenous spherical lens through both ray-tracing simulations and outdoor experiments. Simulation results show that the CSSP lens is superior to the conventional homogenous spherical lens in terms of its optical efficiency for long focal lengths, for which the CSSP lens exhibits less spherical and chromatic aberrations. Outdoor experiments are conducted using test concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules with prototype CSSP and homogenous spherical lenses; the trend of the measured short circuit current agrees with the that of the simulated optical efficiency for both lenses. Furthermore, compared to the homogenous lens, the CSSP lens significantly increases module efficiency because of its better illumination uniformity at the solar cell surface. The optical characteristics of the CSSP lens are preferable for MTCPVs with a spherical lens array to achieve a higher module efficiency for a wider incidence angle although further studies on more practical system configurations are needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Solar Collector)

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Graphical abstract

24 pages, 10399 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Establishment, Validation, and Application of a Comprehensive Thermal Hydraulic Model for a Parabolic Trough Solar Field

by Linrui Ma, Zhifeng Wang, Dongqiang Lei and Li Xu

Energies 2019, 12(16), 3161; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12163161 - 16 Aug 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2347

Abstract

To better understand the thermal hydraulic characteristics of the parabolic trough solar field (PTSF), a comprehensive thermal hydraulic model (CTHM) based on a pilot plant is developed in this paper. All of the main components and thermal and hydraulic transients are considered in the CTHM, and the input parameters of the model are no longer dependent on the total flow rate. In this paper, we solve the CTHM by a novel numerical approach based on graph theory and the Newton-Raphson method, and then examine it by two tests conducted based on a pilot plant. Comparing the flow rate, temperature, and pressure drop results show good agreement and further validate the availability and accuracy of the CTHM under hydraulic and thermal disturbance. Besides, two applications of the CTHM are implemented for presenting its potential function. In the first application, two cases are simulated to reveal how the thermal effects influence the PTSF behavior, and in the second application, the CHTF is used for the study of control strategies under uniform and nonuniform solar irradiance. The results verify the feasibility of controlling the PTSF outlet temperature through the header and loop valves. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Solar Collector)

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15 pages, 4839 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Design, Manufacturing and Characterization of Linear Fresnel Reflector’s Facets

by Diego Pulido-Iparraguirre, Loreto Valenzuela, Jesús Fernández-Reche, José Galindo and José Rodríguez

Energies 2019, 12(14), 2795; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12142795 - 20 Jul 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2860

Abstract

This paper presents a procedure for making facetted mirrors to use in linear Fresnel reflectors, considering the design of the transversal geometry, materials, and structure configuration. Four different assemblies of the structure that supports and shapes the mirror are documented and evaluated. An assembly that implies a curved, pleated aluminum rectangular plate with a thin silvered-glass mirror vacuum glued to the plate is defined as the optimal. The geometrical quality of the chosen mirror facet’s configuration is accomplished by photogrammetry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Solar Collector)

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16 pages, 3569 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Heat-Transfer Characteristics of Liquid Sodium in a Solar Receiver Tube with a Nonuniform Heat Flux

by Jing Liu, Yongqing He and Xianliang Lei

Energies 2019, 12(8), 1432; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12081432 - 14 Apr 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3657

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical simulation on the heat transfer of liquid sodium in a solar receiver tube, as the liquid sodium is a promising heat-transfer candidate for the next generation solar-power-tower (SPT) system. A comparison between three mediums—solar salt, Hitec and liquid sodium—is presented under uniform and nonuniform heat-flux configurations. We studied the effects of mass flow rate (Q_m), inlet temperature (T_in), and maximum heat flux (q_o_max), on the average heat-transfer coefficient (h) and the friction coefficient (f) of the three mediums. The results show that the h of liquid sodium is about 2.5 to 5 times than other two molten salts when T_in is varying from 550 to 800 K, Q_m is 1.0 kg/s, and q_o_max is 0.1 MW/m². For maximum heat fluxes from 0.1 to 0.3 MW/m², the h of liquid sodium is always an order of magnitude larger than that of Hitec and Solar-Salt (S-S), while maintaining a small friction coefficient. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Solar Collector)

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20 pages, 11440 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Novel Design of Primary Optical Elements Based on a Linear Fresnel Lens for Concentrator Photovoltaic Technology

by Thanh Tuan Pham, Ngoc Hai Vu and Seoyong Shin

Energies 2019, 12(7), 1209; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12071209 - 28 Mar 2019

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4035

Abstract

In this paper, we present a design and optical simulation of a novel linear Fresnel lens. The lens can be applied to a concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) system as a primary optical element (POE) to increase the concentration ratio and improve the uniformity of irradiance distribution over the receiver. In addition, the CPV system can use the proposed lens as a concentrator without involving a secondary optical element (SOE). The designed lens, which is a combination of two linear Fresnel lenses placed perpendicular to each other, can collect and distribute the direct sunlight on two dimensions. The lens is first designed in the MATLAB program, based on the edge ray theorem, Snell’s law, and the conservation of the optical path length, and then drawn in three dimensions (3D) by using LightTools^TM. Furthermore, in order to optimize the structure and investigate the performance of the lens, the ray tracing and the simulation are also performed in LightTools^TM. The results show that the newly designed lens can achieve a high concentration ratio of 576 times, a high optical efficiency of 82.4%, an acceptable tolerance of 0.84°, and high uniform irradiance of around 77% for both horizontal and vertical investigation lines over the receiver. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Solar Collector)

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