Linear Fresnel mirror solar concentrator with tracking

Abstract

Solar energy is the most abundant, widely distributed and clean renewable energy resource. Since the insolation intensity is only in the range of 0.5 - 1.0 kW/m2, solar concentrators are required for attaining temperatures appropriate for medium and high temperature applications. The concentrated energy is transferred through an absorber to a thermal fluid such as air, water or other fluids for various uses. This paper describes design and development of a 'Linear Fresnel Mirror Solar Concentrator' (LFMSC) using long thin strips of mirrors to focus sunlight on to a fixed receiver located at a common focal line. Our LFMSC system comprises a reflector (concentrator), receiver (target) and an innovative solar tracking mechanism. Reflectors are mirror strips, mounted on tubes which are fixed to a base frame. The tubes can be rotated to align the strips to focus solar radiation on the receiver (target). The latter comprises a coated tube carrying water and covered by a glass plate. This is mounted at an elevation of few meters above the horizontal, parallel to the plane of the mirrors. The reflector is oriented along north-south axis. The most difficult task is tracking. This is achieved by single axis tracking using a four bar link mechanism. Thus tracking has been made simple and easy to operate. The LFMSC setup is used for generating steam for a variety of applications.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2013.03.167
Divisions: College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > School of Engineering and Technology > Mechanical, Biomedical & Design
College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > Sustainable environment research group
Additional Information: © 2013 the Authors. published bt Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Uncontrolled Keywords: line focusing,linear fresnel mirror concentrator,Engineering(all)
Publication ISSN: 1877-7058
Last Modified: 05 Jan 2024 08:12
Date Deposited: 07 Sep 2015 14:50
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2013
Published Online Date: 2013-05-07
Authors: Sen, P.K.
Ashutosh, K.
Bhuwanesh, K.
Engineer, Z.
Hegde, S.
Sen, P.V.
Davies, P. (ORCID Profile 0000-0003-4783-1234)

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