OPTICAL OPTMIZATION OF A LINEAR FRESNEL SOLAR CONCENTRATOR WORKBENCH

André Burigo¹; Alexandre Bittencourt de Sá¹; Gabriel Cascaes¹; Victor Pigozzo Filho¹; Júlio César Passos¹

¹ UFSC

doi:10.20906/CPS/COB-2015-0665

Resumo

The linear Fresnel solar concentration technology differs from others solar concentration technologies existent in the market for its low costs and greater simplicity of manufacture. However, this technology is relatively new and more studies in this subject must be carried out. Following this line of thought, the LEPTEN laboratories is studying the implementation of a linear Fresnel solar collector on the roof of one of its facilities. In order to get the most promising configuration for the collector, taking into account physical and technical constraints of the laboratory, a series of algorithms were developed to optimize its parameters. These algorithms simultaneously vary parameters such as the number of mirrors, mirror spacing, mirror width, absorber element height and the aperture. The model developed obtains the best configuration for the collector varying the position of the sun over a day. This model was validated using the software SOLTRACE, from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and has the advantage that it allows a quick and automatic change in the parameter in order to reach the optimum configuration.

Palavras-chave: Linear Fresnel; Renewable Energy; Solar Energy; Monte Carlo Ray Tracing; Solar Concentrators