High-efficiency solar concentrator

Abstract

A new type of solar concentrator is presented using liquid lenses and simple translational tracking mechanism. The concentrator achieves a 100:1 nominal concentration ratio and is compared in performance with a flat-plate collector having two sheets of glazing and non-selective coating. The results of the thermal analysis show that higher temperatures can be obtained with the concentrator than is possible with the non-concentrator flat-plate type. Furthermore, the thermal efficiency far exceeds that of the comparative flat-plate type for all operating conditions.