Behavior of a Heat-Protective Material Based on Al2O3 and SiO2 Fibers under Exposure to Concentrated Solar Energy Flux

A ray-tracing analysis was conducted on a 2-stage solar concentrator made of two parabolic mirrors created by Lunenburg Industrial Foundry & Engineering (LIFE). The effects of the secondary mirror’s focal length, the distance between the secondary mirror and the target, and the misalignment with the sun were studied. The focal length of the secondary mirror determines the maximum local solar energy flux Φ that can be achieve on the target. For the optimal focal length of 157.9ʺ, a maximum Φ = 1.2 x 104 MW/m2 was achieve compare to Φ = 1680 MW/m2 for the initial LIFE’s focal length of 158.8125ʺ. The concentrator concentrates all the incident energy from the sun on the target, and that independently of the secondary mirror’s focal length (within the range studied), as long as the target position is within an 11 cm zone. Small misalignments in the order of ±0.2° would bring the concentration efficiency to zero.

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Limb darkening effect included in a simple formula for solar energy flux

Astronomische Nachrichten ◽

10.1002/asna.2113140106 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 314 (1) ◽

pp. 31-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

V. Badescu

Keyword(s):

Solar Energy ◽

Energy Flux ◽

Simple Formula ◽

Solar Energy Flux ◽

Limb Darkening

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Section 2. Solar energy flux variations

Solar Variability and Its Effects on Climate - Geophysical Monograph Series ◽

10.1029/141gm07 ◽

2004 ◽

pp. 85-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hugh S. Hudson

Keyword(s):

Solar Energy ◽

Energy Flux ◽

Solar Energy Flux

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An experimental procedure to determine solar energy flux distributions on the absorber of line-axis compound parabolic concentrators

Renewable Energy ◽

10.1016/s0960-1481(98)00274-2 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 16 (1-4) ◽

pp. 761-764 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

M. Smyth ◽

A. Zacharopoulos ◽

P.C. Eames ◽

B. Norton

Keyword(s):

Solar Energy ◽

Energy Flux ◽

Experimental Procedure ◽

Solar Energy Flux

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Waste and Solar Energy: An Eco-Friendly Way for Glass Melting

ChemEngineering ◽

10.3390/chemengineering5020016 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 16

Author(s):

Isabel Padilla ◽

Maximina Romero ◽

José I. Robla ◽

Aurora López-Delgado

Keyword(s):

Solar Energy ◽

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Glass Melting ◽

Glass Network ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

X Ray ◽

Concentrated Solar Energy ◽

Calcium Source ◽

The Aluminum Industry

In this work, concentrated solar energy (CSE) was applied to an energy-intensive process such as the vitrification of waste with the aim of manufacturing glasses. Different types of waste were used as raw materials: a hazardous waste from the aluminum industry as aluminum source; two residues from the food industry (eggshell and mussel shell) and dolomite ore as calcium source; quartz sand was also employed as glass network former. The use of CSE allowed obtaining glasses in the SiO2-Al2O3-CaO system at exposure time as short as 15 min. The raw materials, their mixtures, and the resulting glasses were characterized by means of X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and differential thermal analysis. The feasibility of combining a renewable energy, as solar energy and different waste for the manufacture of glasses, would highly contribute to circular economy and environmental sustainability.

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