Comparative study of two CPV optical concentrators, using a Fresnel lens as primary optical element

This paper investigates the potential of a new integrated solar concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) system that uses a solo point focus Fresnel lens for multiple multi-junction solar cells (MJSCs). The proposed system comprises of an FL concentrator as the primary optical element, a multi-leg homogeniser as the secondary optical element (SOE), a plano-concave lens, and four MJSCs. A three-dimensional model of this system was developed using the ray tracing method to predict the influence of aperture width, height, and position with respect to MJSCs of different reflective and refractive SOE on the overall optical efficiency of the system and the irradiance uniformity achieved on the MJSCs’ surfaces. The results show that the refractive homogeniser using N-BK7 glass can achieve higher optical efficiency (79%) compared to the reflective homogeniser (57.5%). In addition, the peak to average ratio of illumination at MJSCs for the reflective homogeniser ranges from 1.07 to 1.14, while for the refractive homogeniser, it ranges from 1.06 to 1.34, causing minimum effects on the electrical performance of the MJSCs. The novelty of this paper is the development of a high concentration CPV system that integrates multiple MJSCs with a uniform distribution of rays, unlike the conventional CPV systems that utilise a single concentrator onto a single MJSC. The optical efficiency of the CPV system was also examined using both the types of homogeniser (reflective and refractive).

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Chocolate Terahertz Fresnel Lens

Photonics Letters of Poland ◽

10.4302/plp.v12i4.1046 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 103

Author(s):

Mateusz Surma ◽

Paweł Komorowski ◽

Maciej Neneman ◽

Agnieszka Siemion

Keyword(s):

Terahertz Spectroscopy ◽

Complex Refractive Index ◽

Optical Element ◽

Far Infrared ◽

Computational Design ◽

Fresnel Lens ◽

Polymer Materials ◽

Terahertz Waves ◽

International Conference ◽

3D Printed

Recent enormous development of 3D printing techniques gave the possibility of precise manufacturing of designed optical structures. This paper presents designing, manufacturing and the results obtained for chocolate Fresnel lens. Chocolate, similarly to wax, can be melted and used in the 3D printed form to create a terahertz (THz) optical element. Parameters of the chocolate lens are compared with the one made of wax. In simple applications both materials can be used as a cost-effective alternative for conventional optical materials used for THz range of radiation. Both lenses have been designed and compared for 140 GHz. Full Text: PDF ReferencesM. Naftaly, R.E. Miles, and P.J. Greenslade, "THz transmission in polymer materials — a data library", Joint 32nd International Conference on Infrared and Millimeter Waves and the 15th International Conference on Terahertz Electronics, 819-820 (2007). CrossRef S. Firoozabadi, F. Beltran-Mejia, A. Soltani, D. Jahn, S.F. Busch, J.C. Balzer, and M. Koch, "THz transmission blazed grating made out of paper tissue", 42nd International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz), 1-2 (2017). CrossRef D. Headland, W. Withayachumnankul, M. Webb, H. Ebendorff-Heidepriem, A. Luiten, and D. Abbott, "Analysis of 3D-printed metal for rapid-prototyped reflective terahertz optics", Optics express 24(15), 17384-17396 (2016). CrossRef S.F. Busch, M. Weidenbach, M. Fey, F. Schäfer, T. Probst, and M. Koch, "Optical Properties of 3D Printable Plastics in the THz Regime and their Application for 3D Printed THz Optics", Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves 35(12), 993-997 (2014). CrossRef C. Jördens, and M. Koch, "Detection of foreign bodies in chocolate with pulsed terahertz spectroscopy", Optical Engineering 47(3), 037003 (2008). CrossRef A.D. Squires, E. Constable, and R.A. Lewis, "3D Printed Terahertz Diffraction Gratings And Lenses", Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves 36(1), 72-80 (2015). CrossRef W. D. Furlan, V. Ferrando, J. A. Monsoriu, P. Zagrajek, E. Czerwińska, and M. Szustakowski, "3D printed diffractive terahertz lenses", Optics letters 41(8), 1748-1751 (2016). CrossRef X. Wei, C. Liu, L. Niu, Z. Zhang, K. Wang, Z. Yang, and J. Liu, "Generation of arbitrary order Bessel beams via 3D printed axicons at the terahertz frequency range", Applied optics 54(36), 10641-10649 (2015). CrossRef S. Banerji, and B. Sensale-Rodriguez, "3D-printed diffractive terahertz optical elements through computational design", Micro-and Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications XI 10982, 109822X, International Society for Optics and Photonics (2019). CrossRef M. Surma, I. Ducin, P. Zagrajek, and A. Siemion, "Sub-Terahertz Computer Generated Hologram with Two Image Planes", Applied Sciences 9(4), 659 (2019). CrossRef A. Siemion, P. Komorowski, M. Surma, I. Ducin, P. Sobotka, M. Walczakowski, and E. Czerwińska, "Terahertz diffractive structures for compact in-reflection inspection setup", Optics Express 28(1), 715-723 (2020). CrossRef E.R. Brown, J.E. Bjarnason, A.M. Fedor, and T.M. Korter, "On the strong and narrow absorption signature in lactose at 0.53THz", Applied Physics Letters 90(6), 061908 (2007). CrossRef M. Bernier, F. Garet, and J. L. Coutaz, "Determining the Complex Refractive Index of Materials in the Far-Infrared from Terahertz Time-Domain Data", Terahertz Spectroscopy-Cutting Edge Technology, Intech-Open Science (2017). CrossRef E.Hecht, Optics 5th global ed.(Boston, Pearson Education 2017). DirectLink

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Algorithmically Optimized Hemispherical Dome as a Secondary Optical Element for the Fresnel Lens Solar Concentrator

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app9132757 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (13) ◽

pp. 2757

Author(s):

Hassan Qandil ◽

Shuping Wang ◽

Weihuan Zhao

Keyword(s):

Incidence Angle ◽

Tracking Error ◽

Spherical Geometry ◽

Optical Element ◽

Fresnel Lens ◽

Fine Tuning ◽

Geometrical Approach ◽

Light Refraction ◽

Hemispherical Dome ◽

Optimization Parameters

The significance of this work lies in the development of a novel code-based, detailed, and deterministic geometrical approach that couples the optimization of the Fresnel lens primary optical element (POE) and the dome-shaped secondary optical element (SOE). The objective was to maximize the concentration acceptance product (CAP), while using the minimum SOE and receiver geometry at a given f-number and incidence angle (also referred to as the tracking error angle). The laws of polychromatic light refraction along with trigonometry and spherical geometry were utilized to optimize the POE grooves, SOE radius, receiver size, and SOE–receiver spacing. Two literature case studies were analyzed to verify this work’s optimization, both with a spot Fresnel lens POE and a spherical dome SOE. Case 1 had a 625 cm2 POE at an f-number of 1.5, and Case 2 had a 314.2 cm2 POE at an f-number of 1.34. The equivalent POE designed by this work, with optimized SOE radiuses of 13.6 and 11.4 mm, respectively, enhanced the CAP value of Case 1 by 52% to 0.426 and that of Case 2 by 32.4% to 0.45. The SOE’s analytical optimization of Case 1 was checked by a simulated comparative analysis to ensure the validity of the results. Fine-tuning this design for thermal applications and concentrated photovoltaics is also discussed in this paper. The algorithm can be further improved for more optimization parameters and other SOE shapes.

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

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12071209 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 1209 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Thanh Pham ◽

Ngoc Vu ◽

Seoyong Shin

Keyword(s):

Concentration Ratio ◽

Optical Element ◽

Optical Path Length ◽

Fresnel Lens ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Three Dimensions ◽

Optical Simulation ◽

High Concentration ◽

Optical Elements ◽

Optical Efficiency

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 LightToolsTM. Furthermore, in order to optimize the structure and investigate the performance of the lens, the ray tracing and the simulation are also performed in LightToolsTM. 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.

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Concentrator Design of a Fresnel Lens and a Secondary Optical Element

10.1063/1.3509166 ◽

2010 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yi-Cheng Chen ◽

Chia-Hsun Su ◽

Andreas W. Bett ◽

Robert D. McConnell ◽

Gabriel Sala ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Optical Element ◽

Fresnel Lens

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Parametric Study of Solar Concentrator Composed of a Flat Fresnel Lens and a Reflective Secondary Optical Element

Proceedings of the ISES Solar World Congress 2011 ◽

10.18086/swc.2011.03.03 ◽

2011 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yi-Cheng Chen ◽

Wan-Yi Hsu ◽

Yu-Hsuan Lin ◽

Chia-Hsun Su

Keyword(s):

Parametric Study ◽

Optical Element ◽

Fresnel Lens ◽

Solar Concentrator

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Design of optical element combining Fresnel lens with microlens array for uniform light-emitting diode lighting

Journal of the Optical Society of America A ◽

10.1364/josaa.29.001877 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 29 (9) ◽

pp. 1877 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Guangzhen Wang ◽

Lili Wang ◽

Fuli Li ◽

Depeng Kong

Keyword(s):

Light Emitting Diode ◽

Optical Element ◽

Microlens Array ◽

Fresnel Lens ◽

Light Emitting

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Optical Simulation and Experimental Verification of a Fresnel Solar Concentrator with a New Hybrid Second Optical Element

International Journal of Photoenergy ◽

10.1155/2016/4970256 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Guiqiang Li ◽

Yi Jin

Keyword(s):

Optical Properties ◽

Concentration Ratio ◽

Flux Distribution ◽

Deflection Angle ◽

Optical Element ◽

Fresnel Lens ◽

Optical Simulation ◽

Solar Concentrator ◽

Optical Efficiency ◽

Solar Concentrators

Fresnel solar concentrator is one of the most common solar concentrators in solar applications. For high Fresnel concentrating PV or PV/T systems, the second optical element (SOE) is the key component for the high optical efficiency at a wider deflection angle, which is important for overcoming unavoidable errors from the tacking system, the Fresnel lens processing and installment technology, and so forth. In this paper, a new hybrid SOE was designed to match the Fresnel solar concentrator with the concentration ratio of 1090x. The ray-tracing technology was employed to indicate the optical properties. The simulation outcome showed that the Fresnel solar concentrator with the new hybrid SOE has a wider deflection angle scope with the high optical efficiency. Furthermore, the flux distribution with different deviation angles was also analyzed. In addition, the experiment of the Fresnel solar concentrator with the hybrid SOE under outdoor condition was carried out. The verifications from the electrical and thermal outputs were all made to analyze the optical efficiency comprehensively. The optical efficiency resulting from the experiment is found to be consistent with that from the simulation.

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