Linear Fresnel mirror solar concentrator with tracking

P.K. Sen, K. Ashutosh, K. Bhuwanesh, Z. Engineer, S. Hegde, P.V. Sen, P. Davies

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)613-618
Number of pages6
JournalProcedia Engineering
Volume56
Early online date7 May 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Bibliographical note

© 2013 the Authors. published bt Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.

Keywords

  • line focusing
  • linear fresnel mirror concentrator

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Linear Fresnel mirror solar concentrator with tracking'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this