Design and Performance Analysis of Conical Solar Concentrator

Purpose: The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of the conical solar concentrator (CSC) system, whose design is focused on increasing its collecting efficiency by determining the optimal conical angle through a theoretical study. Methods: The design and thermal performance analysis of a solar concentrator system based on a 45° conical concentrator were conducted utilizing different mass flow rates. For an accurate comparison of these flow rates, three equivalent systems were tested under the same operating conditions, such as the incident direct solar radiation, and ambient and inlet temperatures. In order to minimize heat loss, the optimal double tube absorber length was selected by considering the law of reflection. A series of experiments utilizing water as operating fluid and two-axis solar tracking systems were performed under a clear or cloudless sky. Results: The analysis results of the CSC system according to varying mass flow rates showed that the collecting efficiency tended to increase as the flow rate increased. However, the collecting efficiency decreased as the flow rate increased beyond the optimal value. In order to optimize the collecting efficiency, the conical angle, which is a design factor of CSC, was selected to be 45° because its use theoretically yielded a low heat loss. The collecting efficiency was observed to be lowest at 0.03 kg/s and highest at 0.06 kg/s. All efficiencies were reduced over time because of variations in ambient and inlet temperatures throughout the day. The maximum efficiency calculated at an optimum flow rate of 0.06 kg/s was 85%, which is higher than those of the other flow rates. Conclusions: It was reasonable to set the conical angle and mass flow rate to achieve the maximum CSC system efficiency in this study at 45° and 0.06 kg/s, respectively.