Solar field modeling and verification

We introduce the principles of solar field modeling as it relates to heliostat fields for solar thermal applications. A generalized, two-axis kinematic model is presented along with the resulting representations—within that framework— of legacy as well as novel kinematics. The robustness of this framework's compatibility with an industry-standard definition of tracking perturbations is demonstrated. A generalized, two-dimensional manifold model of heliostat reflector surfaces is presented, and the robustness of this representation's compatibility with a new standard of surface perturbations is demonstrated. Our methods of generating maps of reflected solar flux on surfaces of interest are compared and their correctness is asserted in relation to recent benchmarks across industry-standard solar modeling tools.