Complementary construction of ideal nonimaging concentrators and its applications

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Solar Energy Engineering

Background:

• Ideal nonimaging concentrators are crucial for efficient light collection.
• Existing design methods for some concentrators, like the trumpet, lack simple construction techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a unified construction principle for ideal nonimaging concentrators.
• To demonstrate this principle's application to trumpet, compound parabolic, and compound hyperbolic concentrators.
• To explore its use in designing solar concentrators for nonisothermal receivers.

Main Methods:

• Derivation of a construction principle based on complementary edge rays outside the field of view.
• Application of the principle to derive known and novel concentrator geometries.
• Illustrative examples for trumpet, compound parabolic, and compound hyperbolic concentrators.

Main Results:

• A general construction principle for ideal nonimaging concentrators is established.
• A simple string construction method for the trumpet concentrator is demonstrated for the first time.
• The principle is shown to be applicable to solar concentrator design with nonisothermal receivers.

Conclusions:

• The complementary edge ray principle offers a unified approach to designing ideal nonimaging concentrators.
• This principle simplifies the design process, particularly for previously unaddressed geometries like the trumpet concentrator.
• The findings have practical implications for optimizing solar energy systems, especially those utilizing nonisothermal receivers.