Development of an Elevation–Fresnel Linked Mini-Heliostat Array
Heliostats are critical components of solar tower technology and different strategies have been proposed to reduce their costs; among them diminishing their size to reduce wind loads or linking nearby heliostats mechanically, to reduce the overall number of actuators. This document aims to describe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/15/4012 |
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| author | Isaías Moreno-Cruz Juan Carlos Castro Omar Álvarez-Brito Hilda B. Mota-Nava Guillermo Ramírez-Zúñiga José J. Quiñones-Aguilar Camilo A. Arancibia-Bulnes |
| author_facet | Isaías Moreno-Cruz Juan Carlos Castro Omar Álvarez-Brito Hilda B. Mota-Nava Guillermo Ramírez-Zúñiga José J. Quiñones-Aguilar Camilo A. Arancibia-Bulnes |
| author_sort | Isaías Moreno-Cruz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Heliostats are critical components of solar tower technology and different strategies have been proposed to reduce their costs; among them diminishing their size to reduce wind loads or linking nearby heliostats mechanically, to reduce the overall number of actuators. This document aims to describe the development of a linked array of mini-heliostats which move together in an elevation–Fresnel configuration. This configuration consists of an array of mirrors rotating around linked parallel axes, in a linear Fresnel style with an added elevation mechanism allowing all axes to incline simultaneously in the plane North–South–Zenith; that is equivalent to an array of N linked mini-heliostats moved by only two drives instead of 2N. A detailed analytical study of the Sun-tracking performance of this kind of heliostat arrays was carried out, and an 8-mirror prototype based on optical and mechanical analyses was designed, built and tested. Even though the mirrors are flat, the array produced a rather compact radiative flux distribution on the receiver. The flux distribution is compatible with a slope error of the order of 1 mrad. Peak and mean concentration ratios reached 6.89 and 3.94, respectively. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:59:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-076886242ebf4014bc67e369a1ad0dec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:59:05Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-076886242ebf4014bc67e369a1ad0dec2023-11-20T08:59:55ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732020-08-011315401210.3390/en13154012Development of an Elevation–Fresnel Linked Mini-Heliostat ArrayIsaías Moreno-Cruz0Juan Carlos Castro1Omar Álvarez-Brito2Hilda B. Mota-Nava3Guillermo Ramírez-Zúñiga4José J. Quiñones-Aguilar5Camilo A. Arancibia-Bulnes6Instituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Privada Xochicalco s/n, Colonia Centro, Temixco, Morelos 62580, MexicoInstituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Privada Xochicalco s/n, Colonia Centro, Temixco, Morelos 62580, MexicoGadgets & Design, S. A. de C. V., Periférico Sur 4302-105, Colonia Jardines del Pedregal, Coyoacán, Ciudad de Mexico 04500, MexicoGadgets & Design, S. A. de C. V., Periférico Sur 4302-105, Colonia Jardines del Pedregal, Coyoacán, Ciudad de Mexico 04500, MexicoInstituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Privada Xochicalco s/n, Colonia Centro, Temixco, Morelos 62580, MexicoInstituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Privada Xochicalco s/n, Colonia Centro, Temixco, Morelos 62580, MexicoInstituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Privada Xochicalco s/n, Colonia Centro, Temixco, Morelos 62580, MexicoHeliostats are critical components of solar tower technology and different strategies have been proposed to reduce their costs; among them diminishing their size to reduce wind loads or linking nearby heliostats mechanically, to reduce the overall number of actuators. This document aims to describe the development of a linked array of mini-heliostats which move together in an elevation–Fresnel configuration. This configuration consists of an array of mirrors rotating around linked parallel axes, in a linear Fresnel style with an added elevation mechanism allowing all axes to incline simultaneously in the plane North–South–Zenith; that is equivalent to an array of N linked mini-heliostats moved by only two drives instead of 2N. A detailed analytical study of the Sun-tracking performance of this kind of heliostat arrays was carried out, and an 8-mirror prototype based on optical and mechanical analyses was designed, built and tested. Even though the mirrors are flat, the array produced a rather compact radiative flux distribution on the receiver. The flux distribution is compatible with a slope error of the order of 1 mrad. Peak and mean concentration ratios reached 6.89 and 3.94, respectively.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/15/4012linked heliostatssolar trackingsolar towercentral receiver technology |
| spellingShingle | Isaías Moreno-Cruz Juan Carlos Castro Omar Álvarez-Brito Hilda B. Mota-Nava Guillermo Ramírez-Zúñiga José J. Quiñones-Aguilar Camilo A. Arancibia-Bulnes Development of an Elevation–Fresnel Linked Mini-Heliostat Array Energies linked heliostats solar tracking solar tower central receiver technology |
| title | Development of an Elevation–Fresnel Linked Mini-Heliostat Array |
| title_full | Development of an Elevation–Fresnel Linked Mini-Heliostat Array |
| title_fullStr | Development of an Elevation–Fresnel Linked Mini-Heliostat Array |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of an Elevation–Fresnel Linked Mini-Heliostat Array |
| title_short | Development of an Elevation–Fresnel Linked Mini-Heliostat Array |
| title_sort | development of an elevation fresnel linked mini heliostat array |
| topic | linked heliostats solar tracking solar tower central receiver technology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/15/4012 |
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