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Designing
Solar energy
collector with energy transporters often focuses on
the capture of either the
optical
radiation or the
thermal radiation. However, a design that simultaneously
collects both radiations and also separates the
radiations into the thermal and optical components would be particularly
useful with respect to the continuous production of distributed
solar power generation. Continuously generating power from solar energy is one of the
major consideration of solar energy power development. With
fossil fuel energy sources as
coal,
natural gas and crude oil, and
combustibles energy sources, the
tangible chemicals hold the energy that is released
only when needed by initiating combustion chemical reactions.
The need to support that sort of operation with respect to solar
energy has also been of considerable interest, and in some
respects has been the factor on which the
storage of the solar
energy as hydrogen has been based. However, the inefficiency of
using hydrogen as a storage device for solar power has also been
a major draw back on its us.
In effect then, the
simultaneous and yet separate capture of the energy could
present the opportunity to support continuous solar power generation: Use the optical energy during the day - the
only time when such is available and given that the storage of
the optical energy in that form or even related form is
virtually impossible; Meanwhile
save the thermal energy
with designs based possibly on gravel stone storage and use the
thermal energy during the night-time when the solar energy is
not available for the capture. This split usage of the solar
energy should be able to provide the support for the continuous
solar power generation necessary for the lifestyle established
by humans.
Obviously for the
stated objective the design of the concentrator has to be able
to simultaneously concentrate the solar energy components, and
also
perform the energy concentrations such that each component
of the solar energy is concentrated at different regions
above the
base of the concentrator. Similarly the Solar Energy Transporter design must
also be such as to simultaneously transport both the thermal
radiation and optical radiation of the solar energy as being
captured. Of course, while the specifics of the configuration
will be determined from the transport characteristics of the two
types of solar radiations, suffice it that the Energy
Transporter for this task would be a composite of the two
well-documented designs of Solar Energy Transporters:
Light Tube
Collectors Transporter,
Thermal
Tube Collectors Transporter. The primary
consideration in the design of this collector is the quantity of
energy that must be collected for use in the distributed power |
generation to
support the day-time needs and the night-time needs. The larger need
of the two needs for power generation essentially determines the
design requirements, and therefore the collector design will focus
more on the solar energy component that support that needs more than
the other, of course, provided such focus for the concentrator
design does not result in construction of surface for the minor
component that results in less than required of the minor energy. In
any event, the dominant mirror design values determine just about the overall
configuration dimension of the Solar Energy
Concentrator design - as the diameter depends
directly on this datum, given that the quantity of solar energy
collected is directly proportional to the surface area of the
concentrator, which in turn depends on the diameter. In this
design therefore, the construction of the polynomial for describing
the concentrator is quite crucial.
All the same, the
Solar Energy Concentrator for this collector-design consideration,
is of the hemispherical
concentrator-class that concentrates the energy at a single
point. In particular, the solar energy reflector should be a
composite of mirrors layered on on top of the other, making sure to
layer the on the top the mirror that is transparent to the other,
such that the lower mirror reflects the radiation to which the upper
mirror is transparent. Further the upper mirror must be such that
the thickness of the layer is everywhere thin on the span of the
concentrator. Quite preferably, the optical mirror should be made
the upper layer and the thermal mirror made the lower layer.
However, even more importantly, the polynomials of the two layers
must be constructed using two distinct focal points, one for
collecting the
optical energy and the other for collecting the thermal energy, such that the markedly different focal points enable the
distinct placement of the Energy Transporters for the respective
transport of the radiations. The larger of the
two mirrors must determine the final dimensions, with the dimension
of the smaller mirror, adjusted to be of very slight variation from the
larger mirror. The design of course, might even be parabolic, although this may not
always be necessary. However, because the optical mirror is by
preference set to be reflected by the top mirror, it is important
that the thermal radiation absorbance of this mirror be
slight. A preferable requirement is that the optical mirror must be
fully transparent to the solar thermal radiation, and have no
thermal reflectivity. In any event, based on the reflectivity
of the thermal mirror, the support base is designed to enable
the removal of the heat absorbed by the thermal mirror, such that
the performance of the composite mirror is restricted to a very
narrow range of temperature
variation, in order to support precision of performance. This requirement
is one of the reasons for making sure |
that the upper mirror is quite thin everywhere of the span of the
concentrator. The heat removal design, however, is such as to enable the removal of as much of the heat
energy as is generated consequent on the absorbance of the
solar thermal energy by the mirror. The heat removal design,
however, may be designed to use a coolant which should have high
thermal conductivity as to remove the heat at a relatively rapid
rate, but most of it should have high thermal capacitance such
that while it absorbs large quantities of heat energy its
temperature does not rise sharply and therefore effectively
prevent distributed temperature conditions over the range of the
thermal mirror. Affixed to the support
base of the mirror layer is a mount-contraption for mounting the
Dual-Tube Energy Transporter.
The Dual-Tube Energy
Transporter overall configuration is aimed at directing the optical
energy and thermal energy for transmission. For performance reasons
therefore, the Dual-Tube Energy Transporter consists of Light Tube
Transporter integrated with a Thermal Tube Transporter such that the
Light Pipe of the Light Tube Transporter is passes through the Thermal
Tube Transporter. This is accomplished by designing the Thermal Tube
Transporters into an annular transport tube and the Focusing
Thermal Concentrator as center-punctured thermal concentrator,
though all designs are still based on the general principles
espoused for Solar Energy
Concentrators design. Further, the two Focusing Concentrators
are of such distance apart as the distinct separating distance
between the two focal points of the design of the mirrors of the
concentrator. Moreover, at the base the
Light Pipe is also affixed a mount enabled with a flange.
Design integration of the
Solar Energy Concentrator and the Dual-Tube Energy Transporter is accomplished
first by having the latter affixed along the axis of the
hemispherical dual-focii concentrator. The base flange of the Thermal
Transport Pipe of the dual-Tube Energy Transporter is affixed to the Concentrator support base-mount of
the support base structure. The support mount is positioned
necessarily such that the Focusing Thermal Concentrator of the
Thermal Tube Transporter is located within the Solar Energy Concentrator at a
point along the axis just below the focal point of the thermal
mirror. Then, of course, the coolant fluid outlets of the
Solar Energy Concentrator is interfaced and connected to the inlet
of the heat-removal recirculation line, while the coolant fluids
inlet is connected to the coolant supply line of the recirculation.
Under proper connection, the coolant fluid should flow in through
the inlet and out through the outlet of the concentrator heat
removal structure in continuous circulating flow. |
