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The
adoption of Solar Energy for power generation in some types of
Distributed Power systems requires that the Solar Thermal Energy
be concentrated and transported to remote point-of-use
application purposes. Consequently, the design of
Solar Energy
Collectors which enables the transport of the thermal energy
to remote target destinations is of some engineering
significance. More specifically,
the design of such a
collector should support the adoption of solar thermal for
domestic uses, resulting from the transport of the thermal
energy from the point of collection into homes; and so such
design efforts should have immediate impact on
distributed solar power generation and should be a
viable task.
By the stated
performance goal, then the design objective of the Solar
Energy Collector should have a Solar Thermal Tube in addition to
the essential
Solar
Energy Concentrator. The former is of course design-integrated within the Solar energy concentrator.
In particular, the Solar Thermal Tube must be such as
to minimize thermal energy loses during transmission.
The primary
consideration in the design of this collector is the quantity of
energy that must be collected for transmission through the
Solar Thermal Tube. This value determines just about the overall
configuration dimension of the collector: The Solar Energy
Concentrator design - most of all 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 any event, the
Solar Energy Concentrator for this collector-design consideration,
is of the hemispherical
concentrator-class that concentrates the energy at a single
point. The design might even be parabolic, although this may not
always be necessary. Moreover, the solar energy reflector should
also be a thermal mirror, such that the solar thermal energy
component is reflected primarily. In effect, the efficiency of
the mirror is based on its reflectivity of the thermal energy
component; preferably the thermal mirror should provide perfect
or one-hundred percent (100%) reflectivity of the solar
thermal energy of the insolation. In any event, based on the
reflectivity of the mirror, the support base is designed to
enable the removal of heat absorbed by the mirror, such that the
performance of the mirror is restricted to a very narrow range
of temperature variation, in order to
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support precision of performance. The heat removal design,
however, 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 preventing
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 Solar Thermal Tube.
The Solar Thermal Tube overall configuration is aimed at directing the optical
energy to be transmitted through the energy transport tube. The
Solar Thermal Tube consists of a special thermal radiant energy concentrator, Focusing
Thermal Concentrator that is designed based on the general principles
espoused for Solar Energy
Concentrators design, and Thermal Transport Pipe, which is
a metal tube on the walls of which is layered Thermal Mirror of the
same reflective and engineering properties as the mirror of the
collector-concentrator. The top end of the Thermal Transport Pipe is
shaped into a inverted conical shape for focusing the radiant
thermal. The Focusing Thermal Concentrator is attached in its
inverted form to top-end of the Thermal Transport Pipe, which
becomes the top of the Solar Thermal Tube. Further, at the base the
Light Pipe is also affixed a mount enabled with a flange.
Design integration of the
Solar Energy Concentrator and the Solar Thermal Tube is accomplished
first by having the latter affixed along the axis of the
hemispherical point concentrator. The base flange of the Thermal
Transport Pipe 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 Solar
Thermal Tube is located within the Solar Energy Concentrator at a
point along the axis just below the focal point of the concentrator
so that the solar thermal energy as concentrated is circularly
incident on the inner wall of the Focusing Thermal Concentrator; the
rays are then reflected onto the conical walls of the Thermal
Transport Pipe and then re-reflected into the cylindrical section of
the Thermal Transport Pipe. The base of the Solar Thermal Tube is
connected to an [extender] Thermal Transport Pipe |
that supports the onwards transmission of the
radiant thermal energy to the target destination. At the base of the
Thermal Transport Pipe may be incorporated or integrated any
use-specific radiant thermal device that allows for a dynamic focus
of the exiting thermal radiation. 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.
A prospective near-term application of note of
Solar Energy Thermal-Tube Collector is for the transport of the
energy for use in homes for cooking.
Given an appropriately designed energy reflector that focuses
the radiant thermal energy on cooking-pots. Other possible
applications abound, hence, the
collector is effective for the use in homes by home owners
towards different objectives.
Obviously, Solar Energy
Thermal-Tube Collectors are very useful
with respect to some of the benefits they offer, and as such the design approach
proffered from an interactive analysis of general application
specification clearly evolves a functional collector. In effect, the design proffered
should still provide large concentration and high transmission
of solar thermal energy without much energy
losses, and therefore should find uses in numerous applications.
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