Comparison of the Truncation Effect on the Newly Designed Multi-Profile 3D Solar Concentrators and the Conventional 3D Compound Parabolic Concentrator

In this study, a new design method is proposed for non-tracking 3D solar concentrators. The shape of the MultiPro-CPCs consists of multiple compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) profiles with different acceptance angles in the East-West and the North-South directions. The receiver shape of the solar concentrators proposed are respectively elliptical for the MultiPro-ECPC and rectangular for the MultiPro-RCPC. Here, in addition to their original size, the shapes are truncated at 3/4 and 1/2 of their heights. The annual energy collection performances of the truncated and non-truncated MultiPro-CPCs are compared to the one of the truncated and non-truncated conventional CPCs using ray tracing simulations. All simulations are set to Tokyo and the shapes are 75° tilted from the horizontal. It was found that among the simulated designs, the MultiPro-ECPCs generally collect more energy per receiver area between May 1 ^st and August 15 ^th . The maximum value obtained by the non truncated MultiPro-ECPC is 138 MJ/m ² . The effect of the truncation is only noticeable when the concentrator height is halved. The halved concentrators have wider angular coverage which enables them to collect energy in April and September. On the other hand, the intensity of the energy collection per receiver area decreases with the truncation in the situations where the non-truncated concentrators take the highest values. Moreover, all truncated new designs show higher performance between May 1 ^st and August 15 ^th compared to the non-truncated conventional 3D PC. The obtained outcomes give an idea about the possibilities that the new family of MultiPro-CPCs may provide in the field of concentration when considering high-cost receivers and concentrator height limits.