Abstract
A new integral compound parabolic evacuated solar collector (ICPC) design was devised at the University of Chicago in 1995 by application of non imaging optics principles to a different target geometry. This new ICPC promises low manufacturing cost combined with excellent performance and reliability. Beginning in mid February 1996, 1.6 meter (5.25 ft.) versioins of this ICPC, called mini tubes,have been designed, fabricated, and tested by Colorado State University. The development effort focused on manufactureability, performance, and reliability. The development process consisted of about twenty iterations of a three step process: 1) design revision, 2) fabrication, and 3) testing and evaluation of short versions of the mini-tubes. Testing was conducted in a variety of ways andperformance achievements were judged numerically. All goals were exceeded, matched, or came within a few percent. This document presents the mini-tube development work for this new ICPC, provides details on the testing and evaluation, and presents the performance of the final mini-tube.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 57-61 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| State | Published - 1997 |
| Event | 1997 American Solar Energy Society Annual Conference - Washington, D.C. Duration: 25 Apr 1997 → 30 Apr 1997 |
Conference
| Conference | 1997 American Solar Energy Society Annual Conference |
|---|---|
| City | Washington, D.C. |
| Period | 25/04/97 → 30/04/97 |
Bibliographical note
Work performed by Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado and University of Chicago, Chicago, IllinoisNREL Publication Number
- NREL/CP-23317