Design and Validation of a Low-cost High-flux Solar Simulator using Fresnel Lens Concentrators

Abstract

A systematic design procedure for a high flux solar simulator is presented in this paper. The 84 kWe solar simulator is based on an array of 12 commercially available xenon-arc lamps (each 7 kWe) coupled with silicone-on-glass Fresnel lenses as the optical concentrator. A ray-tracing model of the xenon lamp has been developed based on the real emitter shape and the Fresnel lens optics; simulations performed using a non-sequential Monte Carlo technique have been validated against experimental test data. The results show that 19.7 kW of radiative power is delivered on a 200 mm diameter target with and a peak flux of 6.73 MW/m2 and an electricity to radiative power efficiency of 23.4%. This research facility will be used as an experimental platform for high flux solar receiver and thermochemical reactor research, as well as for advanced high-temperature material testing.