Experimental study and optical analyses of a multi-segment plate (MSP) concentrator for solar concentration photovoltaic (CPV) system

A multi-segment plate (MSP) concentrator for solar concentration photovoltaic (CPV) system is described. The optical model of the concentrator is established and the Monte Carlo Ray Tracing approach is employed to conduct the solar concentrating simulation. A prototype of the concentrator is built for the experimental study. The comparison of the numerical and experimental results show a good agreement on the energy flux density distribution on solar cells. The test results reveal that the concentrator has a relatively high solar concentrating uniformity of 0.8. The I-V test is carried out and the results indicate that the photo-electric transformation efficiencies of solar cell monomer and module are both higher than those of the CPV system with a parabolic trough concentrator. The optical analyses of the concentrator are also carried out. The results show that the geometric concentrating ratio increases with the increasing of solar cell installing height. When the solar cell installing height is fixed, the peak value of geometric concentrating ratio exists as the slope angle of focal plane increases from 0 to 90 degrees. The sun-tracking error effect analysis results indicate that the relative optical efficiency of the CPV system could be 0.8 or even higher under normal sun-tracking condition. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.