A method to calculate Fresnel lenses

In solar engineering, in contrast to image optics, Fresnel lenses are intended for securing the required concentrations of solar radiation and its distribution over a receiver’s surface. It is also important to secure a high use coefficient of the concentrated flux. In particular, this defines the features of calculation of Fresnel lenses: it is necessary to take into account inaccuracies in fabrication of Fresnel lenses and solar radiation redistribution by means of selecting the respective parameters of Fresnel lens belts. In the present work, we examine the procedure for the calculating geometrical parameters of Fresnel lenses on a flat base by considering the mentioned requirements. A corresponding software for calculating the geometrical parameters and concentrating characteristics of the Fresnel lenses is developed, and examples of calculation are given. For a constant refractive index of Fresnel lens material, it is shown that the Fresnel lens can secure a concentration of about 1000, but in this case the optical efficiency of the Fresnel lens will not be higher than 70%. The procedure that has been developed may be the basic one for determining the parameters and concentrating characteristics of Fresnel lenses by considering refractive index variance.     

Session C: Motor Blends and Motor Trials Aspects Techniques de I'Utilisation de I'Ethanol dans les Carburants Automobiles

Many aspects of Fresnel lenses are probably well known, but in recent years the uses of Fresnel lenses have been widening, and we wish to discuss these widening uses from the production point of view.

Many people think of loupes when Fresnel lenses are mentiond.

The first commercial products using Fresnel lenses which we were able to lay our hands on, were the field of vision lenses of twin lens reflex cameras. The use of Fresnel lenses was an epoch making technical innovation, by which every corner of the focal screen became clear. At the same time businesses opened which offered to fit Fresnel lenses as an option in twin lens reflex cameras without Fresnel lenses.

Now they have become indispensable as focus plates for single lens reflex cameras and 4 × 5 inch large cameras.     

Linear Fresnel lenses, their design and use

A linear Fresnel lens (LFL) designed according to Fermat's principle is slightly modified with respect to used technology for mass production from glass. Manufactured Fresnel lenses are used in a fully tracking concentrating collector with aperture about 36 m² and in a collector with stationary concentrator and movable absorber, which may serve as solar collector with temperature and illumination control. A combination of linear Fresnel lenses with PV cells may reduce cost of autonomous solar installations.     

Design of one-axis tracked linear Fresnel lenses

The most frequently used criterion in the design of linear Fresnel lenses consists of minimizing the radiation spread at the collector when the lens is illuminated by rays that are contained in the full lens acceptance angle and are incident on the lens in the plane perpendicular to the lens axis. This paper analyzes this topic and concludes that when the lenses are one-axis-tracked this criterion can be improved by replacing the perpendicular plane with another forming a certain angle to it. When calculated for a specific lens, at the location of Madrid, the new criterion was found to yield an increase of more than 7% in the total annual energy collected.     

The study of the performance and efficiency of flat linear Fresnel lens collector with sun tracking system in Iraq

Two flat linear Fresnel lenses and two absorbers connected in series. Tracking system is constructed so that it tracks the sun in two directions. Thermal and optical losses are introduced. The thermal efficiency of the first lens is higher than the second lens and reaches 0.65. The FLFL all-day collector efficiency reaches 0.58 and it varies depending on weather condition.     

A novel application of a Fresnel lens for a solar stove and solar heating

This paper presents a novel design and the prototyped solar cooking stove which uses a large Fresnel lens for the concentration of sunlight. The technology demonstrates high safety and efficiency of solar cooking and heating using Fresnel lenses which are low cost and available from off-the-shelf. The stove has a fixed heat-receiving area located at the focal point of the lens. The sunlight tracking system rotates the Fresnel lens about its focal point in both zenith and azimuth angles. The tracking is accomplished through a revolving motion of two rotation arms that hold the lens and a horizontal rotation of a platform that the lens system stands on. The rotation of the arms tracks the sunlight in zenith plane, while the rotation of the platform tracks in the azimuth plane. Since the solar tracking allows the Fresnel lens to concentrate sunlight to a fixed small heat-receiving area, relatively low heat loss and high energy efficiency is made possible. The heat is used to maintain a stovetop surface at temperatures around as high as 300 °C, which is practical for cooking applications in a very safe, user-friendly, and convenient manner. The system also demonstrates the possibility of transferring heat using a working fluid for indoor heating and cooking. Wider applications using the system for solar thermal collection and utilization are also undergoing development.     

The Fresnel lens concept for solar control of buildings

Fresnel lenses are optical devices for solar radiation concentration and are of lower volume and weight, smaller focal length and lower cost, compared to the thick ordinary lenses. The advantage to separate the direct from the diffuse solar radiation makes Fresnel lenses suitable for illumination control of building interior space, providing light of suitable intensity level and without sharp contrasts. In this paper, the Fresnel lens concept is suggested for solar control of the buildings to keep the illumination and the interior temperature at the comfort level. Laboratory scale experimental results are presented, giving an idea about the application of this new optical system. The collection of 60–80% of the transmitted solar radiation through the Fresnel lenses on linear absorbers leaves the rest amount to be distributed in the interior space for the illumination and thermal building needs. In low intensity solar radiation, the absorber can be out of focus, leaving all light to come in the interior space and to keep the illumination at an acceptable level. The Fresnel lenses can be combined with thermal, photovoltaic, or hybrid type photovoltaic/thermal absorbers to collect and extract the concentrated solar radiation in the form of heat, electricity or both. By using thermal absorbers and for low operating temperature, efficiency of about 50% can be achieved, while considering photovoltaics, satisfactory electrical output can be obtained. Regarding the effect of the suggested system to building space cooling, the results showed a satisfactory temperature reduction, exceeding 10 °C for cold water circulation through the absorber.     

Which is the best solar thermal collection technology for electricity generation in north-west India? Evaluation of options using the analytical hierarchy process

This study of concentrating solar thermal power generation sets out to evaluate the main existing collection technologies using the framework of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). It encompasses parabolic troughs, heliostat fields, linear Fresnel reflectors, parabolic dishes, compound parabolic concentrators and linear Fresnel lenses. These technologies are compared based on technical, economic and environmental criteria. Within these three categories, numerous sub-criteria are identified; similarly sub-alternatives are considered for each technology. A literature review, thermodynamic calculations and an expert workshop have been used to arrive at quantitative and qualitative assessments. The methodology is applied principally to a case study in Gujarat in north-west India, though case studies based on the Sahara Desert, Southern Spain and California are included for comparison. A sensitivity analysis is carried out for Gujarat. The study concludes that the linear Fresnel lens with a secondary compound parabolic collector, or the parabolic dish reflector, is the preferred technology for north-west India.     

基于三角腔体吸收器的透射式菲涅尔定焦线系统聚光特性分析

为解决线性菲涅尔太阳能集热系统单轴跟踪过程中出现的聚光焦线偏移以及降低系统跟踪能耗等问题,提出一种透射式菲涅尔定焦线太阳能聚光器.该聚光器采用极轴跟踪方式与线性菲涅尔透镜定期滑移调节方式相结合,可实现固定焦线聚光.将该聚光器与三角腔体吸收器所组成的太阳能集热系统,利用基于蒙特卡罗光线追迹法的TracePro光学软件分析...     

Comparison of Fresnel concentrators for building integrated photovoltaics

To develop concentrating photovoltaic systems for building integration applications, two optical devices are proposed. The concentrators are based in stationary linear Fresnel lenses and secondary CPC. The moving focal area is ten times smaller than the Fresnel lens aperture. Concentrator characteristics are studied in detail: shadowing effect, placement of the focal area and optical concentration efficiency. The main contribution of this paper is the three-dimensional optical analysis of the non-imaging concentrating systems. In terms of solar radiation, photovoltaic moving modules placed in the focal area of stationary concentrators are compared with simply fixed photovoltaic modules. In favourable weather locations, the beam radiation incident on the concentrating modules would be a large percentage, more than 50%, of the global radiation received by the fixed photovoltaic devices.     

Efficiency of fresnel lenses

This paper discusses the efficiency of Fresnel lenses with respect to optical (reflection and transmission) losses. The efficiencies of lenses of different step widths—i.e. 2, 3, 4 and 5 mm—are the same (91·9%) in the case of reflection losses and the maximum efficiency of a lens of 5 mm step width is 95·8% with respect to transmission losses.     

High temperature solar collector with optimal concentration: Non-focusing fresnel lens with secondary concentrator

A non-evacuated collector consisting of a linear Fresnel lens and a second stage concentrator of the CPC type is described and tested in detail. Use of a Fresnel lens accomplishes two different objectives simultaneously: it allows for the design of a nearly ideal light collector (of the CPC type) of high concentration and height-to-aperture ratio close to 1 and plays the role of a cover, making the collector less sensitive to the environment than one with exposed reflector surface. The geometric concentration is 15.56 and the acceptance half angle is 3°. The optical efficiency measured with an Active Cavity Radiometer (ACR) is 65.6 per cent and the efficiency at of 0.235 is 48 per cent (ΔT = T_avfluid − T_amb = 200°C, I_ACR = 850 W/m²). Heat loss measurements for double glazed configurations are reported and the resulting efficiency at of 0.3 is predicted to be 48 per cent. These numbers are expected to be raised by 3 percentage points for a next generation of lenses. The collector is mounted with its tracking axis oriented oriented NS since EW tracking axis orientation is impractical for a linear Fresnel lens, but its wide acceptance angle permits tracking by a simple clock mechanism at constant speed. Two different strategies are considered (i) polar mount, (ii) two adjustments of the tracking axis a year (summer and winter); the predicted yearly performance is calculated for four locations and four working fluid temperatures.The projected cost is estimated to be $70.00/m² (1976 dollars), possible because the construction of the collector lends itself to the use of inexpensive materials such as plastic and glass.     

Sandblasting durability of acrylic and glass Fresnel lenses for concentrator photovoltaic modules

The impact of sandblasting on Fresnel lenses for concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules must be carefully considered when CPV systems are installed in desert areas. In this study, the transmittance after sandblasting of acrylic polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and glass substrates was evaluated, and their durability was assessed. The transmittance decreased as the momentum of the blown sand increased. The conversion efficiency of the CPV modules was estimated using equivalent circuit calculations, and the influence of sandblasting on the output of the CPV modules was quantitatively predicted. The coefficients of degradation for the PMMA and glass CPV modules were 0.17 and 0.08 points per unit of momentum, respectively. The durability of the CPV module with the glass Fresnel lens is approximately twice that with the PMMA lens.     

Two stage linear Fresnel lenses

A new design of a second stage reflective element, which is closely related to the earlier trumpet configuration, is presented. The implementation for linear Fresnel lenses is derived, leading to high solar concentration with both convex and flat lenses.     

Analysis of point-focused,non-imaging Fresnel lenses' concentration profile and manufacture parameters

The purpose of this study is to develop a mechanism of a curve-based, point-focused Fresnel lens concentrator system and use it to examine each spectral segment's distribution patterns on the lens' focal area. The mechanism incorporates optical geometry and ray tracing technique with the components of solar spectrum, refractive index information of lens materials, and the formulation for quantifying the concentrator systems' transmittance loss and prism-tip dispersion loss. In addition to the facet angles' role in refracting the incoming radiation, this research has addressed spectrum-filtering role of the side angle, the angle between the entry face and the side face of each facet on the lens. The theoretical aspect has been elaborated on the basis of the lens' design wavelength. A computerized model has been developed and the simulated outcome compared to the measured data from a previous research. The result of this study provides the information of illumination patterns under a circular lens, which will help to match up various spectrum distributions to their suitable solar applications.     

太阳能等照度带聚焦菲涅耳透镜研究

为了提高聚光发电时太阳电池的光电转换效率,从提高太阳电池表面会聚光强分布的均匀性入手,对传统平板型线聚焦透镜进行改进,提出一种用于聚光光伏发电的等照度带聚焦菲涅耳透镜设计方法。带聚焦菲涅耳透镜分为奇数个单元,每个单元宽度与太阳电池宽度相等,单元内所有尖劈角φ相等并将太阳辐射等宽度折射至太阳电池表面,从而实现各单元透过的太阳能等照度叠加。最大聚光比由光伏电池宽度、透镜与太阳电池间距以及透镜材料折射率决定。对带聚焦和线聚焦两种透镜聚光条件下电池表面温度分布情况进行比较分析,验证了等照度带聚焦透镜设计的可行性。     

小型菲涅尔定焦线聚光系统关键参数影响特性研究

基于线性菲涅尔透镜聚光特性和极轴式跟踪原理,提出一种采用圆弧腔体吸收器的小型菲涅尔定焦线聚光系统。采用蒙特卡洛光线追迹方法与数理统计原理,详细研究太阳赤纬角、太阳时角和腔体内表面吸收率等关键参数对聚光系统光学性能的影响。结果表明,腔体内表面吸收率对光学效率因子的影响最显著,其次为太阳赤纬角、太阳时角。腔体内表面吸收率分别为1.00、0.85、0.75时,系统平均光学效率因子分别为0.950、0.865、0.799。太阳赤纬角对能流均匀性影响最显著,其次为太阳时角、腔体内表面吸收率。在太阳赤纬角分别为0°、8°、16°、23.45°时的平均均匀因子分别为0.507、0.519、0.561、0.612。该系统可减少余弦损失、降低焦线偏移对端部损失的影响。     

Optical geometry approach for elliptical Fresnel lens design and chromatic aberration

This research formulates an elliptical-based Fresnel lens concentrator system using optical geometry and ray tracing technique. The author incorporates solar spectrum with the refractive indices of lens materials to form different color mixes on the target plane. The model illustrates the solar spectrum distributions under the Fresnel lens. It can be used to investigate each spectral segment's distribution patterns and helps to match the concentration patterns of different wavelengths to different solar energy applications.     

Convex fresnel lens with large grooves

The concentration capability of linear Fresnel lenses is limited mainly by coma and chromatic aberrations and by the width of the individual grooves of the lenses. We consider new designs for these lenses in which the concentration is almost independent of the groove's size, and which are free of coma at the edge of the acceptance field. Specifically, a concentration factor as high as 34 is achieved for monochromatic radiation coming from an acceptance angle of ± 1°.     

Durability of Fresnel lenses: A review specific to the concentrating photovoltaic application

The durability of Fresnel lenses used in the concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) application is reviewed from the literature. The examination here primarily concerns monolithic lenses constructed of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), with supplemental examination of silicone-on-glass (SOG) composite lenses. For PMMA, the review includes the topics of: optical durability (loss of transmittance with age); discoloration (the wavelength-specific loss of transmittance); microcrazing and hazing; fracture and mechanical fatigue; physical aging, creep, shape change, buckling, and warping; and solid erosion. Soiling, or the accumulation of particulate matter, is examined in the following contexts: its magnitude of reduction in transmittance; variation with time, module tilt, and wavelength; the processes of adhesion and accumulation; particle size, distribution, composition, and morphology; and its prevention. Photodegradation and thermal decomposition, mechanisms enabling aging, are examined relative to the CPV-specific environment. Aspects specific to SOG lenses include: solarization of the glass superstrate; corrosion of glass; delamination of the silicone/glass interface; change in focus due to thermal misfit between the laminate layers; and the chemical stability of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). Recommendations for future research are provided, based on the most important and the least explored topics.