太阳位置算法的计算误差对辐射预测的影响

以往太阳辐射预测计算的研究多采用柯伯方程等误差较大的公式,往往忽略了太阳方位参数计算误差对辐射预测计算模型的影响。忽略其他因素影响,仅计算不同太阳方位参数误差所对应的太阳辐照度,计算结果与天文年历标准值的计算结果进行对比,发现太阳方位参数的误差不仅对太阳辐照度计算造成7%以上的误差（时角大于70°时）,而且在日出和日落之间临界点时也会产生极大的数值计算误差。针对以上问题,本文提出了引入儒略日为时间变量和采用大数据量最小二乘法拟合改进的数值模拟法,在保持计算公式简易的同时,显著降低了临界点的计算误差,而且辐射计算结果的相对误差小于0.2%。     

Thermal storage efficiencies of two solar saltless water ponds

A comparative study between two types of solar ponds is presented. The first type has its free surface covered by a thin layer of transparent paraffin oil. The second type is covered by transparent glass floating devices. Each device disposes an air-vacuum chamber. The free water surface between these devices is covered by transparent paraffin oil also. The thermal storage efficiency of each pond is estimated during two time periods: between sunrise and sunset and from midnight to midnight. The calculated efficiency between sunrise and sunset corresponds to the average transmittance–absorptance product. This is estimated using linear regression and also a maximum likelihood identification technique. The behavior of the system was studied by solving numerically the heat transfer equations of the system. Also an ARMAX (AutoRegressivie Moving Average with eXogenous signal) model allowing the assessment of its performance was presented. This efficiency is larger for the first pond during the sunrise to sunset period and smaller when calculated from midnight to midnight. Thus, the first type of pond could be preferred for a use just after the sunset of the same day, while the second for use after one or more days of heat storage.     

Development and performance analysis of a two‐axis solar tracker for concentrated photovoltaics

This study presents a two‐axis solar tracking system equipped with a small concentrator module for electricity generation through a multijunction solar cell. The system can accurately track the sun without the need of calibration for an extended period and operate as a stand‐alone system. High‐precision solar tracking was achieved by a combination of open‐loop and closed‐loop controls. A camera tracking sensor was introduced as a feedback device in closed‐loop control. Two different types of solar concentrator modules were designed and fabricated. Their concentration ratios were analyzed against solar tracking errors by means of ray tracing software. One is made up of a paraboloidal primary concentrator and a paraboloidal secondary reflector, whereas the other has a paraboloidal primary concentrator and a hyperboloidal secondary reflector. Both modules showed an almost identical concentration ratio of 610 provided that the solar tracker is pointing perfectly at the sun. However, their performance differs considerably when tracking error is present. The maximum power output was obtained near solar noon with multijunction cells, whose average solar conversion efficiency was 21%, much higher than that of conventional photovoltaic systems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A multiple correlation between different solar parameters in Medina, Saudi Arabia

The purpose of this work is to give the potential of solar energy in Medina (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). We develop a correlation between the different parameters of solar energy. We have used a database available at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) website for five years since 1998 until 2002. Also, a typical meteorological year (TMY) has been built from this database. By using the correlations model obtained from these database, we can estimate the global and diffuse irradiation with good agreement in Medina. The correlation connecting diffuse irradiation with both clearness index and sunshine (SS) duration is found to be applicable in Medina site. A linear correlation between ambient temperature and global irradiation data is found from sunrise until midday with a good agreement. A polynomial correlation is given between temperature and global irradiation data from midday until sunset.     

Defects in geometric design of capsulation of commercial poly-Si solar cell module

The shape of capsulation and geometric design play an important role in saving and raising the efficiency of the solar cell modules. The measurements of power were carried out for poly-Si solar cell modules in two modes, horizontal and full tracking on the roof top of building in our Institute (NRIAG) in Helwan (Lat. 29° 52’ N, Long. 31° 20’ E) which is considered as the largest polluted region in the world. The data measurements are carried out from sunrise to sunset through one full year from January to December 1992. The daily and monthly variation for different components of solar cells are studied and discussed. The difference between the two modes in the gain energy is 84% (about 34% as the natural difference between the horizontal and full tracking, and 50% by the defect of design of solar cell module).     

基于复合控制的塔式太阳能跟踪控制装置设计

针对塔式太阳能热发电站中定日镜跟踪装置的跟踪精度不高、构建成本较大等问题,提出采用将遗传算法的选择机制与吸热塔能量变化的反馈机制相结合的方式对光热电站的太阳能跟踪控制系统进行改进.在光热电站的少数几台定日镜上配备光电检测元件,并以其控制角度为基准控制其他定日镜的角度调整.采用DSP(digital signal processing)为控制核心,完成了跟踪控制器的通讯框架及控制系统的硬件电路设计.实验表明,该方案在保证光热电站整体控制精度的基础上,减少了光电检测元件安装数量和电站构建成本,并保证了视日轨迹跟踪控制时的自动调整能力.     

一种高精度太阳位置算法

在聚光型太阳能热发电系统中,聚光装置需要实时跟踪太阳,以提高发电效率,在开环控制的太阳跟踪系统中,太阳位置的计算精度更为重要。比较了几种常用计算太阳位置的简单方法,并总结出一种算法简单的高精度太阳位置计算方法,此方法的高度角、方位角计算最大误差分别为0.05,°0.13°。     

Optimal control of flow in solar collectors for maximum exergy extraction

The best operation strategies for open loop flat-plate solar collector systems are considered. A direct optimal control method (the TOMP algorithm) is implemented. A detailed collector model and realistic meteorological data from both cold and warm seasons are used in applications. The maximum exergetic efficiency is low (usually less than 3%), in good agreement with experimental measurements reported in literature. The optimum mass-flow rate increases near sunrise and sunset and by increasing the fluid inlet temperature. The optimum mass-flow rate is well correlated with global solar irradiance during the warm season. Also, operation at a properly defined constant mass-flow rate may be close to the optimal operation.     

Efficiency assessment for a small heliostat solar concentration plant

In this paper, a small non‐imaging focusing heliostat is presented, and an analytical model for assessing its performance is described. The main novelty of the system lies in the tracking mechanism and the mirror mount, which are based on off‐the‐shelf components and allow a good trade‐off between accuracy and costs. The concentrator mirrors are moved by this two‐axis tracking machinery to reflect the sun's rays onto a fixed target, the dimensions of which can be varied to suit the user's needs. A prototype plant to be located in central Italy was designed and simulated with a ray‐tracing algorithm, and it comprises 90 heliostats for a total reflective area of 7.5 m². The reflected solar rays are tracked taking the mechanical positioning errors of the tracking system into account. The total flux of radiation energy hitting the target was determined, and intensity distribution maps were drawn. Simulations showed that the system's optical efficiency can exceed 90% in summer, despite the tracking errors, mainly because of the smaller distance between the heliostats and the receiver. The solar concentration ratio over a receiver of 250 mm in diameter reached 80 suns with a very good uniformity. Over a 400‐mm receiver, the concentrated radiation was less uniform, and the solar concentration ratio reached 50 suns, with a higher optical efficiency and collected solar radiation. The present concentration ratio is still suitable for many applications ranging from the electric power production, industrial process heat, and solar cooling. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

太阳跟踪装置的双模式控制系统

介绍了用于太阳跟踪装置控制系统中的两种控制模式结构、组成和工作原理。对该模式进行适当设置,即可用于太阳能热水器、太阳能屋顶发电、太阳能干燥器、太阳能电池、太阳灶、太阳能空调、太阳能路灯等各种太阳跟踪装置中,实现双模式控制。双模式控制系统具有较强的通用性和适应性。     

Experimental investigation on paraboloid solar concentrator with a conical secondary concentrator

Material removal through ablation caused by concentrated solar thermal power is investigated. Experiments are conducted using a mirror‐finish electroplated paraboloid along with a conical secondary concentrator in both fall and summer months in Al Ain city, UAE. Data collection for melting of aluminum shims facilitated the assessment of the feasibility of utilizing the available solar irradiance after the two‐stage concentration. A geometric concentration factor of over 2800 is achieved for the first stage of power concentration with the current installation that also has a two‐axis sun tracking system and a built‐in pyrheliometer. The results confirm the feasibility of the approach, as the available power for ablation around solar noon is order of magnitudes higher than the power needed for the task, for the aluminum shim used. The main aim of the study is to hone the process to the power and precision of continuous pulse laser material removal, notably CO₂ lasers, as challenges further reduction of the concentrated solar beams to acceptable tolerances remain to be successfully resolved. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maximum-power-point tracking control of solar heating system

The present study developed a maximum-power point tracking control (MPPT) technology for solar heating system to minimize the pumping power consumption at an optimal heat collection. The net solar energy gain Q_net (=Q_s ? W_p/η_e) was experimentally found to be the cost function for MPPT with maximum point. The feedback tracking control system was developed to track the optimal Q_net (denoted Q_max). A tracking filter which was derived from the thermal analytical model of the solar heating system was used to determine the instantaneous tracking target Q_max(t). The system transfer-function model of solar heating system was also derived experimentally using a step response test and used in the design of tracking feedback control system. The PI controller was designed for a tracking target Q_max(t) with a quadratic time function. The MPPT control system was implemented using a microprocessor-based controller and the test results show good tracking performance with small tracking errors. It is seen that the average mass flow rate for the specific test periods in five different days is between 18.1 and 22.9 kg/min with average pumping power between 77 and 140 W, which is greatly reduced as compared to the standard flow rate at 31 kg/min and pumping power 450 W which is based on the flow rate 0.02 kg/s m² defined in the ANSI/ASHRAE 93-1986 Standard and the total collector area 25.9 m². The average net solar heat collected Q_net is between 8.62 and 14.1 kW depending on weather condition. The MPPT control of solar heating system has been verified to be able to minimize the pumping energy consumption with optimal solar heat collection.     

Synthesis of cadmium sulfide‐reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites by pulsed laser ablation in liquid for the enhanced photocatalytic reactions in the visible light

The large‐scale applications of cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles (NPs) as a photo‐catalyst are limited by their poor stability (high aggregation tendency) and consequent reduction in the surface area and increased rate of recombination of photoinduced electron‐hole pairs, despite its inherent positive feature of being visible light active. It has been reported that the photocatalytic performance of CdS can be considerably improved if CdS is made as a composite material with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) in an optimum ratio. In this work, for the first time, we adopted the technique of pulsed laser ablation in liquids (PLAL) to synthesize highly pure CdS NPs and the required CdS/rGO nanocomposites using high purity (99.9%) microstructured CdS and graphene oxide as chemical precursors. PLAL is a simple and rapid 1‐step synthesis process (where the reaction time is reduced from several hours to a few minutes), which does not require high temperature, toxic chemicals, and the final treatment to remove the unwanted by‐products. The optical and morphological characterizations revealed that the anchoring of CdS on rGO transformed the CdS/rGO composite into an efficient photo‐catalyst by enhancing the following positive attributes required for a good photo‐catalyst: (1) The inherent tendency of aggregation of CdS is considerably reduced; CdS NPs with an average grain size of 20 nm are well placed on the rGO sheets; and hence, the surface area of the catalyst was significantly increased to provide more active sites. (2) The reduced rate of photoinduced electron‐hole recombination manifested in the photoluminescence spectrum indicated the effective charge separation. (3) The enhanced light absorption in the visible/infrared region ensured the effectiveness of this material in naturally abundant solar radiation. In the CdS/rGO composite, the rGO sheets play the role of a supporting matrix, cocatalyst, and electron acceptor for CdS. To evaluate the photo‐catalytic performance of CdS/rGO, we applied it as a visible light‐driven photo‐catalyst for degrading methylene blue dye and found that CdS/rGO nanocomposite was more efficient than pure CdS in the visible spectral region. Therefore, PLAL provides a simple and 1‐step route to synthesize high‐purity visible light–driven photo‐catalysts and solar cell material.     

Experimental analysis of a two‐axis tracking system for solar parabolic dish collector

In this paper, an attempt has been made to develop a two‐axis tracking system for solar parabolic dish concentrator and experimentally evaluated the performance of the tracking system. In this proposed design, the sensor design uses the illumination produced by the convex lens on the apex of a pyramid to align the dish in‐line with the sun. The change in incident angle of the solar rays on the lens surface shifts the area of illumination from the apex of the pyramid towards its faces. Photodiodes placed on the faces of the pyramid are used as the sensitive elements to detect the movement of the sun. The sensor output is fed to a microcontroller‐based system to drive the stepper motor on the basis of the programmed algorithm such that it receives normal incidence of sunlight on the sensor. To evaluate the performance of the proposed system, a conventional available 1‐W photovoltaic (PV) panel is placed at the focal point to measure the short circuit current and open circuit voltage. With respect to the conventional solar PV panel, it is observed that the positioning accuracy of the proposed tracking system enhances the short circuit current of 0.11 A by 86%. Thus, the proposed tracking system can be used in a stand‐alone parabolic dish with concentrating PV module as the focal point for further studies.     

Probabilistic analysis of weather data for a hybrid solar/wind energy system

In this paper, a procedure for the probabilistic treatment of solar irradiance and wind speed data is reported as a method of evaluating, at a given site, the electric energy generated by both a photovoltaic system and a wind system. The aim of the proposed approach is twofold: first, to check if the real probability distribution functions (PDFs) of both clearness index and wind speed overlap with Hollands and Huget and Weibull PDFs, respectively; and then to find the parameters of these two distributions that best fit the real data. Further, using goodness‐of‐fit tests, these PDFs are compared with another set of very common PDFs, namely the Gordon and Reddy and Lognormal functions, respectively. The results inform the design of a pre‐processing stage for the input of an algorithm that probabilistically optimizes the design of hybrid solar wind power systems. In this paper, the validity of the proposed procedure was tested using long‐term meteorological data from Acireale (Italy). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Advanced 3‐D CPC solar collector for thermal electric system

In this paper, the authors propose an innovative non‐tracking three‐dimensional compound parabolic concentrator (3‐D CPC) solar collector, which has excellent thermal efficiency for a high‐temperature range (100–200°C). In the past studies, in order to improve the thermal efficiency of the solar collector in a high‐temperature range, very high concentration ratios and tracking systems have been adopted. However, conventional high concentration solar collectors are not cost‐effective and are inappropriate for small‐rating thermal electric generation systems for residential use. The proposed 3‐D CPC collector has a moderate concentration ratio and does not need tracking. Initially, the tentative 3‐D CPC collector was fabricated and its thermal performance was tested. Next, numerical simulations of the optical characteristics of the 3‐D CPC collector were carried out via the ray‐tracing method. Finally, the specification of the optimal 3‐D CPC collector was clarified. Applications of the thermal electric system will also be mentioned. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 35(5): 323–335, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20121     

Chemical bath deposition for the fabrication of antireflective coating of spherical silicon solar cells

A CdS film as an antireflective (AR) coating has been successfully deposited on spherical silicon solar cells by chemical bath deposition, which is a novel deposition method of AR coatings for spherical silicon solar cells. The CBD method is a growth method in an aqueous solution and enables film formation for electronic devices with arbitrary shapes. The solar cell performance of the cell with the CdS film showed a 16% increase in short circuit current compared to that without an ARC. The result confirms that the CBD method is useful for the ARC fabrication of spherical silicon solar cells.     

15.1% Highly efficient thin film CdS/CdTe solar cell

High-efficiency CdS/CdTe solar cells with thin CdS film have recently been developed. Semiconductive layers of CdS via the CVD method and of CdTe via the CSS method were deposited on an ITO/#7059 substrate. Cell performance depends primarily on the thickness of CdS film, and the conversion efficiency is highest for a CdS film thickness of around 60 nm. Since the CdS film thickness decreases by about 30% during deposition of the CdTe layer, a thickness of 95 nm is required to obtain a 60 nm-thick CdS film after deposition of a CdTe layer. By observing the CdS film during the CdTe deposition process, a decrease was detected before CdTe layer completely covers the surface of the CdS film. By optimizing the thickness of CdS film, an efficiency of 15.12% for the best cell under AM 1.5 verified at JQA was obtained. This fabrication process has good reproducibility; 92.5% of 1 cm² solar cells fabricated under the same conditions have efficiencies above 14%.     

Improving the performance of solar desalination systems

Two modifications for solar desalination systems are presented. The first modification, using a packed layer that installed in the bottom of the basin to increase the efficiency of the still. A packed layer is formed from glass balls which is considered as simple thermal storage system. The second modification, using rotating shaft installed close to the basin water surface. The target of using the rotating shaft to break the boundary layer of the basin water surface, thus increasing the water vaporization and condensation, the performance of the present solar desalination system may also be increased. The numerical analysis presented the equations of the direct coupling of the selected PV-solar panel, DC-motor and inverter for small PV-system. The characteristics of PV array and the DC-motor are presented for the specific PV–DC power. The performance of the two modified solar stills and the conventional one is compared. Three experiments were carried out using the climate conditions of Cairo site, Egypt. Transient temperatures of the two modified solar stills and the conventional one are measured from sunrise to sunset with the same operating parameters. The energy equations that governed the present solar desalination system are presented. Energy absorbed by glass cover, basin water, packed layer and the required power of the rotating shaft are calculated to obtain the water productivity and efficiency of the present systems. The results show that the two modifications enhanced the performance of the solar desalination system. The efficiency of the modified solar desalination system using packed layer thermal energy storage was increased by 5% at May, 6% at June, and 7.5% at July, while it was increased by 2.5% at May, 5% at June, and 5.5% at July for the modified one using rotating shaft and PV-system.     

Can we improve the record efficiency of CdS/CdTe solar cells?

Polycrystalline thin film CdTe continues to be a leading material for the development of cost effective and reliable photovoltaic systems. The two key properties of this material are its near ideal band gap for photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 1.45 eV, and its high optical absorption coefficient. Thin film CdTe solar cells are typically hetero-junctions with CdS being the n-type partner, or window layer. Efficiencies as high as 16.5% have been achieved.In this paper we make a physical analysis of the typical CdS/CdTe superstrate solar cell, and we show that present record efficiencies are very close to the practical efficiency limit for a CdS/CdTe hetero-junction cell. We show that a current estimate for the maximum efficiency of hetero-junction CdS/CdTe solar cells is around 17.5%, in contrast to old theoretical predictions, which calculate about 30% efficiencies for ideal homo-junction CdTe solar cells. This analysis explains why the record efficiency for this kind of cells has been stable for the last 10 years, going up by less than 1% from 15.8% to only 16.5%.