Stoves and furnaces – Solar heat collector – With control means energized in response to actuator...
Patent
1997-09-24
1999-05-04
Yeung, James C.
Stoves and furnaces
Solar heat collector
With control means energized in response to actuator...
126680, 126692, F24J 238
Patent
active
058991999
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a solar energy collector system and, in particular, to a system which includes receivers which function to absorb solar radiation and reflectors which are arranged to reflect incident solar radiation toward the receivers. The invention is hereinafter described largely in the context of a collector system which employs receivers that incorporate evacuated tube-type collector elements which function to convert the energy content of incident solar radiation into thermal energy and to transfer the thermal energy to heat exchange fluid. However, it will be understood that the invention does have broader application, for example to systems which include receivers in the form of inverted cavity collectors and photovoltaic cells.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A collector system of the type with which the present invention is concerned is referred to as a Fresnel reflector system and, depending upon its configuration, may be considered as an analogue of a parabolic dish or a linear parabolic trough. When configured as an analogue of a parabolic trough, the collector system comprises receivers which are supported by vertical masts and which are orientated or arrayed to form a linearly extending target. The reflectors are positioned slightly above ground level and are arrayed over an area that is selected to provide reflection of the required amount of radiation toward the target receivers. The arrayed reflectors are orientated to reflect radiation toward one target, and the reflectors are pivotably mounted and coupled to provide for synchronised single-axis tracking.
The above described Fresnel reflector system permits the use of a large scale target and provides for low construction costs relative to those that would be incurred in equivalent size parabolic trough or dish collector systems. However, a problem that is inherent in the use of ground arrayed reflectors is that shading occurs as a consequence of radiation blockage. This takes two forms, one in which radiation that would fall incident on reflectors is blocked by adjacent reflectors and the other in which radiation that is reflected toward the target by some reflectors is blocked by adjacent reflectors. This problem might be avoided by spacing the reflectors in a manner to avoid shading, but this would have the two-fold effect of reducing land utilisation efficiency and expanding the distance between reflectors and associated target receivers. This in turn would have the effect of reducing circumsolar acceptance for a given geometrical concentration ratio and, in the case of a multi-target receiver system, of increasing pipe run lengths between the receiver systems.
The present invention seeks to avoid these problems, while preserving the benefit of the Fresnel reflector system, by providing for orientation of reflectors toward either one of two target receiver systems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention may be defined broadly as providing a solar energy collector system which comprises at least one group of arrayed reflectors and at least two target receiver systems associated with the or each group of reflectors. The receiver systems are supported above ground level and are elevated relative to the reflectors. The reflectors within the or each group are supported at or above ground level and are pivotably mounted to support structures whereby they may be positioned angularly to reflect incident radiation toward one or another of the receiver systems. Also, at least some of the reflectors within the or each group are arranged to be pivoted to an extent such that they may be orientated selectively to shift the direction of reflected incident solar radiation from one to another of the receiver systems.
In use of the above defined collector system, a choice may be made as to which receiver system should be targeted to receive the reflected radiation from individual reflectors or sub-groups of the reflectors which are arranged to shift the direction of reflected radiation from one to another o
REFERENCES:
patent: 4044753 (1977-08-01), Fletcher
patent: 4120282 (1978-10-01), Espy
patent: 4137897 (1979-02-01), Moore
patent: 4223664 (1980-09-01), Fattor
patent: 4474173 (1984-10-01), Ford
patent: 4602853 (1986-07-01), Barr
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