Optimal design of solar concentrator in multi-energy hybrid systems based on minimum exergy destruction

The paper presents a systematic approach to designing an imaging dish for a concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) system to minimize exergy destruction. The designed CPV system uniformly distributes light rays on the receiver (TPV/multi-junction PV) to enhance the conversion technology efficiency and lifetime. To this end, a parametric dish is designed using imaging optics and the numerical solution of a differential equation. Afterward, a Monte Carlo simulation is used to estimate the output energy and exergy of the CPV system with the parametric dish. Finally, an optimization algorithm finds the optimal design parameters to minimize the system's exergy destruction. The optimal design leads to a CPV with a concentration factor of 100-150 that is fitted to utilize TPV/multi-junction PV as its receiver. Moreover, it can produce a temperature of 1019 degrees C. Finally, the overall system energy and exergy efficiency with conventional commercial components at solar irradiance of 1000 W/m(2) are estimated to be 74.07% and 66.36%, respectively. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Automated summary

This paper presents a systematic approach to design an imaging dish for a concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) system with the aim of minimizing exergy destruction. The approach includes designing a parametric dish using imaging optics and solving a differential equation numerically, estimating the output energy and exergy using Monte Carlo simulation, and finding the optimal design parameters to minimize exergy destruction through an optimization algorithm. The results show that the optimal design allows for a CPV with a concentration factor of 100-150 and a temperature of 1019 degrees C, with estimated energy and exergy efficiencies of 74.07% and 66.36%, respectively.