The co-learning in the design, simulation and optimization of a solar concentrating system

Due to the significant environmental and economic impact of the solar energy on our life, many solar concentrator systems (SCSs) exist today, the majority of them being very costly to construct. In this paper, an efficient low-cost SCS based on Reif research was implemented using principles of collaboration and co-learning. This system basically converts the solar-thermal energy to other forms of usable energy such as electrical energy. It mainly consists of three parts: (i) the primary concentrators (PCs), which collect the solar radiations coming from the sun and reflect it upward to the secondary concentrator; (ii) the secondary concentrators (SCs) which are moving concentrators suspended on cables above the solar collecting field; and (iii) the receiving energy collector (REC). The final results showed that the proposed system functions in the expected limits.

Duke Scholars

Author John H. Reif Computer Science