Fresnel lens solar concentrator derivations and simulations

Fresnel lens solar concentrators continue to fulfill a market requirement as a system component in high volume cost effective Concentrating Photovoltaic (CPV) electricity generation. Design and optimization may be performed using comprehensive system simulation tools, but before investing in the effort to build a complete virtual model framework, much insight can be gathered beforehand by generating a parameterized simulation cache and referencing those results. To investigate the performance space of the Fresnel lens, a fast simulation method which is a hybrid between raytracing and analytical computation is employed to generate a cache of simulation data. This data is post-processed to yield results that are not readily achieved via derivation. Example plots that can be used for look-up purposes will be included. Lens parameters that will be interrogated include focal length, index of refraction, prism fidelity, aperture, transmission and concentration ratio. In order to compactly represent a large variety of lens configurations, some variables that define the Fresnel lens will be parameterized. Analysis will be limited to Fresnel lens prisms oriented toward the photovoltaic (PV) cell and the plano surface directed toward the sun. The reverse of this configuration is rarely encountered in solar concentration applications and is omitted.