| dc.description.abstract | This thesis presents the design of a concentrator system, which features a V-grooves structure at the bottom of the waveguide. An lens array is installed above it, and solar cell are placed on the left and right sides of the waveguide. The incident light is focused at the bottom through the lenses, and then reflected onto the solar cell by aluminum coating on the V-grooves at the bottom. The light energy is converted into electrical energy using the photovoltaic effect.
The design was simulated using the optical simulation software LightTools. Firstly, only calculate the geometry of the design. Simulation results show that its average optical efficiency achieve 87.5%, with a system acceptance angle of ±13°. Then, consider various conditions such as transmittance, reflectance, solar spectrum, and solar cell spectrum. The average optical efficiency achieve 37.1%, with a system acceptance angle of ±11°. Next, the designed model was fabricated using CNC machining and processed accordingly. The reality optical efficiency of the fabricated model was measured using a Solar Module Analyzer and Solar Simulator. The measured average optical efficiency of the fabricated model decrease to 22.6%, with a system acceptance angle of ±15°.
Finally, compare the measurement results with simulation results and analyze them. Investigate the reason of the efficiency loss. | en_US |