© 2016. This version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

We discuss the possibility for solar concentration enhancement via conductive heat transport. Here, we are concerned, as in orthodox approaches, about maximizing the solar concentration to obtain the highest receiver temperature possible, but with one important difference: In the proposed approach, the solar concentration enhancement is attained not by the use of lenses, mirrors, or funnels (i.e., by optical concentration based on radiative transport), but via thermal conduction, what we call thermal conductive focusing. Among the additional advantages of thermal conductive focusing is the capability to concentrate indistinct direct incidence as well as diffusive radiation. Thus, the concept is especially insensitive to cloudy days and particularly attractive in application to environments with important diffusive components of light. Utilizing a simplified geometrical model, an analytical expression for the temperature and concentration gain at the receiver was derived. The particular application for a parabolic solar trough was analysed. Additional research and development is required to explore the possibilities of solar flux enhancement by thermal conductive focusing as well as the optimization of several variables.

Peer Reviewed