Retrospective on 30 years of nonimaging optics development for solar energy at the University of Chicago

Joseph J. O'Gallagher

doi:10.1117/12.2238637

7 September 2016 Retrospective on 30 years of nonimaging optics development for solar energy at the University of Chicago

Joseph J. O'Gallagher

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9955, Nonimaging Optics: Efficient Design for Illumination and Solar Concentration XIII—Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Nonimaging Optics; 995504 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2238637
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2016, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

As the field of nonimaging optics has developed over the last 50 years, among its many applications, the best known and recognized is probably in solar energy. In particular, the approach provides the formalism that allows the design of devices that approach the maximum physically attainable geometric concentration for a given set of optical tolerances. This means that it has the potential to revolutionize the design of solar concentrators. Much of the experimental development and early testing of these concepts was carried out at the University of Chicago by Roland Winston and his colleagues and students. In this presentation, some of many embodiments and variations of the basic Compound Parabolic Concentrator that were developed and tested over a thirty-year period at Chicago are reviewed. Practical and economic aspects of concentrator design for both thermal and photovoltaic applications are discussed. Examples covering the whole range of concentrator applications from simple low-concentration non-tracking designs to ultrahigh-concentration multistage configurations are covered.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Joseph J. O'Gallagher "Retrospective on 30 years of nonimaging optics development for solar energy at the University of Chicago", Proc. SPIE 9955, Nonimaging Optics: Efficient Design for Illumination and Solar Concentration XIII—Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Nonimaging Optics, 995504 (7 September 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2238637

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