The design of solar concentrating systems and receivers requires the spatial distribution of the solar flux on the receiver. This article presents an integral formulation of the optical model for the multiple reflections involved in solar concentrating facilities, which is solved by a Monte Carlo ray-tracing (MCRT) algorithm that handles complex geometries. An experimental validation of this model is obtained with published results for a dish configuration. The convergence of the proposed algorithm is studied and found faster than collision-based algorithms. In addition, an example of the use of the sensitivity of the power on a target to the mirror rms-slope is given by treating an inverse-problem consisting in finding the equivalent rms-slope of mirrors that best match the flux map measurements.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
April 2015
Research-Article
Validation of a Monte Carlo Integral Formulation Applied to Solar Facility Simulations and Use of Sensitivities
Cyril Caliot,
Cyril Caliot
1
Processes,
e-mail: cyril.caliot@promes.cnrs.fr
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du Four Solaire
,Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
e-mail: cyril.caliot@promes.cnrs.fr
1Corresponding author.
Search for other works by this author on:
Hadrien Benoit,
Hadrien Benoit
Processes,
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du Four Solaire
,Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Emmanuel Guillot,
Emmanuel Guillot
Processes,
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du Four Solaire
,Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Jean-Louis Sans,
Jean-Louis Sans
Processes,
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du Four Solaire
,Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Alain Ferriere,
Alain Ferriere
Processes,
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du Four Solaire
,Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Gilles Flamant,
Gilles Flamant
Processes,
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du
Four Solaire, Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Christophe Coustet,
Christophe Coustet
HPC-SA Raytracing Solutions
,3 chemin du pigeonnier de la Cépière
,Toulouse 31100
, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Benjamin Piaud
Benjamin Piaud
HPC-SA Raytracing Solutions
,3 chemin du pigeonnier de la Cépière
,Toulouse 31100
, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Cyril Caliot
Processes,
e-mail: cyril.caliot@promes.cnrs.fr
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du Four Solaire
,Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
e-mail: cyril.caliot@promes.cnrs.fr
Hadrien Benoit
Processes,
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du Four Solaire
,Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
Emmanuel Guillot
Processes,
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du Four Solaire
,Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
Jean-Louis Sans
Processes,
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du Four Solaire
,Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
Alain Ferriere
Processes,
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du Four Solaire
,Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
Gilles Flamant
Processes,
Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory
,PROMES
,CNRS
,7 rue du
Four Solaire, Font-Romeu-Odeillo 66120
, France
Christophe Coustet
HPC-SA Raytracing Solutions
,3 chemin du pigeonnier de la Cépière
,Toulouse 31100
, France
Benjamin Piaud
HPC-SA Raytracing Solutions
,3 chemin du pigeonnier de la Cépière
,Toulouse 31100
, France
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Solar Energy Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF SOLAR ENERGY ENGINEERING: INCLUDING WIND ENERGY AND BUILDING ENERGY CONSERVATION. Manuscript received October 2, 2014; final manuscript received January 5, 2015; published online February 18, 2015. Assoc. Editor: Prof. Nathan Siegel.
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Apr 2015, 137(2): 021019 (8 pages)
Published Online: April 1, 2015
Article history
Received:
October 2, 2014
Revision Received:
January 5, 2015
Online:
February 18, 2015
Citation
Caliot, C., Benoit, H., Guillot, E., Sans, J., Ferriere, A., Flamant, G., Coustet, C., and Piaud, B. (April 1, 2015). "Validation of a Monte Carlo Integral Formulation Applied to Solar Facility Simulations and Use of Sensitivities." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. April 2015; 137(2): 021019. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4029692
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Related Articles
Parametric Trough Solar Collector With Commercial Evacuated Receiver: Performance Comparison at Plant Level
J. Sol. Energy Eng (August,2017)
Nonimaging Behavior of Circular Trough Concentrators With Tubular Receivers
J. Sol. Energy Eng (February,2024)
Optical Analysis of a Two Stage XX Simultaneous Multiple Surface Concentrator for Parametric Trough Primary and Flat Absorber With Application in Direct Steam Generation Solar Thermal Plants
J. Sol. Energy Eng (April,2016)
Performance of a 100 kW th Concentrated Solar Beam-Down Optical Experiment
J. Sol. Energy Eng (November,2014)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Our Sun and Thermal Radiation Distribution Function
Electromagnetic Waves and Heat Transfer: Sensitivites to Governing Variables in Everyday Life
The MCRT Method for Participating Media
The Monte Carlo Ray-Trace Method in Radiation Heat Transfer and Applied Optics
Heat Transfer from a Human Body during Solar Tanning
Everyday Heat Transfer Problems: Sensitivities to Governing Variables