Flux distribution of solar furnace using non-imaging focusing heliostat

This paper discusses on the flux distribution of a quasi-single stage solar furnace which consists of a non-imaging focusing heliostat as the primary stage and a much smaller spherical concentrator as a secondary. As the optics of the primary stage heliostat is of non-imaging nature, the analytical method for studying the flux distribution of the hot spot of this type of solar furnace would be complicated. Therefore, a digital simulation approach has been employed. Flux distributions of the hot spot for several different incident angles, which have covered all the extreme cases of operating conditions have been simulated. Simulation result shows that a solar furnace using an 8 × 8 m non-imaging focusing heliostat with 289 mirrors coupled with a spherical concentrator with 0.7 m aperture and 27 cm focal length is theoretically capable of achieving flux concentration of 25,000 suns. Concentration contours of flux distribution for several interesting cases are presented, the different working areas of high flux footage from 5000 to 15,000 suns have been compiled.