Tracking and ray tracing equations for the target-aligned heliostat for solar tower power plants

The tracking and ray tracing equations for the target-aligned heliostat for solar tower power plants have been derived in this paper. Based on the equations, a new module for analysis of the target-aligned heliostat with an asymmetric surface has been developed and incorporated in the code HFLD. To validate the tracking and ray tracing equations, a target-aligned heliostat with a toroidal surface is designed and modeled. The image of the target-aligned heliostat is calculated by the modified code HFLD and compared with that calculated by the commercial software Zemax. It is shown that the calculated results coincide with each other very well. Therefore, the correctness of the tracking and ray tracing equations for the target-aligned heliostat is proved.

► The target aligned heliostat with asymmetric surface can correct the aberration.
► The tracking and ray tracing equations for the heliostat have been derived.
► A module for modeling and analyzing the heliostat is incoporated in the code HFLD.
► The correctness of the equations is proved by using HFLD and the software Zemax.