Design and optical analysis of the band-focus Fresnel lens solar concentrator

Solar energy is one of the most promising renewable energies and meaningful for the sustainable development of energy source. In this paper, a new kind of band-focus Fresnel lens solar concentrator was proposed. The design principle of this solar concentrator was given and the spectral concentrating performance was simulated by the means of Monte Carlo Ray Tracing Method (MCRT), which was compared with the linear Fresnel lens. The results show that both the spectral concentrating uniformity and optical efficiency of the band-focus Fresnel lens were better than those of the linear one. Meanwhile several characteristic parameters of the band-focus Fresnel lens concentrator were analyzed under different conditions and it can be drawn from the results that a high-ratio band-focus Fresnel lens concentrator could increase the optical efficiency of a concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) system.