Performance analysis and experimental investigation of a novel trough daylight concentration and axial transmission system

•The performance of a novel TDCAT system is simulated and tested.•The designed concentrator changes the traditional energy transfer mode.•The designed concentrator is very suitable in solar energy light catalyzes system.•The sunlight incidence angle is 50°, the illumination can be magnified 4 times.

This study presents a trough daylight concentration and axial transmission system (TDCAT) based on the previously studied mirror image co-focus concentrator. The TDCAT system concentrates sunlight into a light guide tube where the concentrated sunlight undergoes multi-reflection to be transmitted or eventually absorbed by the media in the tube. Therefore, a TDCAT system would be suitable for tubular solar bio-reactor or photocatalysis applications. The optical simulation is employed to analyze the effect of the design parameter on the system performance. Construction and testing of a prototype TDCAT system is also described and discussed.