IMPORTANT TERMES

Irradiance - The amount of electromagnetic energy incident on a surface per unit time per unit area. In the past this
quantity has often been referred to as "flux".

Solar Constant - The solar constant is the amount of energy received at the top of the Earth's atmosphere on a surface
oriented perpendicular to the Suns rays (at the mean distance of the Earth from the Sun). The generally accepted solar
constant of 1368 W/m2 is a satellite measured yearly average.

Insolation - In general, solar radiation is received at the Earth's surface. The rate at which direct solar radiation is incident
upon a unit horizontal surface at any point on or above the surface of Earth. *I will refer to insolation as direct solar
radiation at the Earth's surface.

I = S cos Z

I= Insolation
S~ 1000 W/m2 (Clear day solar insolation on a surface perpendicular to incoming solar radiation. This value
actually varies greatly due to atmospheric variables.)

Z = Zenith Angle
Radiosity: the rate at which radient energy leaves a surface per unit area by combined emission, reflection
and transmission

SUN-EARTH ANGLES

1. Latitude: : the angle made by the radial line joining the location to the center of the earth with the projection
of the line on the equatorial palne. It can vary from -90 to +90.

2. Hour angle:: this the angle through which the earth must be rotated to bring the meridian of the palne
directly under the sun.r it is the angular displacement of the sun east or west of ther local meridian, due to the
rotation of the earth on its axis at an angle of 15 per hr.hr angle is 0 at noon, negative in morning and positive
in the afternoon in north hemisphere (india) vice versa for south hemesohere (Australia).

= 15 (ST-12) ST is the local solar time.

3. Declination angle: :made by line joinging the centers of the sun and the earth with its projection on the
equatorial plane. Value varies between -23.50 on dec-21st to 23.50 on june-21st.it is approximated by Cooper
equation 23.5sin(360 X 284 n /365) n is the day of the year
 4. Azimuth angle:

5. Zenith Angle - Zenith Angle is the angle from the zenith (point directly overhead) to the Sun's position in the sky.
The zenith angle is dependent upon latitude, solar declination angle, and time of day.

Z = cos-1 (sin sin + cos cos cos H)

= Latitude

H = = Hour Angle = 15o x (Time - 12) (Angle of radiation due to time of day. Time is given in solar time as the hour of the day from
midnight.)

= Solar Declination Angle

Solar Radiation Striking the top of the Earth's Atmosphere

The Inverse Square Law is used to calculate the decrease in radiation intensity due to an increase in distance from the
radiation source.
Inverse Square Law: I = E(4 x R2)/(4 x r2)
I = Irradiance at the surface of the outer sphere
E = Irradiance at the surface of the object (Sun)
4 x R2 = surface area of the object
4 x r2 = surface area of the outer sphere

In order to calculate the solar constant the following equation is used:

So = E(Sun) x (R(Sun) / r)2
So = Solar Constant
E= Surface Irradiance of the Sun
R= 6.96 x 105 km = Radius of the Sun
r = 1.5 x 108 km =Average Sun-Earth Distance

Flat-plate collectors

A flat-plate collector is the most important type of solar collector since it does not require a lot of maintenance and is
really simple to design. the flat-plate collector can be used for applications where temperatures are set between 40 C
and 100 C. Which make it suitable for space heating applications.

A schematic diagram of a liquid flat-plate collector is shown in Fig.1.

 1. A flat-plate collector consists of an absorber plate on which the radiation of the sun falls after having come
through one transparent cover made of plastic or glass either single or double-glazed.
2. The absorbed radiation is transferred to a liquid via the absorber plate and it is this energy gain which is the most
useful.
3. The remaining part of the radiation absorbed in the plate is lost by convection to the surroundings, and by
conduction through the back and edges.
4. The transparent cover helps in reducing the losses by convection and a selective coating can reduce the amount
of lost to the surroundings.
5. The liquid most commonly used is water, although oil can be used.

Evacuated-tube collectors

The evacuated-tube collector is the other form of solar collector

More efficient at higher temperatures than flat-plate collectors.

Sunlight enters through the outer glass tube and strikes the absorber, where the energy is converted to heat.
The heat is transferred to the liquid flowing through the absorber.
The collector consists of rows of parallel transparent glass tubes, each of which contains an absorber covered
with a selective coating.
The absorber typically is of tin-tube design, although cylindrical absorbers also are used.

Evacuated-tube collectors are generally more efficient on an all year round basis as they can still operate under cloudy
conditions, however they are considerably more expensive than flat-plate collectors -around 80%- and if the vacuum
seal fails then they become inefficient.
Concentrating collectors
Advantages

Very high temperatures reached. High temperatures are suitable for electricity generation using conventional
methods like steam turbine or some direct high temperature chemical reaction.
Good efficiency. By concentrating sunlight current systems can get better efficiency than simple solar cells.
A larger area can be covered by using relatively inexpensive mirrors rather than using expensive solar cells.
Concentrated light can be redirected to a suitable location via optical fiber cable. For example illuminating
buildings.
Heat storage for power production during cloudy and overnight conditions can be accomplished, often by
underground tank storage of heated fluids. Molten salts have been used to good effect.

Disadvantages
Concentrating systems require sun tracking to maintain Sunlight focus at the collector.
Inability to provide power in diffused light conditions. Solar Cells are able to provide some output even if the sky
becomes a little bit cloudy, but power output from concentrating systems drop drastically in cloudy conditions as
diffused light cannot be concentrated passively.
A linear-trough, Fresnel lens collector. In this design, a curved lens is used to focus incoming rays onto a small
absorber plate or tube through which the heat transfer liquid is circulated. This type of collector also requires a
tracking mechanism and can collect only direct radiation. A compound parabolic mirror collector. The design of the
mirror allows the collector to collect and focus both direct and diffuse radiation without tracking the sun. Periodic
changes in the tilt angle are the only adjustments necessary.
 Solar energy collector types.

LAYOUT OF SOLAR CONVERSION( not requide)

SOLAR CONVERSION SYSTEMS( VIMP TOPIC)
1. Photovoltaic conversion(direct conversion)

2. Central receiver type (thermal conversion)

3. Distributed type

4. Solar pond

Photovoltaics and P-N junctions

PV power devices were applied to small consumer products such as battery chargers, calculators, road signs, sidewalk
markers, remote homes and farms, and a few large solar power stations. They also served as the main power source for
space satellites, craft, and stations.
WORKINGN PRINCIPAL

When a solar cell is exposed to sunlight, some photons reflect off the solar cell surface and some low-energy
photons pass through the cell without affecting it.
But the solar cells silicon semiconductor layer absorbs the remaining photons with an energy greater than the
silicon band-gap value.
These photons knock negatively charged electrons out of their orbits and generate a flow of free electrons and
complementary, positively charged holes.

The diagram shows the construction of a crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic cell, Crystalline silicon is the most
widely used material for PV cells. An n-type dopant diffuses into a p-type silicon wafer and creates the p-n junction.
Depending on the way it is made, it might start out with an n-type waver, followed by a p-type layer.

Then, front and back metal contacts are formed on either side of the wafer so the cell can be electrically connected to an
external circuit. Electrical conductors or wires connect to each contact, and when the conductors are connected to the
load, the circuit is complete.

The n-type and p-type layers sit side-by-side on the silicon wafer. Some excess electrons from the n-type layer move
into the p-type layer so holes remain in their place; holes move from the p-layer into the n-layer. The electrons and holes
create an electric field in the junction area of the semiconductor.

During PV cell operation, this field forces the electrons (that are freed by the photons in the p-type layer) to move to the
top of the n-type layer while the holes move to the p-type layer. The electrons flow through the contact, wiring, and load
in the outside circuit and then return to the p-type layer where they recombine with the holes. the notation for the
conventional direction of current flow is opposite to the direction of electron flow.
MATERIALS FOR PV CELLS

mono-crystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, and gallium arsenide. Mono-crystalline silicon is
one of the most common PV cell materials, however its potentially high efficiency is still limited due to the quite small
number of photons it can absorb, and as a result, the cost-per-watt is relatively high. Polycrystalline silicon cells and
amorphous silicon cells have lower efficiency. Gallium Arsenide types offer much higher efficiency, but their production
cost is relatively high and currently limits its use to special applications, such as aerospace.

These devices typically use several polycrystalline and single-crystalline films. Polycrystalline thin films are made of
silicon, cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium diselenide (CIS), or copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS). These
materials have high absorptivity, which helps increase the conversion efficiency. Single-crystalline thin films are made
of gallium arsenide (GaAs) or several other materials.

The size of a single PV cell ranges from about 1 to 10 cm across, and other than in small calculators, using just a single
cell is not practical because the voltage and current out of one cell are too low for most other applications. Depending on
the technology, a typical PV cell voltage is approximately 0.5V with a maximum power of 2 W.

PV Power systems

Two types of solar power systems are widely used: off-grid or stand-alone and grid-connected. The light-to-electric
energy conversion factor is about the same, but the electric energy storage and distribution are accomplished differently.
In a typical off-grid or stand-alone solar power generating system the PV array connects to a charge/discharge controller
that directs and controls solar-generated dc electric current to charge the storage battery. Lead-acid batteries are
commonly used for energy storage, and depending on how many batteries are connected in series, the nominal battery
voltage is 12, 24, or 48 V.

Typical controllers include temperature compensation, provide complete isolation between the control and power
circuits, and have light-detection driven on/off switching and programmable timers. The battery side includes
overcharging and reverse-polarity protection, low battery voltage cut-off, and fault warning. On the load side, controllers
typically include output overload, over-voltage, reverse-polarity, and short-circuit protection. The solar array is protected
against reverse polarity and reverse current flow at night.

The controller also regulates the battery discharge into the load. The battery load of a stand-alone system is a dc-to-ac
inverter, which converts 12, 24, or 48Vdc current into 110Vac, 60Hz or 220Vac, 50Hz alternating current. Inverters with
operating efficiency of 90%, tight output voltage tolerances, and low harmonic distortion are common. They typically
come with input reverse polarity, over-voltage, and under-voltage protection. The output has overload, short-circuit, and
thermal shutdown protection.

A typical grid-connected solar power system includes a solar array and a grid-connected inverter. It does not need a
storage battery; it converts the dc current generated by the solar array directly into high voltage alternating current that is
fed into the electric utility grid. Depending on the country and standard power utility grid arrangement, the inverter
output frequency is 50 or 60Hz, and the voltage is in a range between 180 and 440Vac.

2. Central receiver type

The receiver, placed at the top of a tower, is located at a point where reflected energy from the heliostats can be
intercepted most efficiently. The receiver absorbs the energy being reflected from the heliostat field and transfers it
into a heat .transfer fluid. There are two basic types of receivers: external and cavity.

A) External Receivers.

Consist of panels of many small (20-56 mm) vertical tubes welded side by side to approximate a cylinder.

The bottoms and tops of the vertical tubes are connected to headers that supply heat transfer fluid to the
bottom of each tube and collect the heated fluid from the top of the tubes.

The receiver used at the Solar One facility is of the external type and is shown in Figure 10.3. It is located at the top
of a 77.1 m (253 ft) tower and comprises 24 panels, each 13.7 m (45 ft) high, consisting of 70-12.7 mm (1/2 in.)
diameter tubes. Six of these panels are for preheating the water and 18 for producing steam. This results in an
overall receiver diameter of 7 m (23 ft). The tubes are made of Incoloy 800 and are coated on the exterior with high-
absorptance Pyromark black paint.

Figure 10.3 The receiver of the Solar One central receiver facility at Barstow, CA. This is an external type receiver.

External receivers typically have a height to diameter ratio of 1:1 to 2:1. The area of the receiver is kept to a
minimum to reduce heat loss. The lower limit is determined by the maximum operating temperature of the tubes and
hence the heat removal capability of the heat transfer fluid. or example, one design for a receiver using liquid
sodium as the heat transfer fluid with peak output of 380 MW (1.3 109 Btu/h) calls for a height of 15 m (49 ft) and
a diameter of 13 m (41 ft). If the heat transfer fluid were water/steam or molten nitrate salt rather than sodium, an
area about twice that size would be required for the same power output and temperature because of the lower heat
transfer capabilities of these fluids (Battleson, 198l).
 Cavity Receivers.

In an attempt to reduce heat loss from the receiver, some designs propose to place the flux absorbing surface inside
of an insulated cavity, thereby reducing the convective heat losses from the absorber. An example of a cavity
receiver design (with four cavities) is shown in Figure 10.4. The flux from the heliostat field is reflected through an
aperture onto absorbing surfaces forming the walls of the cavity. Typical designs have an aperture area of about one-
third to one-half of the internal absorbing surface area. Cavity receivers are limited to an acceptance angle of 60 to
120 degrees (Battleson, 198l). Therefore, either multiple cavities are placed adjacent to each other, or the heliostat
field is limited to the view of the cavity aperture.

Figure 10.4

temperature
A cavity type receiver design incorporating four apertures. It would operate in the 510 to 565oC (950 to 1050oF)
range with steam, molten salt or sodium (Battleson, 1981).The aperture size is minimized to reduce convection and
radiation losses without blocking out too much of the solar flux arriving at the receiver. The aperture is typically sized
to about the same dimensions as the suns reflected image from the farthest heliostat, giving a spillage of 1 to 4 percent.
For a 380 MW (1.3 109 Btu/h) plant design, the aperture width for the largest of the four cavities (the north-facing
cavity) is 16 m (52 ft), and the flux at the aperture plane is four times that reaching the absorbing surface inside.

Heat Flux Considerations. The primary limitation on receiver design is the heat flux that can he absorbed through the
receiver surface and into the heat transfer fluid, without overheating the receiver walls or the heat transfer fluid within
them. A survey of typical design peak values is given in Table 10.1. The average flux over the entire absorber wall is
typically one-half to one-third of these peak values. Two other important considerations are: (1) limiting the temperature
gradients along the receiver panels and (2) the daily heat-cycling of the receiver tubes.

Receiver/Heat Engine (STIRLING & BRAYTON)

After the array of mirrors focuses the sunlight, the concentrated sunlight then heats up the working fluid to
temperatures of around 750 OC within the receiver.
The heated high temperature working fluid is then used in either a Stirling or Brayton heat engine cycle to
produce mechanical power via rotational kinetic energy

and then electricity for utility use with an electric generator.

An example of a Brayton cycle used to produce electricity for a parabolic dish power plant is shown in
Figure 8.

In the cycle the concentrated sunlight focused on the solar fluid heats up the compressed working fluid of
the cycle,

air, replacing altogether or lowering the amount of fuel needed to heat up the air in the combustion
chamber for power generation.

As with all Brayton cycles, the hot compressed air is then expanded through a turbine to produce rotational
kinetic energy,

which is converted to electricity using the alternator.

A recuperator is also utilized to capture waste heat from the turbine to preheat the compressed air and
make the cycle more efficient.
Figure 8: Schematic of Parabolic Dish/Brayton Cycle Power Plant [9].

A Stirling cycle would generate mechanical power in a similar way by using the heat from the concentrated
sunlight to move pistons to produce rotational kinetic energy like an internal combustion engine in an
automobile.
The rotation of the engines crankshaft could be used to drive an electrical generator and produce electricity.
Currently, Stirling engines are more commonly used than Brayton cycles in dish/engine systems, but analysis of
dish/Brayton applications done predicts potential possible thermal to electric efficiencies of over 30%.

Efficiencies and Benefits

When considering all three of the major solar thermal electric technologies,

The parabolic dish/engine systems have the highest efficiency in the conversion of solar energy to electricity
with an efficiency of 29.4% achieved.
High optical efficiencies and low startup losses aid in making the dish/engine systems very efficient, which gives
it the potential to eventually become one of the least expensive forms of renewable energy.
Compared to solar power towers or parabolic trough power plants, parabolic dish/engine systems are typically
designed for smaller, high value applications, such as for remote power needs, requiring only 5-25 kW of power
generation provided by a single dish or a small farm of several parabolic dish systems connected together to
provide power for a small grid of end-of-the-line utility applications.

There are 3 distinct layers of water in the pond:

 The top layer, which has a low salt content.
An intermediate insulating layer with a salt gradient, which establishes a density gradient that prevents heat
exchange by natural convection.
The bottom layer, which has a high salt content.

A solar pond is simply a pool of saltwater which collects and stores solar thermal energy. The saltwater
naturally forms a vertical salinity gradient in which low-salinity water floats on top of high-salinity water.
The layers of salt solutions increase in concentration (and therefore density) with depth. Below a certain
depth, the solution has a uniformly high salt concentration.
If the water is relatively translucent, and the pond's bottom has high optical absorption, then nearly all of the
incident solar radiation (sunlight) will go into heating the bottom layer.

When solar energy is absorbed in the water, its temperature increases, causing thermal expansion and reduced
density.

If the water were fresh, the low-density warm water would float to the surface, causing a convection current.

The temperature gradient alone causes a density gradient that decreases with depth.

The salinity gradient forms a density gradient that increases with depth, and this counteracts the temperature
gradient, thus preventing heat in the lower layers from moving upwards by convection and leaving the pond.

The temperature at the bottom of the pond will rise to over 90 C while the temperature at the top of the pond
is usually around 30 C.

A natural example of these effects in a saline water body is Solar Lake in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt.

The heat trapped in the salty bottom layer can be used for many different purposes, such as the heating of
buildings or industrial hot water or to drive an organic Rankine cycle turbine or Stirling engine for generating
electricity.
 Design

Space-based solar power essentially consists of three elements:

collecting solar power in space via solar cells or a heat engine

transmitting power to earth, via microwave or laser

receiving power on earth, for example via a microwave antenna

Geostationary or communications satellites are PARKED in space 22.300 miles (35.900. km) above the equator of the STATIONARY earth. At exactly 22.300 miles
above the equator, the force of gravity is cancelled by the centrifugal force of the rotating universe. This is the ideal spot to park a stationary satellite. An exactly
22.000 miles (35.900. km) above the equator, the earth's force of gravity is canceled by the centrifugal force of the rotating universe. This is the ideal location to
park a stationary satellite. The signal to the satellite is very, very precise and any movement of the satellite would cause a loss of the signal.

Geostationary satellites are used for weather forecasting, satellite TV, satellite radio and most other types of global communications.
Advantages

The SBSP concept is attractive because space has several major advantages over the Earth's surface for the collection of
solar power.

There is no air in space, so the collecting surfaces could receive much more intense sunlight, unobstructed by
weather.
A satellite could be illuminated over 99% of the time, and be in Earth's shadow on only 75 minutes per night at
the spring and fall equinoxes.

Relatively quick redirecting of power directly to areas that need it most.

Higher collection rate: In space, transmission of solar energy is unaffected by the filtering effects of atmospheric
gasses. Consequently, collection in orbit is approximately 144% of the maximum attainable on Earth's surface.

Longer collection period: Orbiting satellites can be exposed to a consistently high degree of solar radiation,
generally for 24 hours per day, whereas surface panels can collect for 12 hours per day at most.

Elimination of weather concerns, since the collecting satellite would reside well outside of any atmospheric
gasses, cloud cover, wind, and other weather events.

Elimination of plant and wildlife interference.

Redirectable power transmission: A collecting satellite could possibly direct power on demand to different
surface locations based on geographical baseload or peak load power needs.

Disadvantages

The SBSP concept also has a number of problems.

The space environment is hostile; panels suffer about 10 times the degradation they would on Earth. System
lifetimes on the order of a decade would be expected, which makes it difficult to produce enough power to be
economical.
Space debris are a major hazard to large objects in space, and SBSP systems have been singled out as a
particularly hazardous activity.
 The broadcast frequency of the microwave downlink (if used) would require isolating the SBSP systems away
from other satellites. GEO space is already well used and it is considered unlikely the ITU would allow an SPS to be
launched.

Only about half the power generated by the SSP would be delivered to the grid, once all losses are factored in.
These losses are on the same order as modern fossil fuel plants.