Evaluation of the incidence of optical and physical characteristics on the performance of a Fresnel Linear Collector prototype

This article aims to evaluate the optical and thermal behavior of a small Fresnel linear concentrator prototype developed under the appropriate technology paradigm. The system was developed by the Energy, Automation and Control Systems Research Group of the Technological Units of Santander, Colombia for water heating. The study of the device was developed from a series of simulations that took into account the optical and thermal factors of the real system, and a series of alternative scenarios that seek to improve the performance of the device were evaluated. The simulation process was carried out by applying the "TRNSYS" Software in order to study the dynamic behavior of the concentrator and the "Soltrace" Software applying the Monte Carlo Ray Tracing method. The results obtained showed that the improvement scenarios proposed to evaluate the optical characteristics of the primary reflection system do not significantly increase the performance of the device, while the optical characteristics applied to the secondary reflection system do reflect a significant increase. Finally, the variation of flow and the area of the preheater show a direct relationship in performance, reaching values that predict the ideal value of the operating variable.