Thermodynamic and optical analyses of a hybrid solar CPV/T system with high solar concentrating uniformity based on spectral beam splitting technology

A novel multi-segment mirror hybrid solar concentration photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T) system using the spectral beam splitting technology is proposed, and its composition, working principle and structural design method are introduced in this paper. The Needle optimization method is employed to design the spectral beam splitter for the CPV/T system. The Monte Carlo Ray Tracing method is used to simulate the solar concentrating process and the results reveal that the CPV/T system can provide high uniformity of solar radiation flux density distribution on solar cells. The relationships of key structural and optical parameters of the CPV/T system are investigated. The results indicate that increasing the solar cell installation height and reducing the solar cell width can both improve the geometric concentration ratio of the CPV/T system. The sun tracking error effect analysis is carried out. The analysis results indicate that the CPV/T system has an overall optical efficiency higher than 763% when the sun tracking error is less than 1 degrees. Furthermore, the thermodynamic analysis of the proposed CPV/T system is conducted and the results show that the PV conversion efficiency and overall energy efficiency of the CPV/T system are both higher than those of the CPV system under the same condition. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.