Prologue

In the early 1970s, I began a research effort at Argonne National Laboratory to develop the nonimaging nontracking solar concentrator I had recently invented which became known as the compound parabolic concentrator or CPC. I had lots of help; in particular from lab director, Robert G. Sachs 1, Gale Pewitt, William Schertz, and many others. The lab recruited some of the best scientists in the world, in the relevant fields to work with me: for optics, Walter Welford, and for solar energy, Frank Kreith. Our first project was solar domestic hot water (DHW) for the “Breadsprings elementary school” in a Navajo Indian reservation near Gallup, NM. The collector was a threefold concentration nonevacuated CPC. Because threefold concentration can only accept solar motions for half the year, it was oriented for winter. Like every other project I ever collaborated on with Frank Kreith, it was a big success. I thought it was fitting to submit a paper on a recent “CPC” for much higher temperature (200 °C), totally stationary, and driving a double-effect absorption chiller.

References

1.
Wali
,
K. C.
,
2004
,
Biographical Memoirs
,
National Academy Press
, Atlanta, GA.
2.
Lauterbach
,
C.
,
Javid Rad
,
S.
,
Schmitt
,
B.
, and
Vajen
,
K.
,
2011
, “
Feasibility Assessment of Solar Process Heat Applications
,”
Solar World Congress
, Kassel.
3.
Sultana
,
T.
,
Morrison
,
G. L.
,
Tanner
,
A.
,
Greaves
,
M.
,
Le Lievre
,
P.
, and
Rosengarten
,
G.
,
2010
, “
Heat Loss From Cavity Receiver for Solar Micro-Concentrating Collector
,”
AuSES Solar Conference
,
Canberra, Australia
.
4.
Weiss
,
W.
, and
Mauthner
,
F.
,
2012
, “
IEA SHC World Wide Report
,” International Energy Agency, Paris.
5.
Ma
,
L.
,
Lu
,
Z.
,
Zhang
,
J.
, and
Liang
,
R.
,
2010
, “
Thermal Performance Analysis of the Glass Evacuated Tube Solar Collector With U-Tube
,”
Build. Environ.
,
45
(
9
), pp.
1959
1967
.
6.
Mills
,
D.
,
2004
, “
Advances in Solar Thermal Electricity Technology
,”
Sol. Energy
,
76
(
1
), pp.
19
31
.
7.
Qu
,
M.
,
Archer
,
D. H.
, and
Yin
,
H.
,
2008
, “
Experiment Based Performance Analysis of a Solar Absorption Cooling and Heating System in Carnegie Mellon University
,”
ASME
Paper No. ES2008-54200.
8.
Winston
,
R.
,
2009
, “
Design and Development of Low-Cost, High-Temperature, Solar Collectors for Mass Production
,” California Energy Commission PIER Public Interest Energy Research Program, Report No. CEC-500-05-021.
You do not currently have access to this content.