Development of a Test Bed for Evaluation of Tracking Mechanism

Abstract

Concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) system uses line and point focusing technology to harness solar energy. It is essential for CSP technology to ensure reliable tracking of collectors to follow the apparent sun path. There are chances of misalignment between collector and the sun, even if the suns position is known, which leads to noticeable optical losses. This misalignment is due to errors associated with different components of the tracking system. Evaluation of tracking mechanism is generally, performed, on the field. It is a tedious process and time-consuming in addition to the involve cost. Considering above mentioned fact, this thesis aims to evaluate tracking mechanism in the laboratory. For this purpose, a test bed is designed which simulates the apparent sun path. Also, a computational tool is developed to calculate these paths. In this test bed sun path with respect to the earth for three representative days i.e. summer solstice, winter solstice and equinox is fabricated. To evaluate the tracking mechanism, an azimuth altitude type of dual axis tracker is developed. However, presently, single axis tracking is evaluated in the test bed. Experiments are performed using the designed test bed and the considered tracking mechanism to ensure the working of the developed tracking mechanism. Also, alignment of the tracked mirror/panel with the apparent sun path is tested at different tracking speeds. Finally, a comparative study is done between times taken to track the path at these speeds for further evaluation of tracking mechanism. It is to be noticed that the same can be extended for evaluation of even dual axis tracking mechanism in the designed test bed.