A new solar concentrating system: Description, characterization and applications

Solar concentrating systems are usually very expensive and require a large space for their installation. This article presents a new solar concentrating device which is low-cost, small-scale, and has very good features for materials treatment. It consists of two sets of mirrors that reflect solar radiation in two steps with a beam array similar to a Fresnel lens. The power density was measured with Gardon-type radiometers. The results are in good agreement with previous work. The system has a nominal power of 2.5 kW, a measured concentration factor of 1040, and a measured focal diameter of 20 mm (90% of power level). 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved