Solar Heat Collector, Sunlight Collecting Reflector, Sunlight Collecting System and Solar Energy Utilization System

• US 20090173337A1
• Filed: 08/31/2005
• Published: 07/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tokyo Institute of Technology (National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology)
• Original Assignee: Tokyo Institute of Technology (National University Corporation Tokyo Institute of Technology)
• Inventors: Utamura, Motoaki, Yoshizawa, Yoshio, Takamatsu, Tadahiko, Hasuike, Hiroshi, Tamaura, Yutaka, Ishihara, Hideyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,359,861 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 126/634
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 1/05 characterised by the type or source of heat, e.g. using nuclear or solar energy
• CPC Class Codes: F03G 6/00 Devices for producing mechanical power from solar energy solar boilers F24
• CPC Class Codes: F03G 6/064 having a gas turbine cycle, i.e. compressor and gas turbine combination
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2240/40 Use of a multiplicity of similar components
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2250/25 helical
• CPC Class Codes: F24S 10/60 the working fluids trickling freely over absorbing elements
• CPC Class Codes: F24S 10/70 the working fluids being conveyed through tubular absorbing conduits
• CPC Class Codes: F24S 20/20 Solar heat collectors for receiving concentrated solar energy, e.g. receivers for solar power plants
• CPC Class Codes: F24S 23/79 with spaced and opposed interacting reflective surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/40 Solar thermal energy, e.g. solar towers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/44 Heat exchange systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/46 Conversion of thermal power into mechanical power, e.g. Rankine, Stirling or solar thermal engines

Abstract

A sunlight collecting system and a solar energy utilization system which collects sunlight with the sunlight collecting system are provided, a sunlight collecting system including a solar heat collector which includes a heat collecting element which is formed by a helically wound heat exchange medium circulation pipe inside which the heat exchange medium flows, in such a way to have an incurved light receiving surface which narrows and converges towards the sunlight inlet and a sunlight collecting reflector which includes a reflector group which includes a plurality of reflector segments each of which includes a reflecting surface which makes sunlight converge on a heat collector, a sunlight collecting system in which a plurality of heliostats Bm are arranged in places which are irradiated by the sunlight between a plurality of heliostats An, in which each of the heliostats An and the heliostats Bm reflect light in a direction to a light collecting point of a heliostat group in which the heliostat is included.

Claims

1. A solar heat collector comprising:

a heat collecting element whose inner surface constitutes a light receiving surface to receive sunlight;

a sunlight inlet which is opened at an end of the heat collecting element;

a heat exchange medium inlet through which heat exchange medium is introduced into the heat collecting element; and

a heat exchange medium outlet through which the heat exchange medium heated by the sunlight introduced through the sunlight inlet is sent out,

the solar heat collector wherein

the heat collecting element is formed by at least one helically wound heat exchange medium circulation pipe inside which the heat exchange medium flows, in such a way to have an incurved light receiving surface which narrows and converges towards the sunlight inlet.

7. The solar heat collector as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the heat collecting element comprises an insulating and blocking mechanism in the sunlight inlet.

8. A solar energy utilization system comprising a solar heat collector as claimed in Claim 1.

40. A gas turbine power generation system comprising a solar heat collector as claimed in claim 1, a molten salt heat exchanger, a gas turbine, a recuperator and a power generator with super critical carbon dioxide as working medium.

41. The gas turbine power generation system as claimed in claim 40 wherein the said molten salt heat exchanger or the said recuperator is made of printed circuit heat exchanger.

2. (canceled)

5. The solar heat collector as claimed in claim 2, comprising

a quartz glass window in a flow guideline of the heat exchange medium on the light receiving surface and/or in the sunlight inlet.

3. A solar heat collector comprising:

a heat collecting element whose inner surface constitutes a light receiving surface to receive sunlight;

a sunlight inlet which is opened at an end of the heat collecting element;

a heat exchange medium inlet which is provided on a top of the heat collecting element; and

a heat exchange medium outlet which is provided at a bottom of the heat collecting element and through which the heat exchange medium heated by the sunlight introduced through the sunlight inlet is sent out,

the solar heat collector wherein

the heat collecting element causes the heat exchange medium to gravitationally flow down as a liquid film along the light receiving surface from the heat exchange medium inlet and sends out the heat exchange medium through the heat exchange medium outlet.

42. The solar heat collector as claimed in claim 3, wherein

the heat collecting element comprises an insulating and blocking mechanism in the sunlight inlet.

43. A solar energy utilization system comprising a solar heat collector as claimed in claim 3.

4. (canceled)

6. (canceled)

9-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A sunlight collecting reflector which reflects sunlight collected to a light collecting point by a plurality of first reflectors and makes the reflected sunlight converge on a heat collector, comprising

a reflector group comprising a plurality of reflector segments, wherein

each of the reflector segments comprises a reflecting surface which makes the sunlight converge on the heat collector, and

the reflecting surfaces of the reflector segments comprised in the reflector group are arranged along quadrics of revolution whose confocus is located at the light collecting point of the sunlight and whose curvature radiuses are different.

13. The sunlight collecting reflector as claimed in claim 11, wherein

the reflector group comprises a number n (n is an integer greater than or equal to 2) of the reflector segments which are arranged along a direction from the light collecting point to the heat collector, and wherein

there is a relationship of R_k<

R_k+1 between a curvature radius R_k of a quadric of revolution along which a reflecting surface of a k-th (k is an integer and 1<

k≦

n−

1) nearest reflector segment S_k to the light collecting point F1 is placed and a curvature radius R_k+1 of a quadric of revolution along which a reflecting surface of a k+1-th nearest reflector segment S_k+1 is placed.

16. The sunlight collecting reflector as claimed in claim 11, wherein

the reflecting surface of the reflector segment comprises a set of reflector units each of which is formed by the portion or the tangential plane of the quadric of revolution.

17. The sunlight collecting reflector as claimed in claim 11, wherein

the quadric of revolution is at least one kind of curved surface selected from a hyperboloid of revolution and an ellipsoid of revolution.

18. The sunlight collecting reflector as claimed in claim 11, wherein

the plurality of the reflector segments are arranged without overlapping between light paths of the sunlight collected to the light collecting point by the plurality of the first reflectors and the reflected sunlight.

19. The sunlight collecting reflector as claimed in claim 11, wherein

the reflecting surface of the reflector segment is formed in a ring shape around a central axis which is a center line connecting the light collecting point of the sunlight with a center of a light collecting surface of the heat collector, along the quadric of revolution.

20. A solar energy utilization system comprising a sunlight collecting reflector as claimed in claim 11.

12. (canceled)

14-15. -15. (canceled)

21-22. -22. (canceled)

23. A sunlight collecting system comprising:

a plurality of heliostat groups in each of which a plurality of heliostats comprised in the heliostat group forms a light collecting point of sunlight,

the sunlight collecting system wherein

between a plurality of heliostats An (n is an integer greater than or equal to

     2) comprised in a heliostat group A which collects sunlight to one light collecting point Fa, a plurality of heliostats Bm (m is an integer greater than or equal to

     2) comprised in a heliostat group B which collects sunlight to another light collecting point Fb are arranged in places which are irradiated by the sunlight, and wherein

the heliostats An and the heliostats Bm are arranged in such a way that a light path of light reflected by each of the heliostats An and the heliostats Bm is formed in a direction to the light collecting point of the heliostat group in which the heliostat is comprised.

24. The sunlight collecting system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the heliostat An and the heliostat Bm have identical or different forms.

26. The sunlight collecting system as claimed in claim 23, wherein

the heliostat group A comprises a plurality of first heliostats, the heliostat group B comprises a plurality of second heliostats, and the light collecting point Fb of the heliostat group B is formed on the north side or the south side of the light collecting point Fa formed by the heliostat group A depending on whether the light collecting system is located in a region in the northern hemisphere or the southern hemisphere, wherein

the first heliostats are arranged in such a way that the reflecting surfaces are directed to face the sun and the light collecting point Fa, and wherein

the second heliostats are arranged in places which are irradiated by the sunlight between a plurality of the first heliostats An (n is an integer greater than or equal to 2) comprised in the heliostat group A and nearer to the ground than the first heliostats in such a way that the reflecting surfaces are directed to face the sun and the light collecting point Fb.

27. The sunlight collecting system as claimed in claim 26, wherein

the second heliostat can change a position and move the reflecting surface of the second heliostat itself to follow the sun in accordance with a time during a daytime and a season, in such a way to receive the maximum sunlight on the reflecting surface.

28. The sunlight collecting system as claimed in claim 27, wherein

the heliostat groups A and the heliostat groups B are alternately arranged in a north-south direction, and a heliostat group Bh1 (h1 is an integer greater than or equal to 1) and a next heliostat group Ak1 (k1 is an integer greater than or equal to 2) form one light collecting point.

29. The sunlight collecting system as claimed in claim 23, comprising

a unit comprising three heliostat groups,

the sunlight collecting system wherein

the heliostat groups are arranged in such a way that three light collecting points respectively formed by the heliostat groups comprised in the unit are located at vertices of a triangle whose base is directed in an east-west direction.

32. A solar energy utilization system comprising the sunlight collecting system as claimed in claim 23, wherein

a heat collector is placed at each of the light collecting points respectively formed by a plurality of the heliostat groups in the sunlight collecting system to collect energy of the collected sunlight.

25. (canceled)

30-31. -31. (canceled)

33-39. -39. (canceled)