Effect of circumsolar radiation on performance of focusing collectors

Circumsolar radiation is one of several factors, along with optical errors (contour, tracking, etc.), that determine the size and shape of the solar image at the receiver of a concentrating collector. The sensitivity of a collector to circumsolar radiation depends on insolation conditions and on collector parameters; it increases with geometrical concentration ratio and decreases with operating threshold. The Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) circumsolar data are used to develop fast computational procedures for calculating the effect of circumsolar radiation on both the instantaneous and the long-term average performance of focusing collectors. For predictions of long-term average performance, a standard synthetic circumsolar scan has been developed that describes the brightness distribution of the solar disk (limb darkening) and of the circumsolar region. The radiation intercepted by a receiver is calculated separately for the solar portion and for the circumsolar portion of this standard sun shape, and these two contributions are then weighted according to the long-term average circumsolar ratio for the location and period under study