ORCID
- M. McKeever: 0000-0003-3070-7632
Abstract
The optical performance of inverted absorber asymmetric compound parabolic concentrators (IACPCs) for solar air heating applications is analysed. An inverted absorber concentrates incident solar energy on to a downward-facing transpired surface from which convective and radiative heat losses can be minimised. Three-dimensional ray tracing is used to model optical behaviour, simulating solar radiation pathways and interactions with reflective surfaces. The variations of optical efficiency and effective concentration ratio with reflector geometry, truncation and collector length are analysed. Findings indicate that smaller, elongated concentrators maximise optical performance and reduce material requirements when integrated over a fixed façade area. Design configurations that optimise aperture width optimise a trade-off between collector compactness and optical performance.
Keywords
3D Ray-tracing, Building integration, Compound parabolic concentrator, Inverted absorber, Optical modelling
DOI Link
Publication Date
2026-05-15
Publication Title
Solar Energy
Volume
310
ISSN
0038-092X
Deposit Date
2026-05-11
Funding
This research was funded by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Brazil, under the grant number 233789/2014-6.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Additional Links
Recommended Citation
Guerreiro, F. S.; McKeever, M.; Kennedy, D.; and Norton, B., "Optical performance of wall-mounted inverted absorber asymmetric compound parabolic concentrators for air heating solar collectors" (2026). Research Outputs: 2025-Present. 22.
https://arrow.tudublin.ie/engschelero/22