Heat Dissipation Analysis on Sunlight Concentrator Presented by Kyle Stephens Project Mentor: Dr. Roger Angel of Steward Observatory With special thanks to: Matt Rademacher, Staff Engineer Bruce Phillips, Staff Technician Jeff Rill, Principle Engineer Albert Arvayo Sarah Brown Michael Ross
Source: Xavier Gallegos/ Tucson Citizen Project Overview Using slumped parabolic mirrors to concentrate sunlight for more efficient solar power Final Goal: $1 per Watt Current Status: Proof of concept Source: Xavier Gallegos/ Tucson Citizen
Project Overview Melting Point of Steel: ~2500 °F Source: Xavier Gallegos/ Tucson Citizen Source: Will Holst/ UANews Melting Point of Steel: ~2500 °F Time at focus: ~15 seconds
Simple Heat Pipes Metal container with working fluid inside at a desired pressure As the container is exposed to heat, the working fluid will absorb the thermal energy and boil Vapor condenses at opposite side of the container, releasing thermal energy into the atmosphere
Working Fluid Boiling Point Different pressures can change the boiling point of the working fluid
Temperature Differential ΔT = Ts – TSAT - s = surface - SAT = saturated liquid Low ΔT at low Ts is desired
Fluid/ Surface Combinations
Source: Xavier Gallegos/ Tucson Citizen Summary In order to achieve the end goal, significant cooling is necessary Simple heat pipes are not ideal Other methods of cooling are now being studied such as impinging jets Source: Xavier Gallegos/ Tucson Citizen
Thank You With special thanks again to: Dr. Roger Angel of Steward Observatory Matt Rademacher, Staff Engineer Bruce Phillips, Staff Technician Jeff Rill, Principle Engineer Albert Arvayo Sarah Brown Michael Ross