Aiming strategy optimization for uniform flux distribution in the receiver of a linear Fresnel solar reflector using a multi-objective genetic algorithm

Non-uniform solar flux may lead to negative effects in the receiver of the linear Fresnel reflector (LFR), including the failure of the receiver and the fluctuating operation. For reducing these effects, an aiming strategy optimization approach is presented by combining a multi-objective Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Monte Carlo ray tracing to homogenize the flux distribution in current work. Both the flux non-uniformity index and the optical loss (η_loss) are used as the objective functions. Based on the approach, first, the flux distributions in the Multi-Tube Cavity Receiver (MTCR) and the Single-Tube Receiver with a Secondary Collector (STRSC) are optimized at a typical condition. Optimal results indicate that the GA optimization strategy (S2) can reach a compromise between the flux non-uniformity and the optical loss in both MTCR and STRSC systems. Furthermore, the optimal strategy obtained at a specific transversal incidence angle can be applied in a relatively large range around it. Moreover, parameter study indicates that the aiming line number (n_aim) has little impact on the efficiencies of the two systems. n_aim has almost no effect on the flux non-uniformity in the MTCR, but the effect is visible in the STRSC. Finally, the application of S2 under a real-time condition indicates that fluxes in the two receivers can be homogenized efficaciously in the whole time range with a small drop of 0.2–3.8 percentage points in efficiency compared with those of traditional one-line aiming strategy (S1). It is also found that the flux non-uniformity indexes of the MTCR are greatly reduced from 0.77–1.09 to 0.02–0.06 when S1 is replaced by S2, and those of the STRSC are steeply reduced from 0.59–0.70 to 0.29–0.37. It is concluded that the present approach is effective and suitable for homogenizing the fluxes in the receivers of LFRs.