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Uniform concentrating design and mold machining of Fresnel lens for photovoltaic systems

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Abstract

Fresnel lens arrays are widely applied as the core optical component in concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems for concentrating light on a solar cell. To improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of CPV systems, a Fresnel lens design is proposed, in which both uniform concentration and machining feasibility are pursued by means of simpler structure. In this design, the concentrating facets of the Fresnel lens are conical ones with different inclined angles, and the light passing through these conical facets can be superposed on the same position. The optical performance of the lens is analyzed to optimize its geometrical parameters. Towards this uniform concentrating design with a simple structure, an ultra-precision diamond cutting process based on B axis rotation is also developed to machine the Fresnel lens mold. In this process, the V-shaped diamond tool is rotated from right to left to machine the micro grooves of the lens mold with a maximum cutting depth of the groove height, so that the grooves can be prevented from being cut by the tool tip with low strength. Cutting tests of the factors influencing the machining accuracy and surface quality are carried out to optimize the cutting trajectory planning and machining parameters. The Fresnel lens molds with no sharp corner defects and no surface scratches are machined, and dimensional accuracy of 1.0 μm and surface roughness of better than 13 nm are achieved. Then, a silicone rubber lens is cast based on this mold. Concentrating uniformity test of the lens is conducted, and a concentrating uniformity of better than 75% is achieved. The results show the effectiveness of the uniform concentrating design and the feasibility of the B axis rotating machining process.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Wacker Chemicals (China) Co., Ltd. for providing the silicone rubber, and Shanghai Superhard Precision Tools Co., Ltd. for diamond tool customization service.

Funding

This research is supported by the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (No. 3131003, No. 3172013), Independent Research Project of the State Key Laboratory of Tribology at Tsinghua University (No. SKLT2013C01), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51675054).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Lab of Precision/Ultra-precision Manufacturing Equipments of Control, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Xing Gao, Yong Li, Quancun Kong, Qifeng Tan & Chaojiang Li

  2. State Key Laboratory of Tribology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Xing Gao, Yong Li, Quancun Kong, Qifeng Tan & Chaojiang Li

  3. School of Instrumentation Science and Opto-Electronics Engineering, Beijing Information Science and Technology University, Beijing, 100192, China

    Quancun Kong

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  1. Xing Gao
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  2. Yong Li
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  3. Quancun Kong
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  4. Qifeng Tan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yong Li.

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Gao, X., Li, Y., Kong, Q. et al. Uniform concentrating design and mold machining of Fresnel lens for photovoltaic systems. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 96, 451–460 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-1591-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-1591-z

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