Performance of wedge-shaped luminescent solar concentrators employing phosphor films and annual energy estimation case studies

An Open-Source Monte Carlo Ray-Tracing Simulation Tool for Luminescent Solar Concentrators with Validation Studies Employing Scattering Phosphor Films

“…Figure 22 shows how these angles were defined. Details regarding the experimental setup of the planar LSCs can be found in [22], and the wedge-shaped LSCs in [17].…”

“…The final validation study compares the 3-cm wedge-shaped LSC as a function of both θ i and φ i , as shown in Figure 30. This is an important study, because if an LSC were mounted outdoors, it would be a rare case that φ i or θ i would truly be zero, as discussed in [17]. Using the experimental setup described in [17], θ i and φ i were incremented in steps of 15 • with φ i up to 90 • , and θ i up to 75 • .…”

“…A variety of LSC shapes and sizes have been studied including planar [15], wedgeshaped [16,17], and cylindrical devices [18]. There are also several available transparent plastics that have been suggested for use within LSCs [19].…”

“…The original concept was reimagined to allow for the evaluation of many combinations of convex polyhedrons. As an example, two geometries are modeled and validated here ( Figure 1): the planar LSCs seen in [22], and the wedge-shaped LSCs experimentally investigated in [17]. This section describes the MC model used in detail.…”

“…To validate the simulation tool, previously published experimental data have been used [17,22]. Predictions were generated for planar and wedge-shaped LSCs (Figure 1) of varying aspect ratio employing green phosphor films [47] as both aspect ratio and the direction of incident light relative to an LSC have a significant influence on its performance [22].…”