Research on optimized heliostat field based on dense circular arrangement

Abstract

Solar energy is generally utilized in two ways. One is to utilize the photovoltaic effect to convert light energy into electrical energy; the other is to utilize sunlight radiation to convert light energy into heat energy. The second way is realized by the tower solar thermal power generation system in industry, and the main factor affecting the tower solar thermal power generation system is the fixed heliographic mirror field. In this paper, by establishing a physical model of the heliostat mirror field, a simulated annealing optimization algorithm is used to theoretically optimize the design of the existing heliostat mirror field, and ultimately an approximate dense circular arrangement of the mirror field is found, which results in the highest average annual power output per unit of mirror surface area. The final optimized fixed-sun mirror field arrangement in this paper will effectively improve the optical efficiency of the mirror field and contribute to the development of the photovoltaic industry.