Report of the first prototype of non-imaging focusing heliostat and its application in high temperature solar furnace

Following the publication on the principle and theory of a newly proposed non-imaging focusing heliostat, this paper presents a report on the design, optical alignment and application of the first prototype heliostat. In the architecture of the first prototype, 25 mirrors, each with a dimension of 40 x 40 cm, are arranged into five rows and five columns to form a total reflective area of 4 m. The design of the essential part of the first prototype heliostat will be discussed in this paper, which consists of two primary elements; a rotation-elevation system for tracking a mirror support frame which carries 25 mirror facets, and a separate two-axis tracking system for compensating (each second) off-axis aberrations of 24 slave facets relative to the central mirror, which is fixed in the mirror frame. The rotation-elevation system consists of a pedestal supporting a rotational tracking mechanism carrying a U-shaped arm and a second tracking system for tracking a moving frame in elevation. The moving frame carries a central stationary (relative to the frame) mirror, called a master mirror. Slave mirrors are arrayed in five rows and five columns, and eight stepper motors drive the outer four rows and columns relative to the master mirror via a computer programme, implementing newly proposed formulas to eliminate the first-order aberration. With a second stage concentrator comprising a small aperture size parabolic mirror (diameter of 60 cm), a cost-effective high temperature solar furnace was constructed. In our experiment, the highest furnace temperature of 3400degreesC has been recorded through the melting of pure tungsten wires. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.