FIBEROPTIC SOLAR-ENERGY TRANSMISSION AND CONCENTRATION

Fiber-optic solar energy transmission and concentration provide a flex ible way of handling concentrated solar energy. The high flux solar en ergy transmission by a flexible fiber-optic bundle and the research on the associated compound parabolic concentrator will largely expand th e existing field of applications of solar energy concentrators. We rep ort on a flexible light guide which consists of 19 optical fibers and is capable of transmitting up to 60 W of optical power, with 60% effic iency. A flexible fiber-optic solar energy transmission and concentrat ion scheme by using one single fiber, 2 and 7 fiber bundles is also re ported. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.