Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras

An Integrated Annular Tube for use as Solar Concentrator, Conveyor and Storage System

Categories for this Invention

Technology: Annular tube for energy storage

Category: Energy, Energy Storage & Renewable Energy

Industry: Solar Industry

Application: Solar concentrator

Market: The global market size was worth around USD 234.57 billion in 2023 and is predicted to grow around USD 425.39 billion by 2032 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of roughly 6.84% between 2024 and 2032

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Problem Statement

  • In this age of energy crisis, solar energy is an important source of renewable energy.
  • There has been immense research on various methods of accumulating solar energy.
  • The Primary modes of solar energy collection/ conversion are
  • concentration of solar radiation by mirrors / lenses and storage of thermal energy in the fluid media and
  • conversion of solar energy to electrical energy using solar photo-voltaic materials or using thermopiles.

Technology

  • An integrated annular fluid conveyor and storage tube with circular cross section for solar concentrator.
  • System comprises an annular passage with a circular section formed by a solid casing encased in glass.
  • Casing has inner and outer surfaces, forming a hollow passage with a circular cross section along the tube’s longitudinal axis.
  • Wall thickness of casing is circumferentially tapering from one point to a second point, 180° departed from the first point.
  • System increases fluid temperature, effectively heating the moving or stored fluid.
  • Casing can be cylindrical, hemispherical, or more than hemisphere but less than cylindrical.
  • Casing includes solar cells film wrapped into the casing shape.
  • Casing may be a curved Fresnel lens.

Key Features / Value Proposition

Advanced Focusing:

  • Involves focusing mirrors and lens configurations.
  • Focused light used to heat pipes or solar photo-voltaic panels.

Mechanism:

  • Comprises concentrating mechanism and target substance (fluid or solar panel).

Heating Properties:

  • Integrates pipe for heat transport within the solar concentrator.
  • Heats fluid as it’s transported.

Solar Cell Casing:

  • Incorporates solar cells film into casing shape.
  • Features a curved Fresnel lens casing.

Power Generation:

  • Includes hot junctions of thermopile at focal point of convergent solar rays for thermoelectric power generation
  • Cold junctions located at cooler locations inside or outside casing.

Material and shape:

  • Uses a transparent glass pipe as a fluid pipe and solar concentrator.
  • The tube’s shape is thicker at the top and thinner at the bottom, allowing solar rays to converge and heat the fluid.

Thermal storage:

  • Includes thermal storage devices like a transparent spherical container for continuous solar energy concentration.

Geometry:

  • Circular perimeter shape with hollow passage.
  • Circular tapering casing thickness for fluid movement.
  • Can have cylindrical, hemispherical, or multiple hemisphere casing.

Questions about this Technology?

Contact For Licensing

sm-marketing@imail.iitm.ac.in
ipoffice2@iitm.ac.in

Research Lab

Prof. Srinivasan K

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Intellectual Property

  • IITM IDF Ref. 959

  • Patent No: IN 335377

Technology Readiness Level

TRL- 3

Experimental Proof of Concept

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