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Modeling of Advanced Nonimaging Solar Concentrators: From CPC Benchmarks to System-Level Simulation

Institut
Lehrstuhl für Thermodynamik (TUM-ED)
Typ
Masterarbeit /
Inhalt
 
Beschreibung

Modeling of Advanced Nonimaging Solar Concentrators: From CPC Benchmarks to System-Level Simulation

 

Field: Solar Optics · Nonimaging Concentrators · Ray-Tracing Methods · Reduced-Order Modeling
Methods: Geometrical / Monte-Carlo Ray Tracing · Numerical Verification · Independent Benchmarking · Uncertainty Quantification · Reduced-Order Modeling
Tools: MATLAB, Python, C/C++, or COMSOL — scientific justification required; reproducibility takes precedence over platform
Supervisor: Dr.-Ing. Abdelhakim Hassabou
Chair: Thermodynamics, TUM School of Engineering and Design

 

Background

Nonimaging solar concentrators are used to transfer solar radiation efficiently from an aperture to a receiver over a defined angular range. Their performance depends on acceptance angle, reflection paths, optical material properties, and the distribution of solar flux on the receiver. Reliable ray-tracing models are therefore important for understanding optical performance and for developing efficient models for annual solar-system simulations.

Scientific Objective

This thesis aims to develop and independently verify a reusable ray-tracing framework for nonimaging solar concentrators and to derive reduced-order optical models for efficient system-level simulation.

Core Tasks

  1. Review the fundamentals of nonimaging optics and compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) theory.

  2. Develop a modular geometrical / Monte-Carlo ray-tracing framework and verify it against analytical and published CPC benchmarks.

  3. Analyze reflection statistics, optical efficiency, and the influence of direct and angularly distributed solar radiation.

  4. Calculate receiver flux distributions and evaluate peak and flux-uniformity characteristics.

  5. Apply the verified methodology to a second advanced nonimaging concentrator geometry.

  6. Develop reduced-order models that reproduce the high-fidelity optical results with quantified accuracy and reduced computational cost.

Expected Outcomes

  • Verified and documented ray-tracing framework.

  • Optical-performance and receiver-flux analysis for benchmark and advanced concentrator geometries.

  • Reduced-order optical model with defined accuracy and validity range.

  • Well-documented and reproducible research code.

  • Master's thesis report; strong results may contribute to a peer-reviewed publication.

 

Proposed start: November 2026

Voraussetzungen

  • Student in Mechanical Engineering, Energy Engineering, Physics, Computational Engineering, or a related field.

  • Good numerical and programming skills.

  • Interest in solar energy, optics, and computational modeling.

  • Experience with (or willingness to learn) MATLAB, Python, C/C++, COMSOL, or a similar environment.

  • Prior knowledge of nonimaging optics is helpful but not mandatory.

Möglicher Beginn
November 2026
Kontakt
Dr.-Ing. Abdelhakim Hassabou
Tel.: +49 89 289 16224
a.hassaboutum.de
Ausschreibung