Collection of Light with the Aid of Reflectors

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Abstract
An algebraic alternative to ray tracing is described which enables the optical collection efficiency of a system of reflecting and absorbing bodies to be computed by matrix methods akin to those used in heat transfer theory. The method may be applied to non-ideal systems where reflectors have imperfect reflectivity and absorbers have imperfect absorptivity, and where reflections are not necessarily purely specular or purely lambertian. Numerical results for some physically realistic solar collectors are presented in graphical and tabular form. It is shown that a cylindrically symmetric system with angle dependent specular reflectivities and absorptances can be approximated accurately by a two dimensional system incorporating hemispherically averaged reflectivities and absorptances.