Patent ID: 11901859
Assignee: THE UNIVERSITY OF TULSA
Field: Thermal processes and apparatus (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F  H  G | IPC F  H

Claim 0:
1. A photovoltaic retrofit device for a concentrating solar thermal power plant having a parabolic trough reflector, and a fluid receiver with working fluid therein spaced from said parabolic trough reflector and positioned at a focal point of said parabolic trough reflector, which device comprises:
one or more pairs of dichroic mirrors panels positioned between said parabolic trough reflector and said fluid receiver;
an angle tuning mechanism capable of angling each member of a pair of said panels independently on an axis parallel to said photovoltaic receiver assembly, where each of said panels has a first inner edge connected to a pivot having an axis parallel to said photovoltaic receiver assembly and a second outer edge connected to said angle tuning mechanism;
a photovoltaic receiver assembly having multiple photovoltaic panels in angular relationship to each other;
a photovoltaic temperature regulating system having a fluid medium to regulate temperature of said photovoltaic panels; and
wherein said photovoltaic receiver assembly has a housing with each of said multiple photovoltaic panels mounted directly on an outer surface of said housing, said housing forming an open internal section for passage of said fluid medium therethrough; and
wherein said one or more pairs of dichroic mirror panels, said photovoltaic receiver assembly, and said photovoltaic temperature regulating system are configured to be retrofit to a concentrating solar thermal power plant.