The design of an ultra-high flux solar test capability

The University of Chicago has demonstrated the capability of achieving solar concentrations approaching 60000 Suns. This capability was realized with a two-stage design utilizing a long-focal-length primary concentrator and a unique, high-index, nonimaging secondary concentrator. The Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) has developed a concentrator system that scales up the University of Chicago concept by a factor of 100 in area. The primary objective of this system is to continue larger scale research activities in a number of technology areas that need extremely high flux concentrations. The author discusses specific design aspects of the system and its unique performance capabilities