Modular Line-Focused Space Solar Power Satellite

• Main Authors: Yang Yang, Guanheng Fan, Xiangfei Ji, Mengchen Pei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Aerospace
• Subjects: space solar power satellite; circular trough solar concentrator; line focus; modular design; ray trace
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/8/3/82

The Space Solar Power Satellite is an ultra-large space structure, which collects sunlight directly in space and then transmits it into the ground. Since the idea was invented in 1968, scientists around the world have proposed several typical conceptual design models. Nevertheless, the conceptual models have not been implemented for technological, manufacturing, and cost reasons. This paper presents a novel Space Solar Power Satellite scheme with modular line-focused concentrators and low concentration photovoltaic modules. First, the line-focused mode is analyzed and the optical performance of the circular trough concentrator is evaluated via ray-trace technique. Then, shape optimization for the cell array based on the Bézier curve is carried out to improve the optical property. Numerical examples indicate that the optimized cell array could obtain high power collection efficiency and suitable energy distribution. Moreover, the area of the photovoltaic cell array is reduced, which is conducive to cost reduction. Furthermore, modular design is conducted on the circular trough concentrator. Finally, the primary scheme of the novel Space Solar Power Satellite is designed with the previous modular concentrator and optimized cell array.