Concentrated Solar Optimization

Faculty Sponsor

Luke Venstrom

College

College of Engineering (COE)

Department/Program

Mechanical and Bioengineering

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Summer 7-22-2026

Abstract

The solar furnace at Valparaiso University's Solar Energy Research Facility focuses sunlight onto high-temperature receivers. These receivers can be configured to thermochemically produce solar fuels from water and carbon dioxide, to provide process heat for the manufacture of high-value materials such as battery-anode graphite, or for transfer to a working fluid for electricity production . To reach the high temperatures necessary for these processes, the furnace  focuses sunlight using 303 mirror facets. In the current configuration of the furnace, the flux is limited to ~1500 suns, this level of concentration is insufficient to reach the temperatures needed for the most demanding fuel and material production. Development of an improved mirror focusing apparatus continued through automation of mirror alignment and the design of a stiffer cantilever structure to reduce mirror deflection. To further increase achievable temperatures, a secondary concentrator was modeled in Tonatiuh++, a Monte Carlo ray tracing software, to evaluate improvements in power density and heat flux. An IR furnace was used to simulate sun testing conditions and evaluate the efficiency and stability of prospective perovskites and other metal oxides for concentrated solar hydrogen production. Finally, pressure drop simulations across various orifice sizes established flow rate relationships that guided the fabrication of a low cost differential pressure flow meter.

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