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Cal Poly Scheffler Solar

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Introduction
Asolarconcentratorisalensorareflectivesurfacethatfocusessunlighttoasmallarea,thus
"concentrating"thesunlight.Solarconcentratorsmaybeusedinanyapplicationthatinvolvesheating
somethingtoahighertemperature,suchasboilingwater,cooking,thermalpowergeneration,oreven
smelting.

Contents
1Introduction
2Background
3Objective
4Procedure
5ResearchandIdeationStage
6References

Manyconcentratorsarebasedoffofthebottompartofaparaboloid.Imagineabowlwithareflective
innersurface.Ifoneweretoshinelightintothebowl,thelightwouldreflectoffthedifferentpartsofthe
bowl,andberedirectedtosomepoint,calledthefocalpoint.Bycontrollingthedepthofthebowl(how
steepthewallsofthebowlare),thelocationofthefocalpointcanbecontrolled.Ashallowbowlwould
haveafocalpointfaraway,whileadeeperbowlwouldhaveafocalpointsomewhereabovethecenterofthebowl.

ThetypeofconcentratorthatthisseniorprojectisfocusingoniscalledaSchefflerconcentrator,inventedbyWolfgangScheffler.AScheffler
concentratordiffersfromtheparabolicconcentratorsdescribedabove,inthatthedishonlyconsistsofthewallofthe"bowl".Imaginebreakinga
bowl,andthenusingoneofthepiecesofthewallofthebowl,notapiecefromthecenter.Theadvantagesofthistypeofconcentratoraredescribed
indetailbelow.

Background
AccordingtotheWorldHealthOrganization,morethan3billionpeopledependonsolidfuelsinordertocookfood,boilwater,andheattheirhomes
[3].Manypeoplespendnearlyasmuchmoneyandtimecollectingthefueltocooktheirfoodastheydoforthefooditself.Moreoftenthannot,the
ventilationinhomesthatareburningsolidfuelsispoorornonexistent,whichcanleadtolungdisease,eyeproblemsandhousefires.Eachyear,
indoorpollutionrelatedtoburningthesesolidfuelscanbelinkedtomorethan1.5milliondeathsworldwide[3].

Solarenergyisanabundant,renewableandnonpollutingresource.Asolarcookerusestheenergyfromsunlighttoheat,cookandpasteurizefoodor
drink.Onemethodforsolarcookingusesaparabolicsolarconcentrator.Theseconcentratorsworkbycollectingthesunlightofanarea,redirecting,
andconcentratingittoasinglepoint,creatingasourceofheatatthefocalpoint.Atraditionalparaboliccollectorisbasedoffofthebottomofa
paraboloid.Thismeansthatthefocalpointispositionedbetweenthesunandthereflectorduringcooking,andliesalongtheaxisofsymmetryofthe
collectordish.Moreover,traditionalparaboliccollectorsrequirepreciseandfrequenttwoaxistrackingofthesun'spositiontomaintainfocus[2].
Schefflersolarconcentratorsareaspecialtypeofparabolicsolarconcentratorbasedoffofthelateralsectionofaparaboloid(seeFig1below).Due
toitsconstruction,aShefflerconcentratoronlyrequiresoneaxistracking,andthefixedfocusisawayfromtheincidentbeamradiationandaway
fromthedishitself.Seasonaladjustmentsaremadesimplebyflexingthedish[2].

ASchefflercollectorhasalreadybeendevelopedatCalPoly(seeninthepictureatthetopofthepage)basedonprojectplansdirectlyfromthe
inventorswebsite,butthecompletedcollectorliesoutsideareasonablepricerangeformanypeople.TheframeforthecurrentSchefflerdishismade
ofmachinedaluminum,whilethedishitselfismadeofthinsheetsofhighlypolishedaluminum.Atwellover$1000,thecurrentdesignistoo
expensiveforwidespreadimplementationandthemanufacturingprocessrequiresspecialtoolsthatarenotwidelyavailable.

Objective
TheobjectivefortheSeniorProjectteamistocreatealowcostSchefflerdish,preferablyoutofsustainable,locallysourcedandeasilyobtainable
materials,whilemaintainingadequateperformanceandmanufacturability.Aquantitativemeasureofperformancewillbeestablishedbythegraduate
MechanicalEngineeringstudentthatisadvisingtheteam,basedonhowmuchsunlightthedishcantheoreticallyconcentrateatthefocalpoint,and
howmuchsunlightthedishneedstoconcentrateinordertoeffectivelycook.
Currently,thereisaSchefflercollectoratCalPolythatwasmadeseveralyearsagobystudentsinthePhysicsdepartment(seeappendixA).The
collectorworkswell,butcostseveralthousanddollarstomanufacture,andrequiredclosetoonethousandhoursoflabortoassemble.Thecollector
wasbuiltbyfollowinganinstructionmanualthatwasacquiredonlinefromtheinventor.Theseniorprojectteamhasaccesstotheexistingcollector,
aswellasseveralcontactsthatwereinvolvedwiththeoriginalproject.
Inorderfortheteamtoproduceaviablecollector,theymustgainanunderstandingofhowaSchefflercollectorworks,andtheshaperequiredfor
optimumcooking.SimoAlberti,aCalPolygraduatestudent,isresearchingthemaximumtheoreticaloutputpossiblewithaSchefflerConcentrator,
aswellascalculatingtheacceptableleveloferrorforthesurfaceofthedishthatwillstillallowtheusertoeffectivelycook.Sincetherearemany
possiblewaystomaketheSchefflerdish,theteamwillresearchawiderangeofmaterialsandstructuraltechniques.

SomeSchefflercollectorsarelargeenoughandpreciseenoughtobeusedinCrematoriumsandSmelters[2].Intheory,thesedevicescanprovidea
poweroutputequivalentto54,000suns[2].However,theseniorprojectteamisprimarilyconcernedwithdishesthataresmallerandusedfor
cooking.Therelativelylowpowerrequirementsofsolarcookersallowsformoresurfaceimperfectionsandlessstringenttolerances.

ManyofthebrainstormingdiscussionsfortheSchefflerreflectorwillbefocusedonmaterialrequirements.Theteamisapproachingthedesignwith
materialsustainabilityinmindandhasresearchedmanyoptionsforlocallyavailableandaffordablematerials.Someoftheseoptionsincludereused
materialstakenfromtrash,naturalcomposites,orstructuralmaterialsthatweregrowninlocalareas(bamboo,wood,etc.).Regardlessoftheactual
materialused,theoptimalapproachistodesignusingmaterialsthatareeconomicaltotheuserinaparticulararea.Forthisreason,theteammay
designwithverygeneralglobalmaterialsinmind,orcreatealistofacceptablematerialsthatmeetconstructionrequirements.

Existingparabolicsolarconcentratorscanfunctionwellforcookingapplications,butareexpensivetobuyormake.Forexample,theCantinaWest
SolarPowerCookerastandardparabolicsolarconcentratingcookercosts$384.00onthecompanyswebsite.Astandardandcomparablemodel
forthisprojectisa$17parabolicsolarcookerdevelopedbystudentsatMIT[1].Theirdesignusedmylarcoatedcanvaswithabambooribstructure.
Thisisconsideredtobethestateoftheartbythedesignteam,althoughitisnotaSchefflertypereflectorbutaparabolicreflector.Whileourexplicit
requirementistodesignaSchefflersystemmoreeconomicalthanthecurrentCalPolydesign,theaforementionedproductswillalsobeusedtogage
thesuccessoftheseniorprojectteamsfinaldesign.

Inordertocompletethegoalsforthisseniordesign,studiesforexperimentalpoweroutputmayberequiredtocharacterizeprototypes.Analysisof
surfaceimperfections,materialreflectivity,focalpointconcentrations,andstructuralintegrityneedbeaddressed.Thegroupwillbedevelopingtest
procedurestoevaluateprototypesandanalyzehowtheywillmeettherequirementsforfinaldesign.Someoptionaltechniquesthatmaybe
consideredincludecompositesanalysis,economyofvariousmanufacturingprocesses,safetyanalysis,andperhapsmore.

Procedure
Inordertoachieveprojectobjectives,certaintaskswillbefulfilledthroughoutthedesignprocess.Brainstorming,conceptualization,andprototyping
willbecarriedoutthroughthedurationoftheproject.Also,research,communication,andcreationofanalyticaltechniquesfordesignevaluationwill
berequired.Theteamhopestobuildalargenumberofworkingprototypesthatcanbetestedagainstquantitativegoalsandrequirementsinorderto
progressduringtheprojectprocess.
Theessentialmaterialsrequiredforthisprojectwillbeprototypecomponentsforconstruction,andasteadylightsource(suchasthesun).Inaddition
(andformorecompleteanalysis)theteamalsoforeseesthepotentialuseoftestinglamps,solarpowertestingequipment,a3Dscannerforsurface
modeling,machineshoptools,solidmodelingsoftware,andplentyoffoodtocookontestdays.Theseniordesignteamhopestoalsomeetwith
variousfacultymembersandsolarindustryspecialiststodiscussdetailedanalysis,designmethods,andgeneralrecommendationsoradvice.
Inordertoanalyzetheperformanceofvariousprototypes,theteamwilldevelopvariousteststoevaluatesurfaceimperfections,solarpoweroutput,
reflectivity,and/orabsorbanceofthereflectivesurfaces.Thesetypesoftestsarecommonforsolarengineeringpracticesandmaybebeneficialfor
prototypeanalysis.
Thefirsttenweeksoftheprojectwillbespentdesigningandprototypingconcepts.Eventually,theteamhopestohaveatleastfiveviableconcept
designsbeforemovingintoamoredetaileddesignandtestingphaseduringthesecondtenweekphase.Bythispoint,theteamshouldhave
quantitativegoalsforperformanceaswellasteststomeasuretheaccomplishmentofthosegoals.Becausetheemphasisoftheseniorprojectisto
keepmaterialandmanufacturingcostslow,theteammayhavetheoptiontobuildandtestseveraldifferentdetaileddesigns,asthebudgetallows.
Thefinaltenweekswillbefocusedonselectingandredesigningthebestprototypeinordertomeettheprojectgoalsandobjectives.
Thethreestudentsinvolvedwillgenerallybeequallyresponsiblefordifferentaspectsoftheproject,butcandrawontheirindividualspecialtieswhen
appropriate.Amongthestudents'specializedskillsareexperienceinprojecteconomics,designandimplementationofmanufacturingprocesses,and
advancedCADandmechanicaldesign.Allgroupmembersarecapableofperforminganyofthefacetsoftheproject,andhopetoworktogetherby
committeetosplituptasksandrolesastheyareencountered.
Fundingfortheprojectwillbespentonmaterialsforprototyping,aswellassetupcostsforspecializedtestingandmanufacturing.Theteamwill
attempttouselowcostmaterialsthroughouttheprocess,andwillapproachtheprojectwithmethodsthatarecompatiblewiththestatedobjective.
Sincetheprojectisalreadywelldefined,theteamwillbegindesigningandprototypingconceptualmodelsassoonaspossible.SimoAlbertiis
analyzingthetheoreticaloutput,intermsofhowmuchsunlightcanbefocused.Hewillalsobeabletodeterminewhatlevelofimperfectionis
acceptableonthesurfaceofthedish,givingtheteamameasurablegoal.Athreedimensionalscannermayalsobeusedtofindandmodel
imperfectionsonthesurfaceofthecurrentcollector,allowingtheteamtolocatepotentialproblemareasforfutureprototypes.
Initially,manydifferentmethodsforachievingtheshapeofthedishwillbeexplored.Optionsincludevacuumformingtoamold,pressformingtoa
mold,cuttingwithatemplate,ortensioningfabrictothespecifiedshape.Onceseveralviableconceptsaredesigned,differentmaterialsand
manufacturingprocesseswillbestudiedindetail,inordertogettherightcombinationofperformanceandcost,withtheemphasisonlowcost.

Research and Ideation Stage

Theseniorprojectteamexploredmanydifferentwaystocreatealowcostschefflerconcentrator

References
1. Madrigal,Alexis."MITStudentsCreate$17SolarCooker."Wired.com.CondeNastDigital,23July2008.Web.07Feb.2013.
2. Munir,A.,O.Hensel,andW.Scheffler."DesignPrincipleandCalculationsofaSchefflerFixedFocusConcentratorforMediumTemperature
Applications."SolarEnergy84(2010):n.pag.Web.

3. Rehfuess,Eva.FuelforLife:HouseholdEnergyandHealth.Rep.N.p.:WorldHealthOrganization,2006.Print.

ConceptualDesignReport(1).docx(15621k)

NickFuller,Apr7,2013,7:39PM

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