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Grant support

The authors express their gratitude to the Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Science for providing the location and entire infra-structure to enable the installation of this solar furnace. This infrastructure has been supported by the grant MAT2017-83025-R funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. A. Gallo wishes to thank the University of Almeria for his Margarita Salas post-doctoral fellowship RR_A_2021_11 funded by the European Union within the framework of the "Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan" promoted by the Spanish government. C.-A. Asselineau wishes to acknowledge the funding provided by the Ramon-y-Cajal fellowship grant RYC2022-038071-I funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the ESF + . Additionally, the authors extend their thanks to P. Pizarro (Green Oil Energy Systems SL) for his contribution during the design, procurement and construction of the facility.

Analysis of institutional authors

Gallo, AlessandroCorresponding AuthorAsselineau, Charles-AlexisAuthor

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Design solutions and characterization of a small scale and very high concentration solar furnace using a Fresnel lens

Publicated to:Applied Thermal Engineering. 255 124044- - 2024-10-15 255(), DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.124044

Authors: Gonzalez-Camarillo, H; Gallo, A; Padilla, I; Perez-Rabago, CA; Asselineau, CA; Romero, M; Lopez-Delgado, A

Affiliations

Australian Natl Univ, Sch Engn, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia - Author
Carlos III Univ Madrid, Sch Engn, Dept Thermal & Fluid Engn, Energy Syst Engn Grp ISE, Ave Univ 30, Leganes 28911, Madrid, Spain - Author
IETcc CSIC, Eduardo Torroja Inst Construction Sci, MEDES IETcc Grp, C Serrano Galvache 4, Madrid 28033, Spain - Author
Natl Autonomous Univ Mex IER UNAM, Inst Renewable Energy, Priv Xochicalco S-N, Temixco 62580, Morelos, Mexico - Author
Univ Almeria, Carretera Sacramento S-N, Almeria 04120, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Sch Ind Engn, Dept Energy Engn, Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2, Madrid 28006, Spain - Author
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Abstract

The use of Fresnel lenses for solar energy concentration technology dates back to the 1950 s. These lenses feature a plano-convex optical design with a series of discontinuous convex grooves. Typically made from materials like polymethyl methacrylate, Fresnel lenses are lightweight, resistant to sunlight, thermally stable, and costeffective. This study presents a novel Fresnel lens-based solar furnace configuration installed at the Eduardo Torroja Institute for Construction Science in Madrid, Spain. The novelty of this work lies in the exceptional performance and operability of the facility. Experimental characterization revealed a record peak irradiance over 7 MW m- 2 for an incident target power exceeding 800 W. Comparison with ray tracing simulations shows good agreement with experimental results. This setup enables high temperature experiments up to 2000 degrees C with rapid execution times. A fixed receiver, a shutter system and a closed-loop heliostat tracking control system allow for flexible operation up to 5000 suns and straightforward maintenance. The concentrator element costs less than 300 USD (2022) m- 2, offering an economical solution to solar-powered high concentration and temperature applications. This innovative design overcomes previous operational challenges, providing a robust and economical method for high-temperature material processing and other industrial applications.

Keywords

Biodiesel productionConcentrated solar energConcentrated solar energyCost effectiveCost effectivenessDesign solutionsEnergyEnergy concentrationFlux distributionFresnel lensFurnace configurationHigh temperature processHigh-temperature processesMaterial synthesisMaterials synthesisOptical designOptical instrument lensesPolymethyl methacrylatesPyrolysiRadiationSmall scaleSolar energySolar furnaceThermally stable

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Applied Thermal Engineering due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position 52/171, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Energy & Fuels.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2025-06-10:

  • WoS: 1
  • Scopus: 1

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-06-10:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 27.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 25 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 2.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 4 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
  • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/86811/

As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

  • Views: 51
  • Downloads: 7

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Australia; Mexico.

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been GALLO, ALESSANDRO.