Evaluation of Performance and Reliability for Components of a Linear Hybrid Micro-concentrator System

The Australian National University (ANU), in collaboration with Chromasun Inc., is developing a new hybrid CPV‐Thermal (CPV‐T) micro‐concentrator (MCT) system for concentration ratios up to 30X and producing both thermal and electrical energy. The system design and reliability testing have been integrated as concurrent processes, enabling early and continual optimisation of the concentrator system receiver design. The key feature of this integrated design‐test procedure is that carefully selected sets of simple tests can be conducted concurrently with the design of the concentrator module without introducing extensive time delays in the receiver module design phase. Test results provide valuable information that significantly informs the design process and helps to avoid future failures.