Design of a novel metal halide high intensity solar simulator for solar hybrid reactor design optimisation

In this paper, the development of a novel high intensity solar simulator for testing a solar/electric hybrid reactor is described. To simulate the solar energy, an array of seven, 6000 W metal halide lamp/reflector modules, were arranged in a circular pattern. The metal halide lamp with its longer arc has a luminous flux range of 380,000 lm to 600,000 lm and an efficacy of 95 to 100 Lm/W, making the metal halide lamp more efficient in converting electrical power to light in this size range compared to Xenon lamp. In addition, metal halide operates at much lower pressures and have a protective encasing outer bulb for added protection. The arc source of the metal halide lamp and the lamp/reflector were modeled through ray tracing modeling using FRED optical software.