Utilization of Solar Furnaces in High-Temperature Research

This paper presents a theoretical discussion of the performances of a parabolic-type solar furnace. Maximum temperature and maximum heat flux attainable at the focus are presented for furnaces of different diameter-to-focal length ratios. It is shown that the optical quality of the parabolic reflector is the most important factor for obtaining high heat fluxes. With present-day technology, the heat flux is limited to 600 Btu/sq ft/sec, but this figure could be raised to 2300 Btu/sq ft/sec by improving the optics.