Proceedings of the 9^th SolarPACES International Symposium on Solar Thermal Concentrating Technologies
STCT 9

J. Phys. IV France 09 (1999) Pr3-117-Pr3-122
DOI: 10.1051/jp4:1999318

Optical in-situ analysis of secondary reflectors in solar tower plants

A. Timinger¹, T. Smith², M. Walther¹, W. Spirkl³, A. Kribus², H. Ries⁴ and P. Doron<sup>2, 5

1</sup>  University of Munich, LS Feldmann, Amalienstr. 54, 80799 München, Germany
²  Weizmann Institute of Science, Department of Environmental Sciences and Energy Research (ESER), 76100 Rehovot, Israel
³  Phillips Analytical Technology, Tegernseer Landstr. 161, 81539 München, Germany
⁴  Optics and Energy Consulting, Blütenstr. 8, 80799 München, Germany
⁵  Department of Mechanical Engineering, 316 Latrobe Hall, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, U.S.A.

Abstract
An optical measurement for radiation concentrators is proposed. A Lambertian light source is placed in the exit aperture of the concentrator. By taking pictures of the concentrator as seen from a remote location one gets the transmission patterns which carry the information of transmission with the four-dimensional resolution of the phase space of geometric optics. By matching ray tracing simulations to the measurement, one can achieve detailed and accurate information about the geometry of the concentrator. The reflectivity can be inferred by very simple means with 2% accuracy. This method has the potential to provide a handy tool to get automatically all optical information about a real size concentrator in situ.

© EDP Sciences 1999