Acceptance criteria for accelerated aging testing of silvered-glass mirrors for concentrated solar power technologies

A Simplified Method to Avoid Shadows at Parabolic-Trough Solar Collectors Facilities

“…Before for h1 and h3 are calculated the values of d1 and d3. Then, it is possible to determine an effective distance of shade considering the projection angle of the sun, as shown in Equation (14) (Figure 11), d´´´= d ⋅ sin H = W cos α tg h ⋅ sin H (14) where the distance between the pylon can be obtained depending on the dimension's collector, the angle from the vertical of the collector, the solar hour angle, and height, as shown in the following Equation (16). In short, the distance depends the dimensions of the collector and the location of the solar field.…”

“…where the distance between the pylon can be obtained depending on the dimension's collector, the angle from the vertical of the collector, the solar hour angle, and height, as shown in the following Equation (16). In short, the distance depends the dimensions of the collector and the location of the solar field.…”

“…Scientific research has provided a high importance to solar energy in the last three decades, being the second most important renewable resource, with the 26% of the scientific publications [12].The relatively low flow of solar energy received at the Earth's surface can be surpassed by the use of concentrating solar collectors that transform solar energy into other types of energy, usually thermal in Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) [13] and Central Receiver System (CRS) [14]. The concentration of solar radiation by reflective mirrors on the receptor of a Thermal Conversion System has the important advantage of reducing thermal energy losses compared to unconcentrated systems [15], resulting in increased thermal conversion performance for the operating conditions specified and allowing higher working temperatures to be achieved with appropriate efficiencies [16]. The thermal energy collected on the receiver of the concentrating solar systems is typically used to produce electricity through a conventional power block, in the commonly named concentrating solar power plants.…”

“…The improvements in these parabolic-trough systems are still far from complete. The introduction of internal longitudinal fins and a reflector shield together results in a thermal efficiency improvement of 2.41% compared to the same system without the improvements [20].The electrical capacity of CSP plants currently in operation worldwide is 5.7 GW by the end of 2020, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) forecast for 2050, an 11% of the worldwide energy mix will be provided by CST systems [16]. 84% of this power is produced by plants with parabolic-trough collectors (PTCs) [21].…”

“…The electrical capacity of CSP plants currently in operation worldwide is 5.7 GW by the end of 2020, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) forecast for 2050, an 11% of the worldwide energy mix will be provided by CST systems [16]. 84% of this power is produced by plants with parabolic-trough collectors (PTCs) [21].…”