Use of plastics in solar energy applications

Abstract

/npsi/ctrl?lang=en http://nparc.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/npsi/ctrl?lang=fr Access and use of this website and the material on it are subject to the Terms and Conditions set forth at http://nparc.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/npsi/jsp/nparc_cp.jsp?lang=en NRC Publications Archive Archives des publications du CNRCThis publication could be one of several versions: author's original, accepted manuscript or the publisher's version. / La version de cette publication peut être l'une des suivantes : la version prépublication de l'auteur, la version acceptée du manuscrit ou la version de l'éditeur.Solar Energy, 21, 4, pp. 331-38, 1978 Use of plastics in solar energy applications Blaga, A. The aging behaviour of most of these plastics has been widely studied for normal outdoor exposure and in artificial weathering devices, and are thus briefly described here. Very Little information is available, however, regarding their short-term performance under actual service conditions in solar energy installations; none has been reported on their long-term durability.Plastics have various degrees of flammability and therefore special care should be taken by using materials with adequate tire resistance andlor appropriate design in applications where a fire hazard may exist. IhmowmONSolar energy is the ideal source of energy for space heating and power generation: it is practically inexhaustible, is easily converted and its use does not result in pollution. Efforts to harness solar energy have been accelerated during the last decade as world demand for energy grows.Although solar energy is "free", the cost of making

Investigation of Host Polymers for Luminescent Solar Concentrators

“…In addition, PMMA is a relatively easy material to work with in a laboratory environment, it does not present any significant risk concerns, and very high doping concentrations can be achieved before concentration quenching occurs . However, PMMA also exhibits relatively poor mechanical resistance, which results in brittle samples …”

“…[21] However, PMMA also exhibits relatively poor mechanical resistance,which results in brittle samples. [22] Although polymers appear to be the best candidates for solid LSCs,t here have been few studies to evaluate different materials for this purpose comparatively.M ae tal. [23] gavea n overview of polymeric waveguide materials mainlyf or fiber optic applicationsa nd reported attenuation for certain polymers that are good candidates for LSCs,w hich include PMMA (absorption coefficient, a = 0.00046 cm À1 at l = 850 nm), polyurethane (PU) (a = 0.00184 cm À1 at l = 633 and 1063 nm), and epoxy resin (a = 0.00069 cm À1 at l = 633 nm).…”

Methods for the development and testing of polymeric hybrid photovoltaic thermal (PVT) collector for indoor experiments

“…The polymeric material has been used in hybrid PVT and FPSC, generally for solar energy applications [29]. Many polymers are transparent and can replace the glass.…”

Coatings for concentrating solar systems – A review

“…They are reported to improve performance, reduce operating or maintenance costs, increase the lifetime of components and could enable the use of cheaper materials such as plastics for the underlying substrates [5,6,[12][13][14][15]. Thin film coatings can also enhance performance by protecting surfaces from abrasion, corrosion or dirt [16][17][18].…”