Steffen Ulmer

A New Fast Ray Tracing Tool for High-Precision Simulation of Heliostat Fields

A completely new ray tracing software has been developed at the German Aerospace Center. The main purpose of this software is the flux density simulation of heliostat fields with a very high accuracy in a small amount of computation time. The software is primarily designed to process real sun shape distributions and real highly resolved heliostat geometry data, which means a data set of normal vectors of the entire reflecting surface of each heliostat in the field. Specific receiver and secondary concentrator models, as well as models of objects that are shadowing the heliostat field, can be implemented by the user and be linked to the simulation software subsequently. The specific architecture of the software enables the provision of other powerful simulation environments with precise flux density simulation data for the purpose of entire plant simulations. The software was validated through a severe comparison with measured flux density distributions. The simulation results show very good accordance with the measured results.

Beam Characterization and Improvement with a Flux Mapping System for Dish Concentrators

A flux mapping system able to measure the flux distribution of dish/Stirling systems in planes perpendicular to the optical axis was built and operated at the Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA). It uses the indirect measuring method with a water-cooled Lambertian target placed in the beam path and a CCD-camera mounted on the concentrator taking images of the brightness distribution of the focal spot. The calibration is made by calculating the total power coming from the dish and relating it to the integrated gray value over the whole measurement area. The system was successfully operated in a DISTAL II stretched membrane dish and in the new EURODISH in order to characterize their beams and improve the flux distribution on their receivers.Copyright

Detailed Performance Analysis of a 10kW Dish∕Stirling System

The CNRS-Promes dish/Stirling system was erected in Jun. 2004 as the last of three country reference units built in the “Envirodish” project. It represents the latest development step of the EuroDish system with many improved components. With a measured peak of 11 kW electrical output power, it is also the best performing system so far. The measurement campaign to determine the optical and thermodynamic efficiency of the system is presented. The optical quality of the concentrator and the energy input to the power conversion unit was measured with a classical flux-mapping system using a Lambertian target and a charge coupled device camera system. An efficiency of the concentrator including the intercept losses of 74.4% could be defined for this particular system. For the thermodynamic analysis all the data necessary for a complete energy balance around the Stirling engine were measured or approximated by calculations. For the given ambient conditions during the tests, a Stirling engine efficiency of 39.4% could be measured. The overall efficiency for the conversion of solar to electric energy was 22.5%.

Parabolic Trough Optical Performance Analysis Techniques

Analysis of geometry and optical properties of solar parabolic trough collectors uses a number of specific techniques that have demonstrated to be useful tools in prototype evaluation. These are based on photogrammetry, flux mapping, ray tracing, and advanced thermal testing. They can be used to assure the collector quality during construction and for acceptance tests of the solar field. The methods have been applied on EuroTrough collectors, cross checked, and compared. This paper summarizes results in collector shape measurement, flux measurement, ray tracing, and thermal performance analysis for parabolic troughs. It is shown that the measurement methods and the parameter analysis give consistent results. The interpretation of the results and their annual evaluation give hints on identified relevant improvement potentials for the following generation of solar power plant collectors.

Slope Error Measurements of Parabolic Troughs Using the Reflected Image of the Absorber Tube

A new fast method for optically measuring the reflector slope of parabolic troughs with high accuracy has been developed. It uses the reflection of the absorber tube in the concentrator as seen from some distance and is therefore called “absorber reflection method”. A digital camera is placed at a distant observation point perpendicular to the trough axis with the concentrator orientated towards it. Then, a set of pictures from the absorber tube reflection is taken with the concentrator in slightly different tilt angles. A specially developed image analysis algorithm detects the edges of the absorber tube in the reflected images. This information, along with the geometric relationship between the components of the set-up and the known approximately parabolic shape of the concentrator, is used to calculate the slopes perpendicular to the trough axis. Measurement results of a EuroTrough segment of four facets are presented and verified with results from a reference measurement using high-resolution close-range photogrammetry. The results show good agreement as well in statistical values as in local values of the reflector slope. In contrast to the photogrammetric data acquisition method, the new technique allows for drastically reduced measurement time.

Slope Measurements of Parabolic Dish Concentrators Using Color-Coded Targets

A new short, yet highly accurate method for measuring the slope errors of parabolic dish concentrators has been developed. This method uses a flat target with colored stripes that is placed close to the focal plane and a digital camera located at an observation point on the optical axis at some distance from it. A specially developed image analysis algorithm detects the different colors in the images of the reflection of the target in the concentrator and assigns them their known position on the color target. This information, along with the geometric relationship between the components of the measurement setup and the theoretical parabolic shape of the concentrator, is used to calculate the normal vectors of the concentrator surface. From these normal vectors the radial and tangential slopes can be calculated and compared to the design values of the concentrator. The resulting slope errors not only give the total concentrator error for general characterization of the dish, but also indicate systematic errors in fabrication and mounting with high spatial resolution. In order to verify the quality of the results obtained, a ray-tracing code was developed that calculates the flux distribution on planes perpendicular to the optical axis. Measured slope errors of a DISTAL-2 dish concentrator are presented and the calculated flux distributions are compared to measured flux distributions. The comparison shows excellent agreement in the flux distribution on the absorber plane. This verifies the promising potential of this method for fast, highly precise measurement of imperfections in dish concentrator shape.

Calibration corrections of solar tower flux density measurements

The PSA flux density measuring system PROHERMES measures the concentrated solar radiation in the entrance aperture of solar tower receivers with a white rotating bar as target and a CCD-camera taking images. The calibration is done with commercial flux gauges placed in the measurement plane. To im prove the calibration of the system and to reveal systematic errors, measurements are performed with two different types of commercial flux gauges (Thermogage sensors with and without quartz window) and a large custom-made calorimeter used as reference. The comparison shows that the sensors without quartz window measure about 5–8% higher and the sensors with quartz window about 100% higher. This error is explained with the differences in the spectral composition of the radiation and different angles of incidence between the manufacturer calibration and the solar measurements and corrections are proposed. Spectral changes of the sunlight during the day and year can affect the measurements by more than 10%. By selecting a correction filter adapted to the camera sensitivity, this influence can be reduced to less than 2.5%. Due to the reflective properties of the target coating, changes in angle of incidence can affect the measurements. In standard solar field conditions, this error is less than 0.5%, but for special conditions a correction of the systematic error of up to 8% is proposed.

Validation of Two Optical Measurement Methods for the Qualification of the Shape Accuracy of Mirror Panels for Concentrating Solar Systems

The solar field is the major cost component of a solar thermal power plant and the optical quality of the concentrators has a significant impact on the field efficiency and thus on the performance of the power plant. Measuring slope deviations in the parabolic shape of the mirror panels in the accuracy and resolution required for these applications is a challenge as it is not required with the same characteristics in other industries. Photogrammetry and deflectometry are two optical measurement methods that are typically used to measure this shape accuracy of mirror panels used in CSP applications. They have been compared and validated by measuring a typical mirror panel under optimal conditions. Additionally, a flat water surface has been measured as an absolute reference object using deflectometry. The remaining deviations between the results of both methods and to the reference object are discussed and possible sources of errors during the measurement are identified. A detailed error analysis is conducted for both methods and compared to the experimental findings. The results show that both methods allow for surface slope measurement with the necessary accuracy for present CSP applications and that among the two, deflectometry exhibits advantages in speed, measurement accuracy and spatial resolution. However, for obtaining correct results several sources of errors have to be addressed appropriately during measurement and post-processing

Comparative Flux Measurement and Raytracing for the Characterization of the Focal Region of Solar Parabolic Trough Collectors

The focal region of parabolic trough collectors is extended over the whole length of the concentrator. This complicates the measurement of the flux distribution on the absorber of such solar collectors. However, in order to optimize the solar field output it is essential to study the effects of absorber geometry and concentrator precision on the optical performance of parabolic trough collectors. The intercept factor of radiation with the absorber is a significant measure for this. In this paper we present and compare three methods, a ray-tracing simulation model and two measurement systems, to assess the flux distribution in the focal region, from which the intercept factor can be calculated. Using real reflector surface data from photogrammetry, the ray-tracing results show very detailed flux maps that are in agreement with measured flux distribution in the focal area. Thus, collector optimization with ray tracing tools becomes an attractive option.© 2004 ASME

Techniques to Measure Solar Flux Density Distribution on Large-Scale Receivers

Flux density measurement applied to central receiver ystems delivers the spatial distribution of the concentrated solar radiation on the receiver aperture, measures receiver input power, and monitors and might control heliostat aimpoints. Commercial solar tower plants have much larger aperture surfaces than the receiver prototypes tested in earlier research and development (R&D) projects. Existing methods to measure the solar flux density in the receiver aperture face new challenges regarding the receiver size. Also, the requirements regarding costs, accuracy, spatial resolution, and measuring speed are different. This paper summarizes existent concepts, presents recent research results for techniques that can be applied to large-scale receivers and assesses them against a catalog of requirements. Direct and indirect moving bar techniques offer high measurement accuracy, but also have the disadvantage of large moving parts on a solar tower. In the case of external receivers, measuring directly on receiver surfaces avoids moving parts and allows continuous measurement but may be not as precise. This promising technique requires proper scientific evaluation due to specific reflectance properties of current receiver materials. Measurement-supported simulation techniques can also be applied to cavity receivers without installing moving parts. They have reasonable uncertainties under ideal conditions and require comparatively low effort.