Browsing by Author "Sutter, Florian"
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Item Open Access Equipment and methods for measuring reflectance of concentrating solar reflector materials(Elsevier, 2017-04-06) Fernandez-Garcia, Aranzazu; Sutter, Florian; Martínez-Arcos, Lucía; Sansom, Christopher L.; Wolfertstetter, Fabian; Delord, ChristineThe proper optical characterization of solar reflector materials is a challenging task. Although several commercial instruments exist to measure reflectance, they have been developed for other applications and often do not meet all the specific requirements demanded by the solar thermal industry. In particular, the characterization of solar reflectors involve the complete solar spectral wavelength range, an incidence angle range from near normal to 70° and most importantly a very narrow acceptance angle range from near specular to 20 mrad. The accurate measurement of reflectance as a function of all the previously mentioned parameters has not been commercially implemented. This paper reviews the different alternatives to measure reflector materials, describes reflectance models used to approximate the missing information and presents current research work on prototype reflectometers to fill the gap.Item Open Access Reflectometer comparison for assessment of back-silvered glass solar mirrors(Elsevier, 2017-06-29) Sansom, Christopher L.; Fernández-García, Aránzazu; King, Peter; Sutter, Florian; Garcia Segura, AlejandroThis paper compares the two most common reflectometers used to assess the specular reflectance of back-silvered glass mirrors for Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) applications, namely the Device and Services (D&S) 15R-USB and the Abengoa Condor SR-6.1 instruments. Comparisons are first made between the two instruments themselves using a Gage Repeatability and Reproducibility (R&R) study. Results are given for the as-cleaned collector mirrors and then as the mirrors become naturally soiled over a one month period. The results of the Gage R&R study show that for the D&S the gage itself contributes 40.97% of the variability, whilst 59.03% is due to part-to-part (location on the mirror under investigation) variability. For the Condor we show that the % Contribution from the gage is 62.18% of the total variability with only 37.82% of the contribution attributable to the location dependent reflectance. The Condor has a wider acceptance angle, and over the reflectance range of 0.91–0.95 the condor was found to measure higher than the D&S by an average of 1.53%. The differences between the soiling results obtained from the two instruments are explained, and the results are used to derive a predictive model for the soiling of solar collectors. In conclusion, both instruments have advantages and shortcomings, and the factors that influence which instrument to select are discussed.Item Open Access A review of conventional and innovative-sustainable methods for cleaning reflectors in concentrating solar power plants(MDPI, 2019-10-29) Bouaddi, Sahar; Fernández-García, Aránzazu; Sansom, Christopher L.; Sarasua, Jon Ander; Wolfertstetter, Fabian; Bouzekri, Hicham; Sutter, Florian; Azpitarte, ItiziarThe severe soiling of reflectors deployed in arid and semi arid locations decreases their reflectance and drives down the yield of the concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. To alleviate this issue, various sets of methods are available. The operation and maintenance (O&M) staff should opt for sustainable cleaning methods that are safe and environmentally friendly. To restore high reflectance, the cleaning vehicles of CSP plants must adapt to the constraints of each technology and to the layout of reflectors in the solar field. Water based methods are currently the most commonly used in CSP plants but they are not sustainable due to water scarcity and high soiling rates. The recovery and reuse of washing water can compensate for these methods and make them a more reasonable option for mediterranean and desert environments. Dry methods, on the other hand, are gaining more attraction as they are more suitable for desert regions. Some of these methods rely on ultrasonic wave or vibration for detaching the dust bonding from the reflectors surface, while other methods, known as preventive methods, focus on reducing the soiling by modifying the reflectors surface and incorporating self cleaning features using special coatings. Since the CSP plants operators aim to achieve the highest profit by minimizing the cost of cleaning while maintaining a high reflectance, optimizing the cleaning parameters and strategies is of great interest. This work presents the conventional water-based methods that are currently used in CSP plants in addition to sustainable alternative methods for dust removal and soiling prevention. Also, the cleaning effectiveness, the environmental impacts and the economic aspects of each technology are discussed.Item Open Access Soiling and cleaning of polymer film solar reflectors(MDPI, 2016-11-29) Sansom, Christopher L.; Fernández-García, Aránzazu; Sutter, Florian; Almond, Heather; King, Peter; Martínez-Arcos, LucíaThis paper describes the accelerated ageing of commercially available silvered polymer film by contact cleaning using brushes and water in the presence of soiling created by dust and sand particles. These conditions represent cleaning regimes in real concentrating solar power (CSP) solar fields in arid environments, where contact cleaning using brushes and water is often required to clean the reflecting surfaces. Whilst suitable for glass reflectors, this paper discusses the effects of these established cleaning processes on the optical and visual characteristics of polymer film surfaces, and then describes the development of a more benign but effective contact cleaning process for cleaning polymer reflectors. The effects of a range of cleaning brushes are discussed, with and without the presence of water, in the presence of sand and dust particles from selected representative locations. The experiments were repeated using different experimental equipment at Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA) in Spain and Cranfield University in the UK. The results highlight differences that are attributable to the experimental methods used. Reflectance measurements and visual inspection show that a soft cleaning brush with a small amount of water, used in a cleaning head with both linear and rotational motion, can clean polymer film reflecting surfaces without inflicting surface damage or reducing specular reflectance.