Testing of the SAIC facets on the stretched-membrane dish
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Science Applications International Corp., Golden, CO (United States)
A dish structure sized for a 25 kW electric dish/generator system has been installed at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF). The dish is used as an optical test bed for prototype stretched-membrane facets. Sandia procured twelve (12) stretched-membrane facets from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for installation on the dish structure. Individual facet optical performance was measured using the 2f test method under development at Sandia. Four facets were tested on-sun using the test truss at the NSTTF prior to installation on the dish structure. During the final stages of the structure assembly, the facets were installed for testing. A distant light source alignment technique was used to align the facets to a 9 meter focal length. The alignment and focus were optimized with on-sun measurements of individual facet characteristics. On-sun flux maps of the image were made using the Beam Characterization System. Calorimetry tests were performed using a cold water calorimeter. This data was used to create a power intercept curve and predict the power inside apertures of different sizes. The focal plane was moved to 9.95 meters and the alignment, optimization, and on-sun tests were repeated. This paper presents the results of the testing on the individual facets as well as the results of testing the dish system. Improvements in optical performance of the dish from the change in focal length are shown in the results.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratory
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 116226
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950336--; ISBN 0-7918-1300-2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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