Refinement in Black Chrome for Use as a Solar Selective Coating

Technical Report · Sun Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1974

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5071830· OSTI ID:5071830

McDonald, Glenn E. ^[1]

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1. NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH (United States)

The NASA Lewis Research Center previously determined that a widely available commercially electroplated decorative finish known as black chrome has desirable solar selective properties (NASA TM X-71590). Black chrome is significant as a solar selective coating because the current extensive use of black chrome in the electroplating industry as a durable decorative finish makes black chrome widely available on a commercial scale and potentially low in cost as a solar selective coating. In the work described in this report black-chrome deposits were modified by underplating with dull nickel or by being plated on rough surfaces. Both of these procedures increased the visible absorptance from that reported in NASA TM X-71596. There was no change in the infrared reflectance for the dull-nickel - black chrome combination from that reported for the bright-nickel - black-chrome combination. However, the bright-nickel - black-chrome coating plated on rough surfaces indicated a slight decrease in infrared reflectance. As integrated over the solar spectrum for air mass 2. the reflectance of the dull-nickel - black-chrome coating was 0.077, of the bright-nickel - black-chrome coating plated on a 0.75- μm (30- μin.) surface was 0.070, of the bright-nickel - black-chrome coating plated on a 2.5- μm (100- μin.) surface was 0.064. The corresponding values for the bright-nickel - black-chrome coating on a 0.0125-μm (0. 5-μin.) surface, two samples of black nickel, and two samples of Nextrel black paint were 0.132, 0.123, 0.133. and 0.033, respectively.

• Research Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• OSTI ID: 5071830
• Report Number(s): N--75-12329; NASA-TM-X-3136; E-8116
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
141000* -- Solar Collectors & Concentrators
CHROMIUM
COATINGS
DEPOSITION
ELECTRODEPOSITION
ELECTROLYSIS
ELECTROPLATING
ELEMENTS
FABRICATION
LYSIS
METALS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PAINTS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLATING
REFLECTIVITY
ROUGHNESS
SPECTRALLY SELECTIVE SURFACES
SURFACE COATING
SURFACE PROPERTIES
SURFACES
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
coatings
solar
spectral coatings