Development and testing of Parabolic Dish Concentrator No. 1

Technical Report · Sat Dec 15 04:00:00 EST 1984

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5500519· OSTI ID:5500519

Dennison, E. W.; Thostesen, T. O.

Parabolic Dish Concentrator No. 1 (PDC-1) is a 12-m-diameter prototype concentrator that evolved from a six-year effort to produce a unit with low life-cycle costs for use with thermal-to-electric energy conversion devices. The concentrator assembly features panels made of a resin transfer molded balsa core/fiberglass sandwich with plastic reflective film as the reflective surface and a ribbed framework to hold the panels in place. The concentrator assembly tracks in azimuth and elevation on a base frame riding on a circular track. In 1982, PDC-1 was installed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Parabolic Dish Test Site at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Initial optical testing showed that the panels did not exhibit the proper parabolic contour. After reassembly to correct this problem, further optical testing discovered thermal gradients in the panels with daily temperature changes. In spite of this, PDC-1 has sufficient optical quality to operate satisfactorily in a dish-electric system. With suggested improvements, its performance could be increased. The PDC-1 development effort provided the impetus for creating innovative optical testing methods and also provided valuable information for use in designing and fabricating concentrators of future dish-electric systems.

• Research Organization: Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AM04-80AL13137
• OSTI ID: 5500519
• Report Number(s): DOE/JPL/1060-81; JPL-PUB-85-4; ON: DE85014500
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140703 -- Solar Thermal Power Systems-- Distributed Collector
141000* -- Solar Collectors & Concentrators
CONCENTRATING COLLECTORS
DESIGN
EQUIPMENT
FABRICATION
IMAGES
OPTICS
PARABOLIC COLLECTORS
PARABOLIC DISH COLLECTORS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
SOLAR COLLECTORS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
TESTING