Device and system for optical measurement of the reflection coefficient of a surface

Abstract

The present invention relates to a novel device for the optical measurement of the reflection coefficient of a surface (1), which comprises: one or more optical channels, each channel comprising a plurality of LEDs (2) for emitting a beam of light at one or more wavelengths; a first photodetector (4) for measuring the beam of direct light from the LEDs in the optical channel; a diaphragm (5) situated at the outlet of the optical light channel, to limit the opening of the outlet of the light beam; a lens (6) disposed to receive the beam reflected on the surface (1) and to focus the beam; and asecond photodetector (8) for measuring the signal of the light beam reflected by the surface (1) to be measured. The device of the invention is able to minimise the quantity of diffuse light present in the measurement without losing a high intrinsic tolerance of the measurement in the face of different curvatures and different mirror thicknesses, without needing to perform any additional adjustment to the device.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention is included in the field of optical technology for the measurement of reflectance or reflectance. More specifically, the invention relates to a device for the measurement of the reflectance of a surface, and a system comprising the same. Preferably, the invention is suitable for measuring the reflectance of surfaces of solar concentrators, and other reflective elements used in solar energy collection technology. Background technique [0002] In the field of renewable energies, solar thermal energy harvesting is currently of major technical and economic importance both domestically and at the industry level. Among the ways to harvest solar thermal energy, solar thermoelectric energy generates electricity using a conventional thermoelectric cycle, which requires heating a fluid at high temperatures, typically by using reflective elements to concentrate solar radiation to heat the fluid. In solar thermal plants, the measurement of reflecta...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

By limiting the acceptance angle, the device has no inherent tolerance on the thickness and curvature of the mirror, so manual mechanical adjustment via three external leveling devices is required before measurement, which results in increased measurement time and errors

[0012] Although the above technical solution allows for approximation, none of the devices already mentioned or other similar devices simultaneously satisfy the requirements (relative to the distance at which the reflective surface is located and its geometry) tolerance and minimization of stray light contribution), whether in terms of range, sensitivity, tolerance, size and / or mechanical construction

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