Thermally Balanced Solar Facet Structure for Optical Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sandwich-type solar facets suffer from degraded optical quality, insufficient mechanical performance, residual stresses, and unequal densification due to thermal and mechanical loads, leading to reduced durability and efficiency in solar thermal power plants.
Innovation Solution
A sandwich-type facet design featuring two mirror layers with different inertias, thicknesses, and thermal expansion coefficients, attached by a specifically formulated polymer foam with nanoparticles, ensuring thermal-mechanical balance and enhanced rigidity to maintain optical quality and withstand mechanical loads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If sandwich-type solar facets are used to concentrate solar radiation, then optical quality and radiation concentration are improved, but thermal gradients and mechanical deformations occur under working conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies the physical parameters of the sandwich facet structure by using two different mirror materials (front mirror and rear mirror) with different thermal expansion coefficients and mechanical properties. This parameter change allows the structure to accommodate thermal gradients while maintaining optical quality, resolving the contradiction between radiation concentration and optical stability under thermal loading.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite sandwich structure with two distinct mirror layers and an intermediate layer, creating a composite material system that combines materials with different thermal and mechanical properties. This composite design enables the facet to withstand thermal gradients and mechanical loads while preserving optical performance, directly addressing the contradiction between concentration capability and compositional stability.
2Strength
If the facet structure is made more rigid to withstand mechanical loads, then mechanical performance is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sandwich composite structure with two mirror layers and an intermediate layer provides high mechanical strength and rigidity relative to its weight. The distributed layering creates structural efficiency, achieving superior mechanical performance without the weight penalty of solid monolithic structures, thus resolving the contradiction between strength and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different materials and properties to different parts of the facet structure (front mirror, rear mirror, intermediate layer), optimizing each layer's contribution to mechanical strength. This local quality differentiation allows the structure to achieve high rigidity where needed while minimizing overall weight, addressing the strength-weight contradiction.
3Reliability
If mirror layers with different inertias are used to improve thermal-mechanical balance, then durability under thermal gradients is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent deliberately changes the material parameters of the front and rear mirrors to achieve different inertias and thermal expansion coefficients. This parameter differentiation improves durability under thermal gradients by creating a thermally balanced structure that accommodates expansion differences, accepting increased manufacturing complexity as a necessary trade-off for enhanced reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design minimizes variations in optical quality and curvature under working conditions, improving mechanical inertia and durability, reducing the cost of the tracking structure while maintaining high reflectivity and resistance to thermal gradients and UV radiation.
Implementation Method 1
two mirror layers attached by a polymer foam
Implementation Method 2
The reflection of the radiation striking the receiving elements largely depends on the material and geometric characteristics of said elements
Implementation Method 3
The use of a mirror as the rear layer of the facet provides additional characteristics, such as a barrier against ultraviolet (UV) radiation
Data Source
Figure 1~4
AI summary
The object of the invention is a sandwich-type facet having high rigidity, designed such that variations in the optical quality and curvature thereof, due to the influence of the working conditions, are minimized with respect to other known facets. The facet of the invention is preferably formed by two outer mirror layers, attached by polymer foam having a specific formulation and design, which is deposited in cream phase on one of said mirror layers. More preferably, the design of the geometry of the different layers is configured such that equilibrium is obtained between the internal stresses and deformations of the facet, generated by temperature deviations from the working conditions, and particularly the thermal gradient existing between the faces in working conditions, thereby maximizing the mechanical inertia of the facet for the purpose of improving the rigidity thereof.