Progress 07/15/11 to 03/14/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project concerned the design of a new type of concentrating solar collector to produces both heat and power. The project has been a complete success. It was finished on schedule and within budget. The solar collector focuses well and can withstand high wind. A commercial version is feasible and will lower the cost of solar power. A final report detailing test results was submitted to the SBIR USDA web address. PARTICIPANTS: The principal investigator was Phil Langhorst. Phil is degreed engineer, entrepreneur and inventor. He has a track record of creative and low cost solutions to engineering problems. Phil guided the project effort and made critical decisions such as testing different mirror materials. Phil also assisted in testing. The lead engineer was Jerrold Tiers. Jerrold is a critical thinker with a record of innovation and practical engineering. Jerrold designed all the mechanical components and assisted with assembly and testing. Mike Chrisco was an undergraduate engineer. Mike designed the electrical equipment used for testing and assisted in the tests. Partners during the project were the 3M company who provided mirror material and technical advice. Narec (UK) also provided technical advice on photo cells. TARGET AUDIENCES: The beneficiaries of this effort will be farmers, people in rural communities, and people in underdeveloped areas who lack access to low cost energy. Also companies who use a lot of heat in their process. This solar collector will enable them to lower their cost of goods. The US military will also benefit by using solar energy at remote bases to offset shipped-in fuel. This will minimize the number of fuel conveys (which have become subject to attacks). PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The project consisted of building a large concentrating solar collector and testing it. Knowledge was gained at all stages of the project. Outcome 1) Fabrication of strong, yet light-weight space frame. A design was completed and fabricated which has a 200 sq-ft aperture, but weighs only 230 pounds. Outcome 2) Discovery of suitable photovoltaic (PV) cells. After exhaustive search, a vendor was found with the capability and resources to provide the necessary photo cells. Success 3) Accurate focus of polymer based mirror. It was not known if a polymer only mirror could focus well. Tests using a laser plumb-bob(used to emulate the sun's parallel rays), showed such a mirror can focus accurately. There will be no difficulty in achieving 30:1 concentration throughout the whole aperture. Success 4) Better than expected wind resistance. Two different types of tests were conducted concerning wind resistance. Low wind flutter and high wind flight risk. The low wind flutter test showed that the sun's rays remain on target 80% of the time during winds of 10 MPH or lower. This means that the collector's output will only drop slightly on windy days. This is very important as many sites will be in exposed areas. High wind testing showed that in the stowed position, there is very little lift on the structure. An equivalent 70 MPH wind resulted in less than 35 pounds of lift.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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