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2009
Conference Paper
Titel
An innovative solar simulator for research and development of solar thermal collectors
Abstract
The solar thermal market is growing, and more and more large-scale facilities are being installed. This results in more products and shorter cycles of innovation. R&D departments in industry and testing institutes need high-end test stands for their research and quality control. The new PSE indoor simulator includes the following innovations: All operations are centrally controlled by a touch screen panel PC. All parameters defining the test conditions are saved by the centralized control. This means a significant improvement in documentation and, therefore, repeatability. Eight metal halide lamps are mounted in four rows which can be moved electrically. Each lamp can be dimmed and positioned individually. In this way, different test areas can be illuminated at different intensities and optimum homogeneity. The collector support structure, the thermostat, the complete collector circuit and the measurement equipment are mounted on the electrically positioned test platfor m. A two axis scanner is installed on the test surface. The scanner can be equipped with various sensors (e.g. pyranometer, pyrgeometer, solar cell, anemometer). A camera mounted on the artificial sky allows a continuous monitoring of the collector during tests. This new generation of test stands provides the means of testing and developing solar thermal collectors - independent of weather and season - faster, more efficiently and more comprehensively than before. The test stands are turnkey systems which include all components for measurements according to EN12975.