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2018
Conference Paper
Titel
Enhanced dynamic performance evaluation method of line-concentrating solar collectors
Abstract
This publication presents an enhanced dynamic performance testing method for line-concentrating solar thermal collectors. To fully exploit the potential of concentrating solar power and legitimize investments within this sector, a reliable and meaningful performance testing is essential. Dynamic testing is especially beneficial for outdoor testing, particularly on-site, lacking of laboratory facilities and therefore requiring in situ measurements. Those complex test conditions prevail for systems of larger dimensions such as concentrating collectors. The introduced comprehensive performance test method addresses diverse elements of reliable collector certification, such as sophisticated confidence interval computations allowing to properly assess the quality of test results. It moreover includes aspects concerning the selection of suitable measurement instrumentation as well as recommendations regarding an appropriate testing strategy. Both aspects may substantially increase the identification quality of the performance results. Exemplary evaluation results prove the capability, reliability, and high benefit of the introduced dynamic procedure. It allows for a significant reduction of testing time, effort, and consequently costs. Flexible and simultaneously reliable certification procedures are considered crucial for the further establishment of solar thermal technologies and their global acceptance.