Accelerated aging tests and characterizations of innovated anti-soiling coatings for solar receiver glasses

Abstract

Durability tests of solar materials are crucial to guarantee the profitability of the Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants and to ensure a proper efficiency during their lifetime. As solar mirrors and absorbers, optical performances of receiver glasses are affected by soiling phenomenon and surface degradations, especially in desert and coastal environments. Indeed, the deposition of dust particles, salts, organic materials or any other contaminants present in the solar field or around the CSP installation sites can generate an important optical loss. Some coatings have been developed by a manufacturer to avoid the deposition of a soiling layer on the glass surface and to keep good optical performances. Their formulations are confidential but this paper presents the results and the comparison of the four different anti-soiling coatings, deposited on glass substrates and subjected to several accelerated aging tests. The conclusion of this work will help the manufacturer to make a choice about the most durable coating for industrialization.