Analysis of defects on the slopes on a parabolic trough solar collector with null-screens

Abstract

The null-screen method has been used to test aspheric surfaces, among them the surface of a parabolic trough solar collector (PTSC). This geometrical method measures the slope of the test surface and by a numerical integration procedure the shape of the test surface can be obtained. In this work, through some numerical simulations sinusoidal deformations with different amplitudes and spatial periods are introduced on PTSC surfaces. Then, an analysis of the deformations of the reflected images of a null-screen by the PTSC surface due to defects on the surface is performed. This procedure allows to validate the kind and magnitude of the surface deformations that can be measured with the proposed method. Also, an analysis of the advantages and limitations of the null-screen testing method will be discussed.