Applicability of highly reflective aluminium coil for solar concentrators

Abstract

Because of their manufacturing flexibility and their low costs, mirrors based on anodized or coated sheet aluminium are a promising alternative as primary or secondary concentrators in a number of solar energy applications. They offer solar weighted reflectances of 88–91%, good mechanical properties and are easy to recycle. However, problems occur due to their limited corrosion resistance. Therefore, prior to application, lifetime tests including outdoor and accelerated ageing tests are necessary to prove their optical durability in terms of achieving a 10-year service lifetime. In this study the optical properties of a number of different aluminized reflector materials after accelerated and outdoor exposure tests have been investigated. Optical testing has been performed by measuring the spectral hemispherical reflectance of exposed samples and calculating the solar weighted value. Additionally, specular reflectance has been measured with a simple mobile reflectometer. Materials involved are standard commercial anodized sheet aluminium with layers of different thicknesses and standard high specular aluminium with a metaloxide layer system plus an anti-oxidation polymer coating. Results show that optical degradation is strongly dependent on climatic conditions. Non-organic coatings involved are primarily attacked by humid climates with higher amounts of atmospheric pollution. Standard anodized materials withstand outdoor and accelerated weathering. However reflectance tends to become less specular, which limits their application in concentrating technologies. Finally, small scale application tests have been performed to demonstrate the applicability concerning handling and mechanical connection with support structures. By measuring power density in the focus of a test collector, minimum specular reflectance requirements for trough systems can be defined.