Angular Response Measurements Research Articles

Understanding the impact of sky diffuse irradiance on curved photovoltaic modules

Modules utilized in vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (VIPV) have particularities that make them differ from standard PV modules. These particularities are related to their curvature and operating conditions (changing locations, orientations, etc.) and they need to be addressed in the characterization. A vital characterization test is the angular response test, which allows obtaining the electrical response of the module under different angles of incidence and orientations. Results from these tests on real commercial modules presented some dispersion, which is related to diffuse irradiance. Two outdoors experiments involving a programmable dual-axis tracker were conducted to verify its impact: the first one was made with a 1D highly curved module under cloudy sky conditions to identify the effect of diffuse irradiance on such modules and the second experiment assessed the angular response of a 2D commercial curved module under clear sky conditions. Based on the findings, recommendations are given to minimize dispersion in outdoors angular response measurements.

Development of a Low-Cost Device for Measuring Ultraviolet Solar Radiation

Accurate measurements of solar ultraviolet radiation are needed for air quality monitoring, especially to understand the formation and photolysis of tropospheric ozone near the ground. It is interesting to investigate whether this demand could be met using recently developed low-cost UV sensors and new communication technologies. Despite the promising possibilities, their use is still scarce and their potential applications have not yet been thoroughly explored. This study aims to use low-cost sensors to develop devices that accurately measure solar ultraviolet radiation. The de vices should be low-cost, small, portable, and have low power consumption and IoT connectivity. For this purpose, three popular low-cost commercial sensors ML8511, UVM30A and VEML6075 are selected and implemented in several prototypes. The sensors are analyzed in terms of their spectral response, leveling, angular response and comparison with reference data. For that aim, experimental measurements are performed at the radiometric station of the Physics Department of the University of Extremadura in Badajoz, Spain. Results indicate that sensors of the same model might have different calibrations. The leveling and the angular response measurements indicate a strong azimuth dependence for the ML8511 and, especially, VEML6075 sensors, while the UVM30A sensor shows a much weaker dependence, probably due to the use of a circular diffuser. The angular response is identified as the main issue of the sensors, notably limiting their accuracy and preventing a widespread use. With the knowledge gained, a final version with LoRa communication and optimized power consumption is developed. The strength of the LoRa connection is measured at different locations on the University Campus using Receiver Signal Strength Indication. It ranges from -27 dB near the gateway to -122 dB at the farthest location on the Campus. The optimization of the power consumption allows 14 days of autonomy if operating only during daylight hours. The study illustrates the suitability of low-cost sensors for UV applications, provided that a good angular response of the sensors is ensured. It contributes to a wider use of these sensors for the measurement of air quality variables by identifying those characteristics that need to be improved by manufacturers to meet the standards.

Radiometric and noise characteristics of InAs-rich T2SL MWIR pin photodiodes

We present a full characterization of the radiometric performances of a type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice pin photodiode operating in the mid-wavelength infrared domain. We first focused our attention on quantum efficiency, responsivity and angular response measurements: quantum efficiency reaches 23% at λ = 2.1 µm for 1 µm thick structure. Noise under illumination measurements are also reported: noise is limited by the Schottky contribution for reverse bias voltage smaller than 1.2 V. The specific detectivity, estimated for 2π field-of-view and 333 K background temperature, was determined equal to 2.29 × 1010 Jones for -0,8 V bias voltage and 77 K operating temperature.

Off-axis characterization of ice-free anemometers

The main objective of this article is to analyze the angular (off-axis) response of heated cup anemometers designed specifically for wind power generation in cold climate. Three commercial heated cup anemometers are tested together with two ice-free prototypes developed as part of a broader research program focusing on ice-free sensors. Three indexes are proposed to allow better data analysis of angular response measurements. It is shown that careful attention to the anemometer geometry can lead to a nearly perfect cosine shape response while improper rotor geometry can lead to very bad angular response. A patented rotor geometry design is tested on different anemometers to see if one could expect the desired angular response for cup anemometers used in the wind energy industry to be obtained with such rotor geometry.

Advanced characterization of the radiometric performances of quantum well infrared photodetectors

This paper presents two test benches which were specifically developed at ONERA (French national aerospace research center) for advanced characterizations of infrared photodetectors. The first test bench relies on a Fourier Transform infrared spectrometer and delivers hyperspectral cartographies on a large spectral range (from 1.3 to 20 μm), with a rather good resolution (better than 16 cm −1). Hyperspectral cartographies of a 640 × 512 QWIP FPA prototype operating in the 8- to 10-μm spectral range are presented. Our measurements, coupled with an empirical model, allow one to extract technological parameters such as the pixels thickness or the mismatch between grating period and pixel pitch. The second test bench is dedicated to angular response measurements. The photodetector is illuminated with a blackbody with a varying angle of incidence θ. The originality of this experimental setup lies in the fact that both the detector and the blackbody are located in the same, large cryogenic assembly. Thus, the angle of incidence on the detector can be adjusted over a wide range (−80° to +80°), and measurements are performed with low background and low stray light. We present angular responses obtained on “low-noise QWIP” single elements with different etch depth of the grating and interpret them thanks to an intuitive model of grating coupling.

Characterization of an ellipsoidal radiometer

An ellipsoidal radiometer has been characterized using a 25 mm variable-temperature blackbody as a radiant source. This radiometer is intended for separating radiation from convection effects in fire test methods. The characterization included angular response, responsivity, and purge-gas flow effect studies. The angular response measurements showed that the reflection from the radiometer cavity was higher on one of the cavity halves relative to the other half. Further development work may be necessary to improve the angular response. The responsivity measured with reference to a transfer-standard electrical-substitution radiometer showed dependence on the distance of the radiometer from the blackbody cavity. The purge-gas had the effect of reducing the signal output nearly linearly with flow rate.

A study of the angular dependence problem in effective dose equivalent assessment.

The newly revised American National Standard N13.11 (1993) includes measurements of angular response as part of personnel dosimeter performance testing. However, data on effective dose equivalent (HE), the principle limiting quantity defined in International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 26 and later adopted by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), for radiation incident on the body from off-normal angles are little seen in the literature. The absence of scientific data has led to unnecessarily conservative approaches in radiation protection practices. This paper presents a new set of fluence-to-HE conversion factors as a function of radiation angles and sex for monoenergetic photon beams of 0.08, 0.3, and 1.0 MeV. A Monte Carlo transport code (MCNP) and sex-specific anthropomorphic phantoms were used in this study. Results indicate that Anterior-posterior (AP) exposure produces the highest HE per unit photon fluence in all cases. Posterior-anterior (PA) exposure produces the highest HE among beams incident from the rear half-plane of the body. HE decreases dramatically as one departs from the AP and PA orientations. The results also indicate that overestimations caused by using isotropic dosimeters in assessing effective dose equivalent from near-overhead and near-underfoot exposures are 550%, 390%, and 254% for 0.08, 0.3, and 1.0 MeV, respectively. Comparisons of the angular dependence of HE with those based on the secondary quantities defined in International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) Reports 39, 43, and 47 show significant differences. This paper discusses why more accurate assessments of HE are necessary and possible. An empirical equation is proposed which can be used as the optimum dosimeter angular response function for radiation angles ranging from 0 degrees to 90 degrees for dosimeter calibration, performance testing, and design.

Incident Angle Modifiers for Flat-Plate Solar Collectors: Analysis of Measurement and Calculation Procedures

Existing test procedures for measuring and rating thermal performance require the determination of the angular response of collectors in order to account for non-normal incident beam irradiance. Angular response measurements for four different types of collectors, each type tested by three different laboratories, are presented and analyzed. Substantial differences, both within and between laboratories, are reported for the same type collectors. An analysis of the measurement procedure shows that experimentally determined angular response parameters are subject to relatively large uncertainties. The problem results to a large extent from measuring collector efficiencies at non-normal incident angles where measurement uncertainty is of the same order of magnitude as the efficiency reduction attributable to these off-normal angles. Other factors which can affect angular response measurements and the method of correlating results are also discussed. A theoretical analysis shows that shading of the absorber by the collector air space side- and end-walls for non-normal incident angles can be of the same order of importance as the decrease in the transmittance of the cover assembly. While this situation complicates an analytical approach, it is concluded that calculations are adequate to depict the angular response of conventional flat-plate tube-in-sheet collector designs. A simplified analytical procedure and nomographs are presented for rapid calculation of incident angle modifiers. The predicted seasonal performance of solar energy systems and clear-day ratings of typical flat-plate collectors are shown to be relatively insensitive to large uncertainties in incident angle modifiers. Typically, the values of these calculated quantities could be affected by approximately five percent as a result of uncertainty in the test-derived angular response parameter.