Ultrafast heliostat metrology

Ethan Jenssen; Zachary Dempsey; Ali Khounsary

doi:10.1117/12.3028891

1 October 2024 Ultrafast heliostat metrology

Ethan Jenssen, Zachary Dempsey, Ali Khounsary

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13132, Nonimaging Optics: Efficient Design for Illumination and Concentration XIX; 131320D (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3028891
Event: Optical Engineering + Applications, 2024, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Heliostat fields constitute one of the large-scale Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) options for electricity production and/or thermal storage. In a typical field, several thousand heliostats, each consisting of one or more mirrors, are precisely oriented to track and reflect the sunlight onto a receiver atop a central tower. Any misorientation of the heliostats during operation - due to structural changes, wear, tracking errors, etc. - must be detected and corrected to ensure maximum light collection essential for the economic viability of the plant. A number of metrology techniques for accurate determination of heliostats orientation during operation have been proposed and implemented. These are briefly reviewed in this paper followed by a detailed description of a novel ultrafast technique for the precise measurement and correction of the heliostats pointing errors and/or mirrors canting errors in a field.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Ethan Jenssen, Zachary Dempsey, and Ali Khounsary "Ultrafast heliostat metrology", Proc. SPIE 13132, Nonimaging Optics: Efficient Design for Illumination and Concentration XIX, 131320D (1 October 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3028891

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

;

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE