Parabolic-Dish Solar Concentrators of Film on Foam

dc.creatorBarton, Sean A.
dc.creatorWinger, Ian L.
dc.date2009-03-09
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T12:50:33Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T12:50:33Z
dc.descriptionParabolic and spherical mirrors are constructed of aluminized PET polyester film on urethane foam. During construction, the chosen shape of the mirror is created by manipulating the elastic/plastic behavior of the film with air pressure. Foam is then applied to the film and, once hardened, air pressure is removed. At an f-number of 0.68, preliminary models have an optical angular spread of less than 0.25 degrees, a factor of 3.3 smaller than that for a perfectly spherical mirror. The possibility exists for creating large-lightweight mirrors with excellent shape and stiffness. These "film-on-foam" construction techniques may also be applicable to parabolic-trough solar concentrators but do not appear to be suitable for optical imaging applications because of irregularities in the film.
dc.description15 pages, 12 figures, 1 table
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/0903.1601
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/0903.1601
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/222716
dc.subjectOptics
dc.titleParabolic-Dish Solar Concentrators of Film on Foam
dc.typetext

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