With growing numbers of concentrating solar power systems being designed and developed, glint and glare from concentrating solar collectors and receivers is receiving increased attention as a potential hazard or distraction for motorists, pilots, and pedestrians. This paper provides analytical methods to evaluate the irradiance originating from specularly and diffusely reflecting sources as a function of distance and characteristics of the source. Sample problems are provided for both specular and diffuse sources, and validation of the models is performed via testing. In addition, a summary of safety metrics is compiled from the literature to evaluate the potential hazards of calculated irradiances from glint and glare. Previous safety metrics have focused on prevention of permanent eye damage (e.g., retinal burn). New metrics used in this paper account for temporary flash blindness, which can occur at irradiance values several orders of magnitude lower than the irradiance values required for irreversible eye damage.
展开▼
