Analytical Studies of a Parabolic Line Concentrator Utilizing an Aluminum Honeycomb Support Structure and a Thin Glass Reflector Laminate

摘要

Results (stresses, displacements, and equivalent slope errors) are presented from finite element analyses made to evaluate a design for a parabolic trough solar concentrator. The concentrator consists of a reflector laminate (made of thin glass bonded to sheet metal backing) which is mechanically formed and bonded to a stiff parabolic support (made of aluminum honeycomb bonded to steel skins) with a 2 meter (6.6 foot) aperture. Analyses were first made to determine a length for the concentrator such that it would meet certain performance and survivability criteria under wind and gravity loadings. These studies were made with a model for the concentrator only. The concentrator model was then combined with a model for a support mechanism, and this combined structure was studied for several wind and gravity loadings. A design characterized by a six meter (twenty foot) long concentrator was found to meet performance criteria and had sufficiently low glass stresses in a 40.23 meter per second ((ninety mile per hour) wind. (ERA citation 06:021945)