Heliostat materials development and evaluation

by Livermore Sandia Laboratories, CA

Technical Report, 1980

Barcode

CSP Unique ID 190708737

Status

Electronic Resource

Call number

**Click on MARC view for more information on this report.**

Publication

SAND Report: SAND78-8193, June 1980.

Language

Library's review

ABSTRACT:
Solar thermal electric power plants are projected to play an important role in reducing the United States' consumption of nonrenewable fuels. However, in order for such power generation plants to become commercially attractive, they must be a cost-competitive, reliable power source.
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General Electric believes that the utilization of lightweight enclosed heliostats is the key to achieving a cost-competitive and reliable solar thermal power system. The cost saving that can be realized by protecting the heliostat from the environment more than compensates for the (normally) slightly lower performance of an enclosed heliostat, since it is the cost of the energy delivered that will determine the ability of a solar thermal power plant to be commercially attractive. The development of long-life, reliable, cost-effective heliostats will require innovative design, mass production techniques, and the best possible choice of materials. The selection of the optimum materials for the major components of the heliostat system requires a thorough knowledge of materials, their behavior, their processing, their cost, and their ability to function reliably in a particular application and environment for long periods of time. The proper selection depends on the availability of an adequate data base which is, unfortunately, not always available for the materials and conditions of interest.
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