Solar mirror soiling and heliostat inspection from a mobile imaging system and mobile platform
| DWPI Title: Imaging system for inspecting heliostat for solar power generation, has camera configured to store image data associated with first image and second image, and computing apparatus configured to compare first image with second image and determine performance parameter associated with heliostat |
| Abstract: A system or method for an imaging system is provided for inspecting a heliostat. The imaging system includes a platform and a camera mounted on the platform and a heliostat having a plurality of mirrored facets. The camera is positioned to acquire a first image that serves as a reference image and a second image that is a reflected image from at least one facet. The camera stores image data associated with the first image and the second image, and wirelessly transmits the stored image data to a computing apparatus. The computing apparatus compares the first image with the second image and determines a performance parameter associated with the heliostat. |
| Use: Imaging system for inspecting heliostat for solar power generation. |
| Advantage: The system reduces operation and maintenance costs. The system has the ability to assess and correct errors in a heliostat solar-collector field to operate at or near optimal conditions, for greater efficiency and for enabling future integration and improvements to solar power tower plants. The system performs quick and accurate canting assessment operations that may be preferably performed in-situ and used to correct errors in situ in a heliostat field. The mobile platform is used for imaging and determining reflectance ratio and/or canting errors of a heliostat that can be corrected in situ while the heliostat field remains in production. |
| Novelty: The system has a camera (24) mounted on a platform. A heliostat (12) is provided with mirrored facets (14). A camera is positioned to acquire a first image comprising a reference image and a second image comprising a reflected image captured from one facet of the facets. A camera is configured to store image data associated with the first image and the second image, and to wirelessly transmit the stored image data to a computing apparatus. The computing apparatus is configured to compare the first image with the second image and determine a performance parameter associated with the heliostat, where the performance parameter is one of a facet position or a facet reflectance ratio and the first image is an image of the sun directly acquired by the camera, and the reflectance ratio being determined based on the first image having an intensity, and the second image is a reflected image having an intensity. |
| Filed: 10/7/2020 |
| Application Number: US17065183A |
| Tech ID: SD 14640.0 |
| This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. |
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