abstract

• Construction and characterization of an inflatable mirror prototype made out of flexible polymeric membranes are being presented. Surfaces were curved by imposing a slight excess of air pressure. Lightweighted, lowcost, and commercially available materials were selected in order to produce solar concentration elements at competitive prices. In this sense, large-area, image-forming mirrors with low optical acuity were achieved by concentration purposes. Optical characterization of the mirror's shape at a given pressure or curvature radius was done by means of a structuredlight technique with a resolution of 0.1 mm finding a conical shape acquired by the inflated mirror as the best approximation. Concentration ratio achieved for a focal length of 5068 mm was of 25.1 suns, making a promising approach for lowering initial investment costs in applications such as hot-water, parabolic dish with Stirling engines, or concentrated photovoltaic electricity generation. © 2015 Felipe Patiño-Jiménez et al.

authors

• De Los Santos-García F.
• Moreno-Oliva V.I.
• Nahmad Molinari Yuri
• Patiño-Jiménez F.
• Santiago-Alvarado A.

publication date

• 2015-01-01

published in

• International Journal of Photoenergy  Journal

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1155/2015/196186

start page

end page

volume

• 2015