Erosion Effect in the Degradation of Coated and Uncoated Glass Solar Mirrors Highlighted by Coupled Accelerated Erosion/Aging Tests

Abstract

Accelerated aging experiments on solar reflectors allow for a more accurate prediction of the materials’ lifespan in a shorter period of time comparing to a study on real-Concentrated solar power (CSP) sites. Accelerated aging tests help to identify which degradations are most likely to occur under the application conditions by assessing the component’s sensitivity to various stress factors. To meet the needs of manufacturers in terms of accelerated testing, accelerated aging standards must be developed in most applications. Therefore, research and experiments must be conducted to determine appropriate techniques and therefore contribute to the standardization process. CSP is a field that entails a lot of work. The solar mirrors aging standards are still subject of research in the CSP field. They’ve all been developed or altered for use in other fields like photovoltaics. However, the outcomes of these aging tests are not always accurate or representative. In addition, the development of new materials like antisoiling coatings make the standardization process more challenging. This work aims to highlight the interest of combining accelerated erosion with other stress factors in order to get more representative results that can contribute to the standardization protocols of accelerated aging tests in the CSP for coated and uncoated solar reflectors.