Now I will show the cause why this solar receiver
can produce high temperature heat.
Here we see very cheap primitive mirrors which
focus solar radiation on the receiver.
Now I show those mirrors, and we see that
it is a cheap reflective polymer film.
This is the spot of solar radiation from the
mirror in the winter, when the sun is low
above the horizon.
Of course, the focusing has poor quality,
but this is not a big problem if we use a
wide receiver as on my solar station
Obviously in the spring, the sun height increases,
and therefore the spot is located in a different
place if we refuse to change the vertical
angle of the mirrors.
Here we can observe how the wind worsens the
focusing.
In addition, we understand that wind can be
a problem for the lifespan of our cheap mirrors,
and I will describe the solutions to this
problem in a few minutes.
So, I made these mirrors from this reflective
mylar film which was bought at a price of
20 American cents per square meter from one
of the Ukrainian manufacturers.
It is about 1000 times cheaper than these
mirrors of modern solar power plants.
My idea is to build such long rows of such
cheap mirrors.
Of course, we need a cheap receiver which
will be located in the focus of our mirrors,
and I plan to test 2 versions of the receiver.
This is the first version, and I described
it in one of my old videos about a month ago.
The second version of the receiver was described
by my 3rd YouTube channel, and its link is
below.
I remind you that my mirror systems do not
need to change their position from morning
to evening, and I described their capabilities
and features in some of my old videos.
In addition, I plan to explore the second
variant of cheap mirror which has this additional
cheap polymer film.
It is obvious that the additional film helps
the mirror withstand strong winds.
However let's look at the first variant of
my mirror, without that additional film.
We see that the bottom edge of the mirror
is not fixed, and the weight of this structure
can make the mirror have a minimum of wrinkles.
Now we can understand that the mirror can
be easily and quickly removed or installed,
and this is important if we plan to use our
mirrors for several weeks or months per year,
for example, for heating a greenhouse only
during March, or for space heating of a house
from November to February.
In other words, we can remove our mirrors
at the end of the heating season, and therefore
the lifespan of our short-lived mirrors can
reach several seasons.
We understand that these wires provide our
mirror the desired shape.
Now I show that I used different types of
the wires to find the difference between them.
But we see that any difference is missing.
I have to do long term research, during which
I will wait for the mirror to be destroyed
by a strong wind to find its "weak point".
For example, this incident helped me find
another “weak point” here.
This is a new mirror, where that "weak point"
is reinforced.
It is obvious that winds must destroy some
more of my mirrors so that I can find some
more "weak points" and strengthen them.
After finishing the research, my third Youtube
channel will describe the final version of
this type of cheap mirrors which will be able
to withstand strong winds.
Of course, we have the opportunity to temporarily
remove the mirrors before hurricane, and I
remind you that my second version of the mirror
has more ability to withstand strong winds.
I predict that the lifespan of my cheap mirrors
will be only a few months, and it will be
several times less than lifespan of this more
expensive type of mirror where the same reflective
film is fixed to a sheet of expanded polystyrene.
That is why I am talking about the ability
to quickly replace old mirrors, and about
their appropriateness for a short working
season, or if we need cheap solar energy for
only a few short periods per year.
Now I will show one of the causes of the short
lifespan of my cheap mirrors, and we must
pay attention to such transparent points.
This film worked for about 3 weeks, and we
can compare it with this new film which was
installed a few hours ago.
We know that this reflective film is a transparent
polymer sheet, and one of its sides is coated
with a very thin layer of aluminum which reflects
radiation.
These transparent points are places where
the aluminum layer is already lost, and it
is obvious that the accumulation of these
points due to its aging will gradually reduce
the efficiency of the mirror.
This is another of my research, and the aluminum
layer of this mirror is located on the sunny
side of the film.
In contrast, the aluminum layer of this second
option coats its north side
Let's pay attention here, where the reflective
film touches the wires.
We see that the wires destroyed the aluminum
layer of these places on the first option
of the mirror, while the second option has
no similar defect.
But the second option has defects of its aluminum
layer near the bottom edge of the mirror.
Nevertheless I think that the lifespan of
this first option will be longer than the
second.
Thus, the aluminum layer should coat the south
side of the film.
However, we must understand that solar radiation
will quickly destroy the polymer of the places
where the aluminum layer is absent.
That is why I am afraid that the mirror will
crack in these places in a few months.
I plan to report the real longevity of my
mirrors after the end of their research.
This will be done on my third YouTube channel,
and its link is below.
Of course, the lifespan of these mirrors will
be short due to their fast aging and the probability
of a hurricane.
However, these are very cheap mirrors and
their replacement is simple and quick.
I want to clarify that this steam jet is not
adequately show the real heat capacity.
Before this, the receiver was without water
for 20 minutes, and therefore the sun heated
its metal parts to a high temperature, and
then I gave it water from this bucket.
In addition, we must pay attention to the
fact that the receiver is covered with cellular
polycarbonate
