Evaluation of Solar Mirror Figure by Moire Contouring

摘要

Moire topography is applied to the figure assessment of solar mirrors. The technique is demonstrated on component facets of a six-meter diameter, four-meter focal length, parabolic dish collector. The relative ease of experimental implementation and subsequent data analysis suggests distinct advantages over the more established laser ray trace or BCS/ICS technique for many applications. The theoretical and experimental considerations necessary to fully implement moire topography on mirror surfaces are detailed. A procedure to de-specularize the mirror is demonstrated which conserves the surface morphology without damaging the reflective surface. The moire fringe patterns observed for the actual mirror facets are compared with theoretical contours generated for representative dish facets using a computer simulation algorithm. A method for evaluating the figure error of the real facet is presented in which the error parameter takes the form of an average absolute deviation of the surface slope from theoretical. The experimental measurement system used for this study employs a 200 line/inch Ronchi transmission grating. The mirror surface is illuminated by a collimated beam at 60 exp 0 . The fringe observation is performed normal to the grating. These parameters yield contour intervals for the fringe patterns of 0.073 mm. The practical considerations for extending the techniques to higher resolution are discussed. (ERA citation 05:030533)