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Infrastructure DLR Institute of Solar Research

FACILITIES

Plataforma Solar
At the Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA) in south-eastern Spain different high-temperature solar technologies are being tested and optimized under realistic conditions. The Institute of Solar Research has a permanent delegation of currently 18 employees to access these facilities.

High Flux Solar Furnace (Cologne)
The term solar furnace refers to a facility that provides concentrated solar radiation. The energy of the concentrated sunlight can be used to generate thermal or photonic effects on irradiated materials.
The solar furnace of the DLR in Cologne is an experimental system in which the concentration of sunlight is used for research purposes. The solar furnace building was designed as low-energy building.

QUARZ: Test and Qualification Center for Concentrating Solar Technologies (Cologne)
On these state-of-the-art test benches and large-scale plants of this test and qualifying centre, manufacturers and customers of solar thermal systems and important solar thermal components, such as mirrors and absorber tubes, can test their quality. Current standards and test methods can also be evaluated and developed. The possibilities range from materials testing of prototypes and quality control in mass production to product specification and product development.

High-Flux Solar Simulator
Arrangement of several 6 kW Xe short-arc lamps in ellipsoid reflectors for up to 25 kW radiant power, irradiance 5 MW/m²

SIMSON Solar Simulator
Max. radiant power 2 kW

Test facility to examine two-phase flows
Air-water test facility, tube diameter 50mm

LABORATORIES AND MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES

Solar Thermal Outdoor Installations
SOPRAN test facility for solar process heat systems: unit tests of parabolic trough collectors and direct evaporation, 168 m² parabolic trough collectors, heating and cooling system up to 200 °C/15 bar;
Small collector test facility for testing the efficiency of parabolic trough and fresnel collectors:
Heating-cooling system up to 200 ° C/15 bar; tilting stage.

Pore Laboratory
Special laboratory for the characterization of pore bodies: measurement of thermophysical properties of porous structures at high temperatures (heat transfer test, pressure loss test of porous structures, HOT-disk to determine the thermal conductivity)

Optics Laboratory
Laboratory for qualification non-contact measurement techniques. Numerous optical measuring instruments and spectrometers for the analysis of surface properties, calibration of measuring instruments and spectral measurements:
- Blackbody up to 1500 ° C
- HYCAL: Calorimeter for high radiation levels
- Radiometer for high radiation levels
- UV-VIS-NIR spectrometer and monochromator
- CCD cameras
- Goniometer-reflectometer - Optics bench
- Radiation calibration laboratory for flux sensors
- Various flux measurement systems for point focusing and line-concentrating systems
- Photogrammetric measurement system to determine the geometrical properties of concentrators
- IR temperature measurement system (0 - 800 °C)
- Meteo-station (DNI)
- Thermal imaging camera
- Setup for radiometric data: Xenon short arc lamp, various filters, evaluation unit

Micro Gas Turbine Laboratory
300 kW thermal power, external combustion chamber with the possibility for optical access, very good fuel flexibility (operated jointly with Institute of Combustion Technology in Stuttgart)

Chemical Laboratories
Cooling system for temperature control, pumps, data collection, distillation plant for solvent recovery
Solar photo-reactors
Parabolic trough collector reactor up to 0.5 l
CPC-collector reactor 20 to 50 l
Tube reactor 25 up to 40 l
Double wall sheet reactor 25 to 40 l
Receiver-reactor systems for tests with highly concentrated solar radiation in the solar furnace (each 4 kW to 12 kW)
Drum-type receiver-reactor
Honeycomb receiver-reactor
Aerosol receiver-reactor
Photo-reactor, light filter system
Heated exhaust gas line and gas removal for the neutralization of acidic gases
Mobile demonstrator-lamp reactors for photochemical / photocatalytic water treatment
Demonstrator unit: 4 kW medium pressure mercury lamp, 500 l
Demonstrator unit: 12 kW medium pressure mercury lamp, 3000 l

Instrumental Chemical Analytics
- Gas chromatography: FID and TCD, with automatic liquid sampler
- Gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC-MS), also coupleable with thermo desorption sampler
- Liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer coupling (LC-MS) with diode array detector
- FT-infrared spectrometer for the study of transmission solutions and platelet samples
- UV-VIS-NIR spectrometer to measure in transmission and reflection, integrating sphere
- UV-VIS spectrometer with fiber optics
- Spectrometer for application of chemical cuvette tests for water analysis
- Device for the determination of water parameters: TOC with automatic liquid sampler, BOD5
- Gas analyzers, IR and FID measuring principle
- Quadrupole mass spectrometer in corrosion-resistant design
- Equipment for the determination of melting point, refractive index, viscosity
- Hand apparatuses for the water chemistry for the determination of pH, dissolved oxygen, redox potential