Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST)
Context
- The Ministry of Science & Technology has announced the set up a concentrated solar thermal (CST) based test rig facility at Hyderabad.
About
- The facility can help the solar industry test capability and performance of solar thermal components like solar receiver tubes, heat transfer fluids, and concentrating mirrors.
- It can conduct simultaneous testing of standard and indigenous solar receiver tubes.
- It also has a thermic fluid-based closed-loop system that can operate in the 50-350°C temperature range.
- It can conduct heat gain studies in real-field conditions with the actual measurement of solar irradiance condition.
- It has an electrical heater support for measuring the actual heat loss of solar receivers at different operating temperatures.
Set up by
- The facility has been set up by the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI).
- ARCI is an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
Significance
- With a majority of the solar thermal companies importing solar thermal components, especially from China and Europe, there is an opportunity for indigenous solar thermal components manufacturing players to develop solar thermal technologies for low and medium-temperature applications.
- ARCI has already been working on the development of cost-effective solar receiver tubes, anti-reflective (AR) coated glass covers, nanostructured material-based thermic fluids, and durable reflective mirrors to enhance the performance and cutting cost of the solar thermal systems in India.
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