Canada's Rackam has partnered with TÜV Rheinland to develop a test bench for testing performance and efficiency of solar thermal collectors.
The facility comprises a pumping circuit equipped with an electric heating element as well as measuring and control instruments, which enable the circulation of mineral oil-based high temperature heat transfer fluids up to 240°C through various devices such as solar collectors, but also thermal storage banks or small steam turbine generators.
Rackam develops solar thermal technologies, based on parabolic trough reflectors, designed to produce medium-temperature heat. Its flagship device, the Icarus Heat 10, soon to be improved to S20, is a parabolic trough concentrator suitable to be mounted on roof. Its intended to be used to produce process heat.
TÜV Rheinland PTL is a well known technical and testing service provider for the solar industry that also specializes in the registration process of technological equipment. The new instrumented pumping module will be deployed at the TÜV Rheinland PTL testing facilities located in Tempe, Arizona.
"The specifications of this project required high precision measurement along with high versatility, which is why we paid a great deal of attention to the selection of measuring equipment," said Jacques-Alexandre Fortin, Director of Research and Development at Rackam. “The result is a mobile test bench which is both versatile and very accurate.”
“At TÜV Rheinland PTL, we have been developing and deploying testing equipment and protocols in support of the solar industry for nearly 20 years,” said Mark Witt, Program Manager for PV Module and Solar Thermal Testing at TÜV Rheinland PTL. “This partnership with Rackam has effectively enabled us to offer our world-class, client-centered technical services to the high temperature solar thermal sector.”
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