| dc.description.abstract | Many materials have been synthesized in recent years to provide solutions to the ever so increasing demands of industrial processes, eco-friendly buildings, and optimization of renewable energy systems. During the recent years, significant engineering tests for solar energy products and materials have been developed, however, there is still a deficiency in the understanding and testing when it comes to the degradation effects driven by the combined effect of solar light intensity and exposure duration. Most of the methods developed neglect the need to test small quantities of materials or prototype devices that might operate at close to ambient conditions and need to demonstrate >25 years stability, while still being at the development stage and without the luxury to afford expensive and long (of weeks and months) tests. For example, the multitude of materials that are announced every day for photovoltaic applications, smart windows, and green buildings. The primary objectives of the research project were the development of a solar energy characterization facility and a methodology/apparatus for accelerated aging of materials based on concentrating light with continuous optical characterization and environmental control.
The deliverables were directly aimed to resolve the current deficiencies in the testing methodologies and included; the commissioning and flux characterization of a novel solar characterization facility along with an apparatus and methodology for accelerated aging of materials. Not only did the project deliverables provide an alternative to the current testing procedures, but they also were extremely cost and time-efficient. The completion of the deliverables resulted in an invention which addresses the current technical limitations with testing procedures and offers both a methodology and an apparatus to investigate the light-induced degradation of research or commercial-grade materials by conducting efficiently accelerated aging tests under fully controlled conditions, while continuously collecting the light transmitted through the material to conduct continuous optical characterization. To protect the invention from being reverse engineered, a disclosure document has been submitted to protect the intellectual property (IP). | |
