THE DEVELOPMENT OF OPTIMUM STRUCTURAL SUPPORTS FOR LARGE APERTURE STRETCHED MEMBRANE HELIOSTATS

A STRUCTURAL SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR LARGE APERTURE, STRETCHED MEMBRANE HELIOSTATS WILL BE DEVELOPED. THIS SUPPORT SYSTEM PROVIDES A TRACKING PLATFORM AND RESISTANCE TO THE WIND LOADENVIRONMENT. STRETCHED MEMBRANE HELIOSTATS ENJOY A SIMPLICITY AND STRUCTURAL EFFICIENCY THAT RESULTS IN LOW REFLECTOR COSTS. MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY IS PARTICULARLY SUITEDTO CAPTURE ECONOMIES OF SCALE THROUGH LARGE APERTURE CONCENTRATORS. THE MAJOR LIMITATION IN ACHIEVING FURTHER REDUCTION IN PRICE AND INCREASE IN SIZE IS THE SUPPORT STRUCTURE. DEVELOPED SUPPORT SYSTEMS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY HEAVIER THAN THE REFLECTOR, AND MAY NOT TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE UNIQUE STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS IN MEMBRANE CONCENTRATORS. IN PHASE I, THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MIRROR MODULE, LOAD ENVIRONMENT, AND MATERIAL EFFICIENCIES WILL BE DEFINED. ALTERNATIVE SUPPORT CONFIGURATIONS THAT OVERCOME LIMITATIONS TO LARGE APERTURES WILL BE DEFINED AND COMPARED ON A PARAMETRIC BASIS. IT IS PLANNED THAT PHASE IIEFFORTS WILL PROVIDE FOR DETAILED DESIGN AND TESTING OF AN EFFICIENT SUPPORT SYSTEM.