Development of a Modular Concrete Heliostat Prototype

Abstract

The main idea of this contribution is to replace typical steel structures for heliostats by means of concrete due to its low costs. With respect to accuracy demands, a high-performance concrete is used that possesses high compressive and tensile strengths. The collector is designed as a strut-like structure with main radial beams and a central mount to ensure high stiffness. The design exhibits a circular shape to reduce shading. For construction, the concrete collector is dissolved into equal modules derived from symmetry reduction methods enabling a serial production. The modules are subsequently post-tensioned to form a heliostat. To show the feasibility, a small-scale prototype with a diameter of 3.2 m and a mirror area of 8 m² is developed that will be built up and qualified at the solar power tower Jülich, Germany. It consists of 4 modules and exhibits a weight of 744 kg.