No description available.

No description available.

A versatile solar spectroradiometer has been designed which is capable of measuring direct solar radiation, the solar aureole, and sky radiance far from the sun. An active tracker consisting of a quadrant detector, telescope and stepper-motor driven alt-azimuth mount is used to position the spectroradiometer by computer control for solar tracking and almucantur scans. An internally baffled telescope designed to suppress stray light is employed as the optical receiver, and a photodiode serves to convert the collected flux to an electrical signal. A digitally controlled gain-switching transimpedance amplifier is used to scale the photodiode output to accommodate the large signal range encountered between measuring direct solar radiation and sky radiance well away from the sun. Example measurements are presented which demonstrate the system's capabilities.

A solar spectroradiometer is an instrument used for measuring the transmitted solar radiation on a quasi-continuous basis. An existing computer controlled solar spectroradiometer system has been modified and made operable. Test measurements have shown that the signal to noise ratio (which is time of day and wavelength dependent) is at an acceptable level. The chief use of the spectroradiometer will be for atmospheric transmittance studies, which will require calibration of the instrument. Strategies for calibrating the instrument have been discussed.

Three different types of radiometry have been examined to find the best type for solar spectral irradiance measurements requiring long-term (22 years) and ultra-high precision (0.1% uncertainty) in the near-UV, visible, and near infrared. It has been determined that the best radiometry uses the self-calibration technique developed at NBS using laser lines. Normalization techniques were applied to silicon reflectivity and quantum efficiency models for use with thermal sources and grating spectrometers. The results compared with similar laser-source calibration showed disagreement less than 0.1%. Germanium and GaAsP detectors were also investigated in the infrared and deep blue wavelengths. The germanium detector showed significant recombination loss of photogenerated carriers due to the ion implantation fabrication process. GaAsP detectors have very small dark currents ( < 1 nA), but also demonstrate significant recombination losses inside the photodiode. The possible loss mechanism of the Ge and GaAsP detectors are suggested for future study.

This thesis investigates variations in solar irradiance incident upon sloping surfaces under deciduous forest in winter. A model is presented for prediction of solar irradiance at the surface which accounts for slope inclination and orientation, surrounding topography, isotropic absorption of solar radiation by the crown space, and shadows cast by the stem space. / Field data from two sites of different slope and aspect attest to the validity of the model; errors, based on 20-minute averages of instantaneous values, are 15.5% (RMSE) and $-$1.9% (MBE). Error is partially due to reliance upon global radiation measurements above canopy at a different site (partially cloudy conditions) and sampling error (sunny sky conditions). The variability of solar irradiance at the surface, and in the error of predicted values, is found to vary with sky condition, solar zenith and incidence angles, and slope orientation. However, integration to hourly and/or daily time periods improves model performance significantly.

No description available.

The basic resource of all solar systems is the sun, and a knowledge of the quantity of the energy available is of prime importance. Although the solar radiation outside the atmosphere is known and almost constant, various climatic factors cause wide variations in its value on the earth's surface. In addition, the relative position of the sun with respect to local points of interest will allow surfaces with different orientations and tracking ability to receive different quantities of solar energy. This research focuses on the effect of cloud cover on the solar radiation received on the earth's surface and presents computer models that calculate its value for the best system configuration. Then a complete assessment of the electrical output of such a system is given. With this purpose in mind, two solar resource evaluation models have been developed; the first method is based on a direct statistical approach correlating clear sky total daily radiation with measured daily insolation. This approach has been applied to a few selected sites and offers the procedure for extending the same coefficients to other sites with similar weather patterns. This model has been tested for six sites in Bangladesh . These sites are located around a "reference" site . The predictions made have shown to be quite accurate. The second model uses an analytical approach that combines clear sky methods with "correction" factors which are based on long term recorded solar ra- diation. In addition, this model has been enhanced by an algorithm that selects the optimal surface orientation that maximizes solar output. Finally, the hourly electrical output of the photovoltaic system is calculated after accounting for the various losses. This is presented as part of a complete solar energy evaluation model. / M.S.

Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong. / Bibliography: leaves 120-122.

This work comprises a radiometric study of Durban‟s solar resource, utilizing data from the Howard College campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and the Solar Thermal Applications Research Laboratory (STARlab) at Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT), located 17 km away. The study has three aims: first to establish a solar radiometric monitoring network for the greater Durban area, comprising the UKZN Howard College and Westville stations, and the STARlab facility at MUT. The UKZN Westville station is under refurbishment and should be operational by the end of 2011. Data from this station are not included in the study. The instrumentation and acquisition software in use at Howard College and STARlab are described. The stations record global horizontal irradiance (GHI), direct normal irradiance (DNI) and diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI), measured by an unshaded pyranometer, a normal incidence pyrheliometer and a pyranometer shaded with a stationary band respectively. Second, to test a number of existing radiometric models against measured data gathered at the stations. Radiometric models assist in estimating missing components of radiation at stations that do not measure all three components separately, for reasons of cost. The models investigated included Erbs et al. (1982), Orgill and Hollands (1977), Reindl et al. (1990), Boland et al. (2001), and Skartveit and Olseth (1987) and correction models by Drummond et al. (1956), Le Baron et al. (1990), Batlles et al. (1995), and Muneer and Zhang (2000) to correct the shadow band effect. Third, to compare data from the two operational stations and to investigate potential spatial differences in sun strength arising from micro-climate effects in the greater Durban area. This takes the form of a statistical analysis of the differences in radiometric data recorded simultaneously at the UKZN and STARlab stations. The study found that the recorded difference in GHI over one year was 0.72%, which lies within the instrument measurement accuracy. Therefore no measurable radiometric differences due to microclimate could be detected and, for the period in which data were collected, measurements from Howard College could be used to estimate irradiance patterns for MUT, and vice versa. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.