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Mitigation of Dust Impacts on Solar Collectors by Water-Free Cleaning

with Transparent Electrodynamic Films: Progress and Challenges


Malay K. Mazumder∗ , Mark N. Horenstein∗ , Arash Sayyah∗ , Jeremy W. Stark∗ , Annie Bernard∗ ,
Sean Garner† , Julius E. Yellowhair‡ , David R. Crowell§ , Carlos Coutinho§ , Ryan S. Eriksen∗
∗ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215
† Corning
Incorporated, One River Front Plaza, Corning, NY 14831
‡ Sandia National Laboratories, Concentrating Solar Technologies Department, Albuquerque, NM 87185
§ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215

Abstract—Energy-yield loss caused by soiling of the PV mod- nanostructured surface on the optical collectors for reducing
ules and CSP mirrors in utility-scale power plants would result adhesion of dust particles to improve cleaning efficiency with
in unsustainable demands for fresh water needed for cleaning. low water use. This is a passive method for modifying the
This paper reviews the progress of the electrodynamic screen
(EDS) film technology for frequent water-free cleaning with low surface for making solar collectors easily cleanable. Current
energy requirements. EDS-based cleaning would maintain high SH coating process suffers from three technical challenges: (1)
optical efficiency ensuring long-term sustainability of TW-scale water is still needed for cleaning, (2) outdoor lifetime of the
plants located in arid lands. Principles, modeling, construction, SH film is very limited to few months unless it is frequently
and lamination of the EDS films on modules and mirrors and cleaned (3) application of coating in a large-scale is yet to be
experimental data showing power output restoration are pre-
sented. Current challenges in production and meeting outdoors established.
durability of the EDS films are discussed. Application of transparent electrodynamic screens (EDS)
Index Terms—Solar collectors, cleaning, dust impacts, electro- [4]–[6] is an emerging method for cleaning solar collec-
dynamic screen, optical efficiency. tors. The method can be for used for cleaning solar pan-
els, parabolic troughs, and heliostats. Studies to date show
I. I NTRODUCTION feasibility of EDS film integration or retrofitting on optical
For high optical efficiency of solar collectors such as surface of solar collector for maintaining high transmission or
PV modules and concentrating mirrors must be kept clean reflection efficiency without requiring water. EDS is an active
continuously, if possible, against dust deposition that reduces method that applies electrostatic force to lift dust particles
efficiency of light transmission to the solar cells or reflection and expel them from the optical surface. Current lab-scale
of radiation by concentrating solar power (CSP) mirrors to the prototype EDS films, retrofitted on solar panels or mirrors,
receiver. Dust deposition on solar collectors is ubiquitous and have shown capability of maintaining optical transmission or
causes a major loss in energy-yield in arid lands [1]–[3]. To specular-reflection efficiency higher than 90% of its initial
maintain optical efficiency of solar collectors close to 95% values under clean condition. Optical surface laminated with
of its initial value under clean condition, frequent cleaning is an EDS film can remove more than 90% of the dust deposited
needed at intervals depending upon the rate of dust deposition on the surface when EDS is activated for less than 2-minutes
at the plant site. per cleaning cycle. Being an electrodynamic dust removal
Washing solar collectors with water and detergent is the best process, the EDS cleaning method is designed primarily for
method for cleaning. The conventional approach for cleaning removal of dust in large-scale solar plants located in semi-arid
collector in utility-scale plants is to use a large truck with a and desert areas where the atmosphere is often dry and dusty
water tank and a pump system for spraying deionized water with very low rainfall.
on the collector surface. Robotic cleaning with mechanical This paper presents a brief review of the progress and
brushes is used for smaller solar plants that require less water. the potential of the EDS film technology for mitigating dust
However, manual or robotic cleaning with water is often a impact on solar collectors with water-free cleaning and the
critical problem where conservation of water is needed, such as current technical challenges for high efficiency and durability.
in areas where water is scarce. In addition, these methods are
both labor and energy intensive and are disruptive to routine II. E LECRODYNAMIC S CREEN (EDS)
plant operations. If the global solar-power output is to increase An EDS film [7]–[11] consists of rows of transparent,
to hundreds of gigawatt (GW) levels, as is envisioned, efficient parallel electrodes embedded within two transparent dielectric
operation of solar plants would result in an unsustainable films, as shown in Fig. 1. The sun-facing side is a trans-
demand for fresh water. Unless a water-free or a low-water parent ultrathin flexible glass (Corning R
Willow R
Glass)
cleaning method is established, expansion of solar plants may [12], which serves as superstrate for depositing transparent
lose public support in areas suffering long intervals of drought. conducting electrodes. The electrodes are encapsulated by
One of the promising low-water based cleaning processes using a transparent pressure sensitive adhesive film (3M R

is to apply a transparent superhydrophobic (SH) coating with optically clear adhesive (OCA) film [13]), the opposite side

978-1-5090-2724-8/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE 2052


approach ignores particle-to-particle interactions, the forces
due to the latter are assumed to be small compared to those
exerted by the traveling wave.
Fig. 2. Sand particles transported to Faraday cup by EDS.
This approach is not novel. As noted earlier, it was first
proposed by Melcher et al. in 1989 [11] as a way to move and
Sunlight
Dust Particles
sort toner particles in the realm of electrophotography. While
the needs and constraints of removing, rather than moving, Air
particles differ, the
Electrodes
fundamental electrostatics is the same.
Corning® Willow® Glass

B. Particle Charge
Optically Clear Adhesive (OCA)
One important parameter in the simulation is the value of
particle charge q or, alternatively, the particle Solar Module
charge-to-mass
ratio q/m, where m is the particle’s mass. While sand dust
can acquire charge in nature, this value can change, sometimes
Fig. 1. Construction of a transparent EDS film. The solar module represents
even reversing sign,
a photovoltaic (PV)when
panel the
or a particle impacts
reflecting mirror in a the panel surface,
concentrated solar power
(CSP)glass
typically system.or sometimes a protective polymer coating.

To assess likely values of postimpact particle charge and to


provide a Dielectric
reference1 q/m value Phase for theA simulations, various
sample dusts Dielectric
were 2sifted onto a Phase B
horizontal 10 cm × 10 cm
Dust Particles
Glass cover plate Phase C
EDS test panel using a vibrating sieve. The energized EDS Fig. 3. 3. Results
Fig. of particle
Charge-to-mass charging
ratio (Q/m) tests.
of dustControl runs
particles (EDS
before andnot energized)
after EDS
activation
yielded [15].
almost zero charge per particle.
transportedSolar
the module
particles to the edge where they fell into a
Particle Motion
Faraday cup, as in Fig. 2. Measuring net charge and mass
using an electrometer and microbalance, respectively, yielded
the q/m ratio for the aggregate of particles. As a control,
also measured was the charge of particles collected directly by
the Faraday cup from the sieve without transport by the EDS
panel. Samples also were size characterized with a Sympatec
Power
RODOS/M helium–neon laser optical system (dry-dispersing
Supply
particle-size analyzer having a range from 0.1 to 3500 μm).
These measurements yielded mean particle diameters of 20 and
Fig. 2. Dust particle trajectory on an EDS film.
30 μm for samples of Negev and Dubai sand, respectively.
Fig. 4. Potential distribution along EDS surface. The three-phase cycle in time
These results, summarized in Fig. 3, indicate q/m values in and, hence, the voltages are changing in the direction of the arrows.
the range
of the adhesiveμC/g.
of 0.6–0.7 film These
is usedvalues provided
to affix EDS fora baseline foron
retrofitting
use in the
the trajectory simulations.
front cover-glass plates of the solar panels or on the interdigitated electrode set. The potential of each electrode is
concentrating solar mirrors. Except for the electrodes, the light constant over its width but is periodic in time. Because the
transmission efficiency of the glass and the OCA films is electrodes are thin films, the EDS surface can be modeled
C. Calculating
higher thanElectric
99% whenField Values
corrected for reflection losses. The as having a surface potential Φ(x, y, t) that varies in time as

R Fig. 4. The electric field norm |E| and electric vector field (unit: V/m) [16].
The electric field in the spaceWillow
indices of refraction of the above theGlass and theisOCA
electrodes film
found well as in space. The surface potential between electrodes at
The units of the vertical and horizontal axes are in meters. The height of the
by assuming the space potential to emanate from a surface or
match closely to the glass cover plates of the PV modules a electrodes
given time havetbeen
is assumed
considered to vary
to be 5 µmlinearly in x. This
in the simulation. Theapproach
voltages
second
potential surface of
consisting mirrors.
the superposition of three spatially pe- of phases A, B, and C are 1 kV, 0 V, and 1 kV, respectively.
assumes that the insulating surface between electrodes has a The electrode
Figure 2each
shows layout of the width and inter-electrode spacing are 100 µm and 700 µm, respectively. The
riodic voltages, representing oneparallel electrodes
phase of embedded
the three-phase slight conductivity
thicknesses of the first which linearly
and second grades
user-defined the potential
dielectric layers are between
both 50
under the glass film. The electrodes are activated by three- µm and their relative permittivities are 5.14 and 5.5, respectively.
phase high voltage (1.2 kV), low current (microamp level)
and low frequency pulses. The applied voltage pulses cause a
filamentary microdischarge process at the interface of positive at an instant of the appliedP electric field.
P For an efficient
electrodes and the surrounding dielectric medium. The micro- dust removal, FEDS > Fadh , where Fadh , represents
discharge process injects positive charges to the EDS surface the summation of van der Waals, capillary, gravitational, and
charging the dust particles with positive electrostatic charge. electrostatic image force of adhesion. The capillary force of
The three-phase electric field lifts the charged particles by the attraction is negligible since the EDS operation is considered
Coulomb force and removes the particles from the surface under RH < 50%.
using the travelling electric field [14], [15]
III. EDS D ESIGN AND C ONSTRUCTION
Figure 3 shows experimental data on charge-to-mass ratio
(µC/g) of dust particles removed by the EDS action after A. Construction of EDS film Stack
loading test dust on b an EDS-laminated solar panel. Figure 5 shows the construction of EDS film stack for
The electrostatic repulsion force applied to a particle with lamination on the solar mirror (as shown) or on a solar panel.
a charge q, is qE where E is the electrical field distribution. Figure 6(A) shows an EDS film before lamination and Fig.
Figure 4 shows the distribution of electrical field vector E 6(B) shows a solar panel laminated with an EDS film.

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a 2053
film match closely to the glass cover plates of the PV paste electrode
patterning, we haveEDS usedwere by Gravure
chrome electrode Offset
EDS for printing
modules or second surface mirrors. Fig. 2 shows a (GOP) process.
evaluating different electrode geometries. The AgNW
transparent film before lamination on a solar panel. Fig. 3 EDS films were produced in the lab with screen-printing,
shows a solar panel laminated with a EDS film. IV. DUST REMOVAL
chrome-electrode MECHANISMS and
EDS by photolithography BY EDS
silver-FILM
paste electrodeDust EDS wereprocess
removal by Gravure Offset
involves (a)printing
electrostatic
for
(GOP)its high transparency and low sheet resistance, (2) silver
process.
charging of the dust particles on the surface of the EDS
ink with reflective property (reflection efficiency > 60%) with
film, (b) electrostatic repulsion by Coulomb force, and (c)
aIV.
high conductivity
DUST REMOVAL for MECHANISMS
applications to solar mirrors and (3)
translation of dust from the surfaceBY byEDS FILM
electrodynamic
silver paste (Ag-paste)
Dustwave.
removal for applications
process to
involves (a)areboth PV modules
electrostatic
traveling When the electrodes activated with
and CSP of
charging mirrors. Weparticles
have also usedsurface
chrome and reflective
three-phased voltages, the dust particles of
the dust on the the EDS
deposited on the
chrome
film, electrodes for
(b) electrostatic producing
repulsion EDS film in
by electrostatically the
Coulomb force, and laboratory
(c)
surface of the EDS become charged by
for precisionofpatterning
translation dust fromofthe electrodes
surface by photolithography.
electrodynamic
micro-filamentary discharge process and are repelled,
The inter-electrode
traveling wave. Whenspacing (g), width
the electrodes areofactivated
the electrodes
with (w),
andthen removed,
three-phased
their thickness by(h)Coulomb
voltages, the dust
affect therepulsion
particles
forces. on(SR)
speculardeposited
reflectivity the loss
surface for
(∆SR) of the EDS orbecome
mirrors loss ofelectrostatically charged
short-circuit current Iscby(∆Isc )
of the PV modules.discharge
micro-filamentary process arrangement
A high-density and are repelled,
of parallel
Fig. 1. Construction of a transparent EDS film. The top then removed,
electrodes withbynarrow
Coulomb repulsion forces.
inter-electrode spacing provides op-
dielectric film is an ultrathin Corning® WillowTM Glass,
timal electric field magnitude for charging and repulsion of
the5.transparent
Fig. Construction electrodes, made
of a transparent offilm
EDS AgNW, are top
stack. The deposited
dielectric dust layers enhancing the dust removal efficiency (DRE) of
on Fig.
film theanglass
is 1. film,
Construction
ultrathin and
Corning R
then
ofWillow
a affixed
R
on the
transparent
Glass, aEDS
Module film.(or
transparent Thea solar
top
conducting
electrodes, made film
of AgNW, are depositedCorning®
on the glassWillow
film, andTMthen affixed the EDS film, while a large inter-electrode spacing and thin
dielectric
mirror) surface. is anright
The ultrathin
strips shows interconnections Glass, of
on a module (or a solar mirror) surface. The right strips shows interconnections electrodes provides high optical reflection that minimize ∆Isc
ofthe the
the transparent
three-phase
three-phase electrodes, made of AgNW, are deposited
electrodes.
electrodes.
on the glass film, and then affixed on a Module (or a solar for mirrors and high transmission efficiency reducing ∆Isc for
mirror) surface. The right strips shows interconnections of modules.
the three-phase electrodes. Fig. 3.ofElectric
B. Modeling field distribution
Transmission on the EDS solar
loss of EDS-laminated
panel film surface
Fig. 3. Electric
Transmission lossfieldof distribution
sunlight byonEDS the EDSlamination was
film EXPERIMENTAL
V. surface STUDIES, RESULTS &
modeled by using FRED Optical modeling for two electrode
DISCUSSIONS
geometries and for electrode materials with different optical
V. EXPERIMENTAL
transparency as shown in Table STUDIES,
I. TheRESULTS
model showed & calcu-
An environment-controlled
DISCUSSIONS test chamber was used
lated transmission efficiency after 4% loss caused by reflection
Fig. 6. (A) EDS film on ultrathin flexible glass (Corning
R
Willow
R
Glass) for evaluation of all laboratory-scale EDS films (Fig. 6).
Fig. loss by the glass surface at normal incidence. This loss is
and (A)film
(B)2.EDS EDS film with
laminated AgNW
on a solar panel.electrodes deposited on TheAnhumidity inside the chamber
environment-controlled was controlled
test chamber was used using a
always present unless the glass surface is coated with an anti-
a thin glass film and (B) an EDS film laminated on a solar formicrocontroller
evaluation of all to laboratory-scale
activate EDSafilms
either (Fig. 6). or a
humidifier
Fig. 2. (A) EDS film with AgNW electrodes deposited on reflective (AR) coating. We assume that silver paste (Ag-paste)
panel. The humidity inside
dehumidifier. the chamber was controlled using a used
EDS
a thinfilm
glassconstructed
film and (B)with silverfilm
an EDS nanowire
laminated(AgNW) and
on a solar electrode will be For opaquehumidification, a nebulizer
with 0% transmission was
as shown in
microcontroller
for1 increasing to activate
moisture(AgNW) either a humidifier
content electrode
within the or
chamber.a A
chrome
panel.(Cr) electrodes were produced in the lab using screen row and
dehumidifier. silver nanowire
For humidification, a nominal will
nebulizer openings have
was used of 88 95%
Both ultrathin borosilicate glass film and the OCA vibratory sieve (No. 170) with
printers andfor
photolithography transmittance as shown contentin row within
6 of Table I. The last A row
film used lamination onprocesses,
the front respectively.
cover glass of PV forµm increasing
was usedmoisture
to sievewith and 0%deposit the chamber.
JSC-1A dustfilmsimulant
Both ultrathin borosilicate glass film and the OCA shows
vibratory sieve (No. 170) with nominal openings of 88 after
the transmittance loss in the EDS
module
B. Optical oranda Electrical
second surface
Properties silver mirror, Film
of Electrode meet the uniformly over the EDS-PV sample.
film used for lamination on the front cover glass of PV the
µm reflection
was used to loss.
sieveTwo andelectrode geometries
deposit JSC-1A dustare considered
simulant
required low transmission loss (< 1%) and outdoors Experimental data on the restoration of Isc, which
module
Both or a flexible
ultrathin second glass
surfaceandsilver mirror,film
the OCA meet
usedthefor (1) electrode
uniformly overwidth w = 42.5
the EDS-PV µm and
sample. inter-electrode spacingis
durability
requiredtoandtheimpact
low resistance
transmission lossofagainst
(<
PV1%) dust
and or deposition
outdoors proportional to the power output of a solar panel and dust
lamination front cover glass module a second g = Experimental
500 µm withdata electrode thickness hof =
on the restoration 3.5 µm,
Isc, which is and
with a high
durability velocity
and impact(dust storm)
meetresistance and hail
against damage.
dust transmission
deposition removal
w = 80 toµm,efficiency, are shown in Table 1. Short circuit
surface silver mirror, the required low light proportional
(2) the gpower= 700 µm ofand
output h =panel
a solar 3.5 µm.and dustThe first
losswith a high
(< 1%) velocity
over (dustsolar
the entire storm) and hailwhen
spectrum, damage.
corrected for current
removal
case Isc was in
efficiency,
is realizable measured
are shown(1) in under
gravure-offset Table clean
1.
printing Short
and condition,
circuit
the second (2)
the reflection loss. These materials also meetEDS
For successful operation of the film, the
the requirement after
current dust
I
case appliessc
deposition
was measured and
(1) (3)
underafter activation
clean condition,
to screen-printing of the electrodes with silver of the
(2) EDS
electrodesFor must have
successful high
operationtransparency,
of the EDS low
film,
of UV radiation resistance, mechanical flexibility and outdoorsheet
the film.
after Andeposition
dust
nanowires. EDSelectrodes
The filmandwith(3) chrome
areafter electrode
activation
rectangular in of was
the EDS
shape. laminated
electrodes must have high transparency, low sheet
durability. For successful operation of the EDS film, the elec- film. An EDS film with chrome electrode was
The model prediction shows that it is necessary to have the laminated
trode material must have (1) high transparency (> 85%), (2) electrodes with at least 80% transmittance to have the EDS
low sheet resistance (preferably < 200 Ω/), (3) mechanical lamination loss less than 1.5% with respect to the transmission
flexibility, (4) ease of fabrication in a large-scale production efficiency without EDS lamination. In these modeling calcu-
environment, and (5) outdoor durability (25+ years). Ag-paste lations we have neglected the fact that the forward scattered
electrodes provide proven durability in solar fields as used in light will enter the solar panel, which would provide a higher
mono-crystalline Si solar panels, but it is opaque and cause optical path length and high collection efficiency.
shading loss. For the case of CSP mirrors we have considered reflective
silver ink electrode. This electrode material is similar to Ag-
IV. M ODELING & E XPERIMENTAL S TUDIES
paste electrode but with high reflecting property (> 60%).
A. Electrode materials and geometrical pattern FRED Modeling of reflecting electrodes is shown in Table II
The choice of material for the electrodes is constrained for an angle of incidence at 15◦ degrees. We considered the
by the availability of materials and roll-to-roll production same two electrode geometries as in Table I. In this case we
method to be used to pattern them for high volume, low- considered electrodes of different reflectivity (Reflection effi-
cost production. To meet these and the requirements listed ciency varying from 60 to 95%) and for electrodes completely
above, we limited our choice to (1) silver nanowire (AgNW) absorbing light without reflection (similar to that of Ag-paste).

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TABLE I deposition and (3) after activation of the EDS film. An EDS
FRED OPTICAL MODELING OF SUNLIGHT TRANSMISSION EFFICIENCY OF film with chrome electrode was laminated on a solar panel.
EDS FILM - LAMINATED SOLAR PANEL AFTER 4% FRONT- SURFACE
REFLECTION LOSS . The EDS was operated with 1.2 kV 3-phase 5 Hz pulsed
voltage.
Electrode w = 42.5 µm w = 80 µm
Geometry h = 3.5 µm h = 0.95 µm TABLE III
g = 500 µm g = 700 µm M EASUREMENT OF THE RESTORATION OF THE SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENT.
Electrode Transmission Transmission
Isc with Isc after dust Isc after EDS Restored
Transmission Efficiency Efficiency clean surface [mA] deposition [mA] activation [mA] Isc [%]
0 0.8742 0.8512 410 322 393 95.8
0.6 0.9235 0.9144 415 296 397 95.6
404 262 393 97.2
0.7 0.9400 0.9354 400 262 386 96.5
0.8 0.9441 0.9407 407 267 395 97.0
0.9 0.9482 0.9460 403 270 387 96.0
402 271 390 97.0
0.95 0.9523 0.9512 403 271 390 96.7
No electrodes 0.9564 0.9564 411 276 387 94.1
417 283 404 96.8

Here also we considered two cases: (1) both top and bottom
surfaces of the electrode are reflecting and (2) only top surface TABLE IV
is reflecting and the bottom surface is absorbing. The results D UST REMOVAL EFFICIENCY (DRE) FROM DUST MASS MEASUREMENTS
OF AN EDS FILM LAMINATED SOLAR PANEL
show that if the electrodes have reflection efficiency 90% or
higher on both sides, the SR loss would be less than 3%. Experimental m0 mr DRE
Run
TABLE II 1 0.0461 0.0061 86.8%
FRED M ODELING OF SPECULAR REFLECTIVITY OF EDS FILM WITH
REFLECTIVE ELECTRODES WITH DIFFERENT REFLECTIVITY FOR TWO 2 0.0500 0.0063 87.4 %
ELECTRODE GEOMETRIES . 3 0.0845 0.0105 87.6%
4 0.1076 0.0118 89.0%
Electrode w = 42.5 µm w = 80 µm
Geometry h = 3.5 µm h = 0.95 µm 5 0.1000 0.0129 87.1%
g = 500 µm g = 700 µm 6 0.0857 0.0074 91.3%
Electrode Bottom Bottom Bottom Bottom 7 0.0697 0.0062 91.1%
Reflectivity Reflecting Nonreflecting Reflecting Nonreflecting
R Loss Loss Loss Loss 8 0.0779 0.0079 89.8%
0 — 0.8257 — 0.8144 9 0.1076 0.0104 90.3%
0.6 0.9229 0.8739 0.9114 0.881 10 0.0781 0.0095 87.83%
0.7 0.9391 0.8820 0.9307 0.8923
0.8 0.9554 0.8901 0.9508 0.9037
0.9 0.9717 0.8982 0.9718 0.9151 Percentage restoration was determined from the ratio of
0.95 0.9798 0.9022 0.9827 0.9208 Isc restored/Isc under clean optical surface and (2) the dust
removal efficiency (DRE) of the EDS-solar panel (Table 4)
C. Dust Removal Efficiency and Solar Panel Power Output was measured from the ratio of (m0 − mr )/m0 where m0
Restoration Measurements is the dust mass deposited on the panel with surface area
approximately 100 cm2 ) and mr is the dust mass remaining
An environment-controlled test chamber was used for eval- on the panel after EDS activation.
uation of all laboratory-scale EDS films. The humidity inside
the chamber was controlled using a microcontroller to activate
B. Specular Reflectivity Restoration (SRR) Measurements
either a humidifier or a dehumidifier. For humidification, a
nebulizer was used for increasing moisture content within the Specular Reflectance (SR) of a solar mirror restored after
chamber. A vibratory sieve (No. 170) with nominal openings repeated deposition of test dust obtained from Sandia National
of 88 µm was used to sieve and deposit JSC-1A dust simulant Laboratories solar field and EDS-based removal (Fig. 7).
[17] uniformly over the EDS-PV sample. The EDS film was constructed with silver nanowire (AgNW)
electrodes, printed on a Corning R
Willow R
Glass film as
V. R ESULTS & D ISCUSSIONS
shown in Fig. 5. The EDS was operated with 1.2 kV 3-phase
A. Restoration of Short Circuit Current 5 Hz pulsed voltage.
Experimental data on the restoration of Isc , which is propor- An EDS film with reflective chrome electrodes (65% reflec-
tional to the power output of a solar panel and dust removal tivity) was constructed and laminated on a mirror. The specular
efficiency, are shown in Tables III and IV. Short circuit current reflection efficiency was measured and was found to be 91.5%,
Isc was measured (1) under clean condition, (2) after dust which is close to the model prediction shown in Table II.

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Specular Reflectance [%] barrier against moisture and oxygen ingress. Application of
initial clean dust loaded EDS cleaned a protective coating needs further studies.
90
VI. C ONCLUSIONS
85
80 Experimental studies showed that a transparent EDS film
75 can be used to laminate solar panels and mirrors for self-
70 cleaning function without requiring water. Optimal design and
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 operating conditions of EDS film, to obtain high restoration
Experimental Run
of short circuit current or specular reflection efficiency (SR),
require durable transparent conducting electrodes with formu-
Fig. 7. Restoration of specular reflectance using EDS film with AgNW lations suitable for high-through-put printing processes. Dust
electrodes laminated on a mirror.
removal efficiency for a wide range of particle size distribution
requires optimal electrode geometry depending upon the prop-
C. Energy consumption in operating EDS film erties of the electrode materials. Specular reflectance efficiency
An EDS film with 100 cm2 active area was tested to studies showed that electrodes with transparent AgNW ink and
examine the energy consumption needed for operating the EDS reflecting silver ink work best at restoring the initial SR values.
at different relative humidity (RH). The experimental data are Different methods for encapsulating Ag-electrode materials
shown in Table 5. needs further investigations with respect to their durability,
stability and performance.
TABLE V
E NERGY DRAWN BY EDS FILM FROM A 12 V POWER SUPPLY UNIT AT ACKNOWLEDGMENT
DIFFERENT RH.
We acknowledge the grant from the Department of En-
Relative Current Power (W) Energy/cycle ergy (DOE CSP APOLLO EE0007119) for supporting this
humidity Draw (A) (Wh/m2 /cycle) research project on “Enhancement of Optical Efficiency of
25 0.06 0.72 0.0024 CSP Mirrors for Reducing O&M Cost via Near-Continuous
Arash Sayyah Operation of Self-Cleaning Electrodynamic Screens (EDS)”.
April 15, 37.6
2016 0.06 0.72 0.0024
52.0 0.06 0.72 0.0024 Support from MassCEC for a cost-sharing grant on the project
70.0 0.06
1
0.72 0.0024 is acknowledged. We also acknowledge the support from our
80.2 0.06 0.72 0.0024 partners including Corning R
, Industrial Technology Research
87.5 0.06 0.72 0.0024 Institute (ITRI), Geodrill
R
, and Sandia National Laboratory
89.0 0.06 0.72 0.0024 and contributions from our colleagues Hannah Gibson, Fang
90.0 0.06 0.72 0.0024 Hao, and John Hudelson.
R EFERENCES
The results show that energy requirement per m2 of EDS [1] A. Sayyah, M. N. Horenstein, and M. K. Mazumder, “Energy yield loss
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