Calibration, deflectometry, kinematic, weather
Our web page offers an HTML-browsable version of the data from the concentrating solar power plant in Jülich, Germany, with the global power plant id (GPPD) WRI1030197. A programmatic API is provided in our repository as a PyTorch dataset and STAC client.
The PAINT database includes Tower Properties, Calibration data, Deflectometry data, Heliostat Properties data, and Weather data. Below, you find an overview of all the available data.
The tower properties data is stored in a single JSON file, which contains information about the coordinates of the power plant, the receiver, and all calibration targets. This file primarily focuses on the coordinates that define each calibration target and the receiver. It also includes details about the type of receiver installed at the site. These coordinates are illustrated in the image below.
The calibration images are saved as PNG files and multiple formats are available. Below are examples from Heliostat AA23:
Image Type | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
Raw Image | Original calibration image showing one or more targets, unprocessed and possibly skewed. |
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Cropped Image | Grayscale image showing only the relevant calibration target, cropped from the raw image. |
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Flux Image | Image derived with the UTIS model, showing relative flux distribution and background separation. |
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Flux Centered Image | Processed flux image centered around the focal spot and scaled to a uniform size. |
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Each calibration image has an associated JSON file containing properties information for this image. These properties include themotor positions, the target name,focal spot centroids, and the sun elevation &sun azimuth using the south-based azimuth system.
Each deflectometry measurement includes a PDF summary containing general information, graphs, and a results overview. While not critical for plant operation, it gives insight into the measurement campaign.
The core deflectometry data is a HDF5 contains measuredsurface points and corresponding surface normals for each facet on the heliostat. To account for missing data during acquisition, we provide both a raw and filled HDF5, whereby in the filled HDF5 file missing points are replaced with ideal data points generated by the QDec_2014-01 system.
For each heliostat a JSON file containing heliostat properties is provided. This data includes thegeographic position, the physical dimensions, information on the initial orientationsand any pastrenovation history. Furthermore, detailed information on the facet and kinematic properties are provided.
This information describes the reflective mirror configuration, by describing the canting type, the number of facets. Each facet has a translation_vector
and canting direction vectors (canting_e
, canting_n
) which are shown in the image below and define its position and orientation.
All heliostats use a two-actuator kinematic structure, allowing movement in two directions. These actuators introduce mechanicaloffsets that are described via translation vectors for three components: joint one, joint two, and the concentrator. These translations vectors point in the east, north, and up directions and are shown on the image below.
Finally, the actual actuators have multipleactuator parameters which are defined in the table below and highlighted in the final reference image.
Parameter Name | Description | Reference |
---|---|---|
type_axis | Type of actuator motion (e.g., linear, rotary). | -- |
min_increment | Minimum step the actuator can move. | -- |
max_increment | Maximum actuator increment range. | -- |
increment | Total number of increments per full stroke. | -- |
offset_shift | Adjustment in the actuator’s zero position. | (4) in following reference image |
initial_stroke_length | Initial extension length of the actuator. | (5) in following reference image |
offset | Physical offset from the actuator axis to the pivot. | (3) in following reference image |
pivot_radius | Radius from the pivot center to actuator anchor. | (2) in following reference image |
radius_shift | Shift in pivot radius due to geometry. | (1) in following reference image |
clockwise_axis_movement | Boolean indicating movement direction: 0 = counterclockwise, 1 = clockwise. | -- |
initial_angle | Starting angular position. | -- |
min_movement_angle | Minimum angular range allowed. | -- |
max_movement_angle | Maximum angular range allowed. | -- |
movement_speed | Speed at which actuator moves. | -- |
Meteorological weather data is provided from a weather station at the Jülich tower at a 1 s resolution and from the DWD weather station Aachen-Orsbach with the ID 1500 at a 1 min or 1 h resolution.
The weather data is saved in the HDF5 format. For the Jülich tower there is one HDF5 file per month of recorded data whilst all data from the DWD weather station is in one single HDF5 file.
An overview of the weather variables recorded and associated data is provided in the table below.
Variable Name | Description | Units | Temporal Resolution | Jülich | DWD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
atmospheric_pressure | Atmospheric pressure. | hPa | 1 s | ✓ | |
cloud_cover_1h | Total cloud cover. | fraction (1/8) | 1 h | ✓ | |
diffuse_irradiation | Diffuse part of the solar irradiance. | W/m² | 1 s | ✓ | |
direct_irradiation | Direct part of the solar irradiance. | W/m² | 1 s | ✓ | |
global_irradiation | Total (diffuse + direct) solar irradiance. | W/m² | 1 s | ✓ | |
global_radiation_10min | Sum of solar incoming radiation. | J/cm² | 10 min | ✓ | |
humidity_1h | The humidity. | % | 1 h | ✓ | |
long_wave_radiation_10min | Sum of longwave downward radiation. | J/cm² | 10 min | ✓ | |
precipitation | Rainfall amount. | mm/day | 1 s | ✓ | |
pressure_vapor_1h | Vapor pressure. | hPa | 1 h | ✓ | |
relative_humidity | Relative humidity. | % | 1 s | ✓ | |
short_wave_radiation_10min | Diffuse solar radiation. | J/cm² | 10 min | ✓ | |
sunshine_duration_10min | Duration of sunshine. | h | 10 min | ✓ | |
temperature | Ambient air temperature. | °C | 1 s | ✓ | |
temperature_diffuse | Temperature related to diffuse irradiance. | °C | 1 s | ✓ | |
temperature_direct | Temperature related to direct irradiance. | °C | 1 s | ✓ | |
temperature_global | Temperature related to global irradiance. | °C | 1 s | ✓ | |
time | Timestamps. | - | 1 s | ✓ | |
visibility_range_1h | Range of visibility. | m | 1 h | ✓ | |
weather_type_1h | Encoded weather condition type. | - | 1 h | ✓ | |
wind_direction | Wind direction. | Degrees (0–360) | 1 s | ✓ | |
wind_speed | Wind speed. | m/s | 1 s | ✓ |
The PAINT database uses broadly applied and widely recognized data formats to ensure accessibility and interoperability. These include JSON, PNG, PDF, and HDF5.
All data is licensed under the liberal Community Data License Agreement – Permissive – Version 2.0 (CDLA 2.0) license and the corresponding source code is available under theMIT license.