Characteristics of a Veteran Acrylic Lens Relative to Acrylic Lens Materials After Accelerated Laboratory Weathering

The durability of poly(methyl methacrylate) is examined using veteran lenses obtained from CPV modules fielded for 27 years in Phoenix. The lens facets were milled from the lens interior, followed by depth-specific toming to characterize variation at four depths through the thickness. Optical transmittance was measured using a spectrophotometer, both with and without an integrating sphere. Diffuse transmittance (the optical haze) and yellowness index were determined from the transmittance. Molecular weight was characterized using size exclusion chromatography, also in conjunction with the toming. The veteran lens material is compared to contemporary PMMA formulations, aged in an indoor chamber. The modest reductions in transmittance and molecular weight for the lenses were generally similar to those of the contemporary materials, suggesting an indoor accelerated aging test might be used; additional tests must, however, be applied to invoke the haze, uniquely observed for the lens specimen.