Publications

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Solar Two was a demonstration of the viability of molten salt power towers. The power tower was designed to produce enough thermal power to run a 10-MWe conventional Rankine cycle turbine. A critical component of this process was the solar tower receiver. The receiver was designed for an applied average heat flux of 430 kW/m2 with an outlet temperature of 565°C (838.15 K). The mass flow rate could be varied in the system to control the outlet temperature of the heat transfer fluid, which was high temperature molten salt. The heat loss in the actual system was calculated by using the power-on method which compares how much power is absorbed by the molten salt when using half of the heliostat field and then the full heliostat field. However, the total heat loss in the system was lumped into a single value comprised of radiation, convection, and conduction heat transfer losses. In this study, ANSYS FLUENT was used to evaluate and characterize the radiative and convective heat losses from this receiver system assuming two boundary conditions: (1) a uniform heat flux on the receiver and (2) a distributed heat flux generated from the code DELSOL. The results show that the distributed-flux models resulted in radiative heat losses that were ∼14% higher than the uniform-flux models, and convective losses that were ∼5-10% higher due to the resulting non-uniform temperature distributions. Comparing the simulations to known convective heat loss correlations demonstrated that surface roughness should be accounted for in the simulations. This study provides a model which can be used for further receiver design and demonstrates whether current convective correlations are appropriate for analytical evaluation of external solar tower receivers. Copyright © 2012 by ASME.

Pyromark 2500 is a silicone-based high-temperature paint that has been used on central receivers to increase solar absorptance. The cost, application, curing methods, radiative properties, and absorber efficiency of Pyromark 2500 are presented in this paper for use as a baseline for comparison to high-temperature solar selective absorber coatings currently being developed. The directional solar absorptance was calculated from directional spectral absorptance data, and values for pristine samples of Pyromark 2500 were as high as 0.96-0.97 at near normal incidence angles. At higher irradiance angles (>40° - 60°), the solar absorptance decreased. The total hemispherical emittance of Pyromark 2500 was calculated from spectral directional emittance data measured at room temperature and 600°C. The total hemispherical emittance values ranged from ∼0.80-0.89 at surface temperatures ranging from 100°C - 1,000°C. The aging and degradation of Pyromark 2500 with exposure at elevated temperatures were also examined. Previous tests showed that solar receiver panels had to be repainted after three years due to a decrease in solar absorptance to 0.88 at the Solar One central receiver pilot plant. Laboratory studies also showed that exposure of Pyromark 2500 at high temperatures (750°C and higher) resulted in significant decreases in solar absorptance within a few days. However, at 650°C and below, the solar absorptance did not decrease appreciably after several thousand hours of testing. Finally, the absorber efficiency of Pyromark 2500 was determined as a function of temperature and irradiance using the calculated solar absorptance and emittance values presented in this paper. Copyright © 2012 by ASME.

The collector aperture and diameter of the receiver of a parabolic trough were studied to investigate the relative impacts of parasitic pressure drop, heat losses, and heat flux intercepted by the receiver tube. The configuration of an LS-2 parabolic trough was used as the baseline, and the size of the HCE and collector aperture were parametrically varied using values between the baseline and twice their original size. A Matlab computer model was created to determine the flux on the receiver, heat loss from the HCE, and pressure drop within the heat transfer fluid (HTF) at each combination of aperture size and receiver diameter. Flux on the receiver is calculated for each geometry assuming a Gaussian flux distribution. Based on pressure data from SEGS VII, the standard Darcy-Weisbach equation for the pressure drop was modified to include the contribution that connective joints of varying quantities and types have on the pressure drop within the HTF. The model employs the Sandia thermal resistive network and iteratively solves for the temperatures accounting for various heat transfer modes that contribute to the heat lost by the HCE. The Matlab model expresses pressure drop and heat losses in terms of electric power. It does this by calculating both the power required to pump the HTF for varying pressure drops and the power that could have been produced if heat was not lost to the environment. The Matlab model displays the results in the form of surface plots that represent the values of heat loss, efficiency, pumping power, etc. as a function of aperture size and receiver diameter. The combined effects of pressure drop, heat loss, and heat flux intercepted by the receiver tube were evaluated, and results show that configurations with receiver diameters ranging from 85-90 millimeters and large (up to 10 meter) aperture sizes minimize the overall power consumption and maximize the efficiency of a single loop. Structural effects, wind and gravity loads, and factors associated with the balance of plant were not considered. Copyright © 2011 by ASME.

Predicting the structural and optical performance of concentrating solar power (CSP) collectors is critical to the design and performance of CSP systems. This paper presents a performance analysis which utilizes finite-element models and ray-tracing of a parabolic trough collector. The finite-element models were used to determine the impact of gravity loads on displacements and rotations of the facet surfaces, resulting in slope error distributions across the reflective surfaces. The geometry of the LUZ LS-2 parabolic trough collector was modeled in SolidWorks, and the effects of gravity on the reflective surfaces are analyzed using SolidWorks Simulation. The ideal mirror shape, along with the 90° and 0° positions (with gravity deformation) were evaluated for the LS-2. The ray-tracing programs APEX and ASAP are used to assess the impact of gravity deformations on optical performance. In the first part of the analysis, a comprehensive study is performed for the parabolic trough to evaluate a random slope error threshold (i.e., induced by manufacturing errors and assembly processes) above which additional slope errors caused by gravity sag decrease the intercept factor of the system. The optical performance of the deformed shape of the collector (in both positions) is analyzed with additional induced slope errors ranging from zero up to 1° (17.44 mrad). The intercept factor for different solar incident angles found from ray-tracing is then compared to empirical data to demonstrate if the simulations provide consistent answers with experimental data. Copyright © 2011 by ASME.

Heliostat vibrations can degrade optical pointing accuracy while fatiguing the structural components. This paper reports the use of structural dynamic measurements for design evaluation and monitoring of heliostat vibrations. A heliostat located at the National Solar Thermal Testing Facility (NSTTF) at Sandia Labs in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been instrumented to measure its modes of vibration, strain and displacements under wind loading. The information gained from these tests will be used to evaluate and improve structural models that predict the motions/deformations of the heliostat due to gravitational and dynamic wind loadings. These deformations can cause optical errors and motions that degrade the performance of the heliostat. The main contributions of this work include: (1) demonstration of the role of structural dynamic tests (also known as modal tests) to provide a characterization of the important dynamics of the heliostat structure as they relate to durability and optical accuracy, (2) the use of structural dynamic tests to provide data to evaluate and improve the accuracy of computer-based design models, and (3) the selection of sensors and data-processing techniques that are appropriate for long-term monitoring of heliostat motions. Copyright © 2011 by ASME.

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With a growing number of concentrating solar power systems being designed and developed, the potential impact of glint and glare from concentrating solar collectors and receivers is receiving increased attention as a potential hazard or as a distraction for motorists, pilots, and pedestrians. This paper provides analytical methods to evaluate the irradiance originating from specularly and diffusely reflecting sources as a function of distance and characteristics of the source. Sample problems are provided for both specular and diffuse sources, and validation of the models is performed via testing. In addition, a summary of safety metrics is compiled from the literature to evaluate the potential hazards of calculated irradiances from glint and glare for short-term exposures. Previous safety metrics have focused on prevention of permanent eye damage (e.g., retinal burn). New metrics used in this paper account for temporary after-image, which can occur at irradiance values several orders of magnitude lower than the irradiance values required for irreversible eye damage. © 2011 American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

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