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Off-design simulation and performance of molten salt cavity receivers in solar tower plants under realistic operational modes and control strategies

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  • Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed
  • Taylor, Robert A.

Abstract

Solar irradiation is intermittent, but concentrated solar thermal (CST) plants are typically designed and analyzed solely based on their steady design point. Unlike coal power plants, however, CST plants frequently experience thermal loads well above and below their rated design point, leading to off-design operation for much of the operational year. Importantly, if a latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) system is employed, the receiver inlet temperature can vary under these conditions. To date, there is a clear lack of knowledge for how to handle off-design conditions in terms of developing appropriate control strategies to maximize the receiver thermal output and its operational region. In this study, a thermal model was developed and validated that is suitable for design/off-design performance analyses of molten salt cavity receivers in both steady state and transient conditions. The study investigated two control strategies – a fixed receiver flow rate (FF) and fixed receiver outlet temperature (FT) – for their off-design performance in each of two off-design operational modes (storage and non-storage). Solar field utilization (SFU) is variable in non-storage mode, but in the storage mode, it is whether variable or fixed at design point (SFU=1). The feasible operating region in this study refers to the zone restricted by maximum allowable operational parameters defined based on design point analysis, mainly maximum receiver outlet temperature, maximum flow rate, and maximum receiver surface temperature.

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  • Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed & Taylor, Robert A., 2016. "Off-design simulation and performance of molten salt cavity receivers in solar tower plants under realistic operational modes and control strategies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 698-715.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:179:y:2016:i:c:p:698-715
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.07.032
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    Cited by:

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    6. Crespi, Francesco & Toscani, Andrea & Zani, Paolo & Sánchez, David & Manzolini, Giampaolo, 2018. "Effect of passing clouds on the dynamic performance of a CSP tower receiver with molten salt heat storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C), pages 224-235.
    7. Chen, Rui & Romero, Manuel & González-Aguilar, José & Rovense, Francesco & Rao, Zhenghua & Liao, Shengming, 2022. "Optical and thermal integration analysis of supercritical CO2 Brayton cycles with a particle-based solar thermal plant based on annual performance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 164-179.
    8. Xu, Li & Stein, Wesley & Kim, Jin-Soo & Wang, Zhifeng, 2018. "Three-dimensional transient numerical model for the thermal performance of the solar receiver," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 550-566.
    9. Yang, Moucun & Moghimi, M.A. & Zhu, Yuezhao & Qiao, Runpeng & Wang, Yinfeng & Taylor, Robert A., 2020. "Optical and thermal performance analysis of a micro parabolic trough collector for building integration," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    10. Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed & Shoraka, Yashar & Nithyanandam, Karthik & Taylor, Robert A., 2019. "Shell-and-tube or packed bed thermal energy storage systems integrated with a concentrated solar power: A techno-economic comparison of sensible and latent heat systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 887-910.
    11. Razmi, Amir Reza & Hanifi, Amir Reza & Shahbakhti, Mahdi, 2024. "Techno-economic analysis of a novel concept for the combination of methane pyrolysis in molten salt with heliostat solar field," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    12. Yan, Manli & Yao, Zhang & Nutakki, Tirumala Uday Kumar & Kumar Agrawal, Manoj & Muhammad, Taseer & Albani, Aliashim & Zhao, Zhanping, 2023. "Design and evaluation of a novel heliostat-based combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system: 3E analysis and multi-criteria optimization by response surface methodology (RSM)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    13. Zhang, Li & Fang, Jiabin & Wei, Jinjia & Yang, Guidong, 2017. "Numerical investigation on the thermal performance of molten salt cavity receivers with different structures," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 966-978.
    14. Tiwari, Vivek & Rai, Aakash C. & Srinivasan, P., 2021. "Parametric analysis and optimization of a latent heat thermal energy storage system for concentrated solar power plants under realistic operating conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 305-319.
    15. Yu, Qiang & Fu, Peng & Yang, Yihui & Qiao, Jiafei & Wang, Zhifeng & Zhang, Qiangqiang, 2020. "Modeling and parametric study of molten salt receiver of concentrating solar power tower plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    16. Amani, Madjid & Ghenaiet, Adel, 2020. "Novel hybridization of solar central receiver system with combined cycle power plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    17. Shakibi, Hamid & Shokri, Afshar & Assareh, Ehsanolah & Yari, Mortaza & Lee, Moonyong, 2023. "Using machine learning approaches to model and optimize a combined solar/natural gas-based power and freshwater cogeneration system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    18. Mostafavi Tehrani, S. Saeed & Shoraka, Yashar & Diarce, Gonzalo & Taylor, Robert A., 2019. "An improved, generalized effective thermal conductivity method for rapid design of high temperature shell-and-tube latent heat thermal energy storage systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 694-708.
    19. Liang, Hongbo & Zhu, Chunguang & Fan, Man & You, Shijun & Zhang, Huan & Xia, Junbao, 2018. "Study on the thermal performance of a novel cavity receiver for parabolic trough solar collectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 790-798.

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