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Three-dimensional transient numerical model for the thermal performance of the solar receiver

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  • Xu, Li
  • Stein, Wesley
  • Kim, Jin-Soo
  • Wang, Zhifeng

Abstract

For solar thermal power plants, no steady-state operation occurs in view of inherently transient natures of their initial and boundary conditions. So this study proposes a mathematical model to perform the analysis on the transient behaviors of the external solar receiver in the tower power technology. This 3D transient model was established by dividing the receiver tube into discrete control volumes and then applying the conservation of thermal energy to every single differential control volume. In addition, this model was validated by simulating the HTF temperature distributions and then comparing them with the reference results. By calculating the time-dependent and non-uniform temperature fields of the receiver tube, this paper focuses attention on the evolution of transient processes in several common scenarios involving the mass flowrate variation, the start-up process and the occurrence of the heavy clouds above the heliostat field. Particularly, the analysis of the transient thermal performance highlights some noteworthy characteristics including serious problems such as the corrosion, the thermal stress and the fatigue in the typical transitions, which might require the control system to correspondingly adjust in time.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:120:y:2018:i:c:p:550-566
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2017.12.055
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Zhang, Qiang & Cao, Donghong & Ge, Zhihua & Du, Xiaoze, 2020. "Response characteristics of external receiver for concentrated solar power to disturbance during operation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    4. Rafique, Muhammad M. & Nathan, Graham & Saw, Woei, 2021. "A mathematical model to assess the influence of transients on a refractory-lined solar receiver," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 217-235.
    5. Chen, Jinli & Xiao, Gang & Xu, Haoran & Zhou, Xin & Yang, Jiamin & Ni, Mingjiang & Cen, Kefa, 2022. "Experiment and dynamic simulation of a solar tower collector system for power generation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 946-958.
    6. Chen, Jinli & Xiao, Gang & Ferrari, Mario Luigi & Yang, Tianfeng & Ni, Mingjiang & Cen, Kefa, 2020. "Dynamic simulation of a solar-hybrid microturbine system with experimental validation of main parts," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 187-200.
    7. Yang, Honglun & Li, Jing & Huang, Yihang & Kwan, Trevor Hocksun & Cao, Jingyu & Pei, Gang, 2020. "Feasibility research on a hybrid solar tower system using steam and molten salt as heat transfer fluid," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    8. Haoyu Huang & Ershu Xu & Lengge Si & Qiang Zhang & Qiang Huang, 2023. "Dynamic Thermal Transport Characteristics of a Real-Time Simulation Model for a 50 MW Solar Power Tower Plant," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-16, February.

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