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Optical simulation of a central receiver system: Comparison of different software tools

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  • Jafrancesco, David
  • Cardoso, Joao P.
  • Mutuberria, Amaia
  • Leonardi, Erminia
  • Les, Iñigo
  • Sansoni, Paola
  • Francini, Franco
  • Fontani, Daniela

Abstract

Heliostat field layout design is a critical task in solar tower power plant construction due to its impact in the final plant efficiency and cost. The complexity of these systems and the high number of parameters to define during the field design stage demand the use of suitable simulation tools to compare different design options and evaluate the final performance of the heliostat field. This work concerns a comparison of some of the most common tools used for the heliostat field layout design and analysis, aiming to help Concentrating Solar Power researchers and industry by providing more information regarding the tools comparative results and features. A brief review of available tools is presented, including an extended description of some of them – Tonatiuh, SolTrace, TracePro and CRS4-2. A qualitative comparison of these four tools is performed focusing on functionality and usability. A quantitative comparison is done providing simulation results for a test-case, the SPSS-CRS facility located at Plataforma Solar de Almeria in Spain. In general, the results for total power and maximum irradiance are in good agreement across most tools. The total power values are very close for Tonatiuh, SolTrace and CRS4-2. Apart from the designer preferences, the choice of the most suitable tool depends on the specific application and requirements.

Suggested Citation

  • Jafrancesco, David & Cardoso, Joao P. & Mutuberria, Amaia & Leonardi, Erminia & Les, Iñigo & Sansoni, Paola & Francini, Franco & Fontani, Daniela, 2018. "Optical simulation of a central receiver system: Comparison of different software tools," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 792-803.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:94:y:2018:i:c:p:792-803
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2018.06.028
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    Cited by:

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    6. Wang, Ding & Chen, Yuxuan & Xiao, Hu & Zhang, Yanping, 2022. "Effects of geometric and operating parameters on thermal performance of conical cavity receivers using supercritical CO2 as heat transfer fluid," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 804-819.
    7. Rajan, Abhinav & Reddy, K.S., 2023. "Integrated optical and thermal model to investigate the performance of a solar parabolic dish collector coupled with a cavity receiver," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
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    9. Georgios E. Arnaoutakis & Dimitris Al. Katsaprakakis, 2021. "Concentrating Solar Power Advances in Geometric Optics, Materials and System Integration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, September.
    10. Hassan, Atazaz & Quanfang, Chen & Abbas, Sajid & Lu, Wu & Youming, Luo, 2021. "An experimental investigation on thermal and optical analysis of cylindrical and conical cavity copper tube receivers design for solar dish concentrator," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1849-1864.
    11. Hachicha, Ahmed Amine & Yousef, Bashria A.A. & Said, Zafar & Rodríguez, Ivette, 2019. "A review study on the modeling of high-temperature solar thermal collector systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 280-298.
    12. El-Samie, Mostafa M. Abd & Ju, Xing & Zhang, Zheyang & Adam, Saadelnour Abdueljabbar & Pan, Xinyu & Xu, Chao, 2020. "Three-dimensional numerical investigation of a hybrid low concentrated photovoltaic/thermal system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    13. Emmanuel Wendsongre Ramde & Eric Tutu Tchao & Yesuenyeagbe Atsu Kwabla Fiagbe & Jerry John Kponyo & Asakipaam Simon Atuah, 2020. "Pilot Low-Cost Concentrating Solar Power Systems Deployment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study of Implementation Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-14, August.
    14. Praveen R. P., 2019. "Performance Analysis and Optimization of Central Receiver Solar Thermal Power Plants for Utility Scale Power Generation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    15. Tang, X.Y. & Yang, W.W. & Yang, Y. & Jiao, Y.H. & Zhang, T., 2021. "A design method for optimizing the secondary reflector of a parabolic trough solar concentrator to achieve uniform heat flux distribution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    16. Collado, Francisco J. & Guallar, Jesus, 2019. "Quick design of regular heliostat fields for commercial solar tower power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 115-125.

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