Wind and Structural Loads on Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors at Nevada Solar One

Dataset · Fri Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.25984/2001061· OSTI ID:2001061

Egerer, Ulrike ^[1]; Dana, Scott; Stanislawski, Brooke; Jager, David; Xia, Geng; Yellapantula, Shashank

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1. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Wind loading is a main contributor to structural design costs of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) collectors, such as heliostats and parabolic troughs. These structures must resist the mechanical forces generated by turbulent wind. At the same time, the reflector surfaces must exhibit the necessary rigidity to maintain their optimal optical performance in windy conditions. Over two years, NREL conducted comprehensive field measurements of the atmospheric turbulent wind conditions and the resulting structural wind loads on parabolic troughs at the Nevada Solar One (NSO) plant. The measurement set-up included meteorological masts and structural load sensors on four trough rows. Additionally, we commissioned a lidar scanning the horizontal plane over the trough field. This data set catalogs the high-resolution data set characterizing the complex flow field and resulting structural loads on parabolic trough collectors. By providing this first-of-its-kind data set to the CSP community, we aim to enhance the community's understanding of wind-loading experienced by CSP collector structures. This data set will also help design next-generation solar collectors and photovoltaic trackers.

• Research Organization: DOE Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI); National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)
• Contributing Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
• OSTI ID: 2001061
• Report Number(s): 5938
• Availability: [e-mail]
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Array
CSP
Concentrated Solar
Nevada Solar One
Structural Loading
Wind
data
energy
flow field
optimal optical performance
parabolic trough
power
processed data
solar
solar collector
solar power
structural design
structural load
wind conditions
wind impact
wind load