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Optimized design of distributed solar thermal transport systems for process heat

Conference · · Proc. Annu. Meet. - Am. Sect. Int. Sol. Energy Soc.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5745751
By nature, solar energy is diffuse, and for most applications it must be collected and transported to be of any value. Distributed concentrating collectors (e.g., dishes or troughs) put this insolation into a working fluid in the form of sensible heat which must then be piped to a central location. For solar thermal systems, energy centralization entails all that must be done to accumulate and deliver this energy to an end use point. Hardly any solar energy design question can be answered without impacting, or being impacted by, the transport subsystem. This fact has resulted in considerable effort being invested by various organizations in developing methodologies for optimizing piping systems. A new design methodology is presented which optimizes the piping networks based on the total system's annual delivered thermal energy costs ($/MMBtu). This tool is utilized for developing complete systems designs to: (1) illuminate the design principles and concerns of generic piping systems; (2) provide cost and performance for such systems; (3) cost-effectively design process heat systems covering a broad range of temperatures and sizes; and finally (4) identify and show the sensitivity of annual delivered thermal energy costs to the important system parameters.
Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Livermore, CA
OSTI ID:
5745751
Report Number(s):
CONF-810509-(Vol.1)
Conference Information:
Journal Name: Proc. Annu. Meet. - Am. Sect. Int. Sol. Energy Soc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 4.1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English