Effect of high receiver thermal loss per unit area on the performance of solar central receiver systems having optimum heliostat fields and optimum receiver aperture areas
Recent efforts in solar central receiver research have been directed toward high temperature applications. Associated with high temperature processes are greater receiver thermal losses due to reradiation and convection. The performance of central receiver systems having optimum heliostat fields and receiver aperture areas as a function of receiver thermal loss per unit area of receiver aperture are examined. The results address the problem of application optimization (loss varies) as opposed to the problem of optimization of a design for a specific application (loss fixed). Results are presented for tower focal heights of 150 and 180 m. Values of L ranging from 0.04 to 0.50 MW m/sup -2/ were considered, roughly corresponding to working fluid temperatures (at receiver exit) in the range of 650 to 1650/sup 0/C. As L increases over this range, the receiver thermal efficiency and the receiver interception factor decrease. The optimal power level drops by almost half, and the cost per unit of energy produced increases by about 25% for the base case set of design assumptions. The resulting decrease in solar subsystem efficiency (relative to the defined annual input energy) from 0.57 to 0.35 is about 40% and is a significant effect. Unoptimized systems would experience an even greater degradation in performance.
- OSTI ID:
- 5804163
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
140702* -- Solar Thermal Power Systems-- Central Receiver
CENTRAL RECEIVERS
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY LOSSES
EQUIPMENT
HEAT LOSSES
HELIOSTATS
LOSSES
OPTIMIZATION
PERFORMANCE
POWER PLANTS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR POWER PLANTS
SOLAR RECEIVERS
SOLAR THERMAL POWER PLANTS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
TOWER FOCUS POWER PLANTS