A final report on the Phase I testing of a molten-salt cavity receiver: Volume 1, A summary report

Technical Report · Thu Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6461363· OSTI ID:6461363

Smith, D C; Chavez, J M

This report describes the successful design, construction, and testing of a solar central receiver using molten nitrate salt as a heat exchange fluid. The receiver is a 4.5-MWt salt-in-tube cavity receiver built as part of the Molten Salt Subsystem/Component Test Experiment. Design studies for large commercial plants (30--100 MWe) have shown molten salt to be an excellent fluid for solar thermal plants as it is a good medium for efficient thermal storage. The properties that make molten salt a good medium for storage, however, make receiver design challenging. This test program was recommended by the utility and industrial participants to address uncertainties in commercial receiver designs. The receiver was designed to incorporate features of commercial receiver designs. The test program was managed by Sandia National Laboratories for the US Department of Energy. The receiver was fabricated off-site and then installed at Sandia National Laboratories' Central Receiver Test Facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Solar testing was conducted during a six-month period. The purpose of the testing was to characterize the operational capabilities of the receiver under solar and stand-by conditions. This testing consisted of initial check-out of the systems, followed by steady-state performance, transient receiver operation in clouds, receiver thermal loss testing, receiver start-up operation, and overnight thermal conditioning tests. This report describes the design, fabrication, and results of testing of the receiver. 14 refs., 23 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 6461363
• Report Number(s): SAND87-2290; ON: DE89007062
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140702* -- Solar Thermal Power Systems-- Central Receiver
CENTRAL RECEIVERS
CSP
Concentrating Solar Power
DATA
DESIGN
DIAGRAMS
DOCUMENT TYPES
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY TRANSFER
EQUIPMENT
FABRICATION
FLOWSHEETS
HEAT FLUX
HEAT TRANSFER
INFORMATION
MOLTEN SALTS
NUMERICAL DATA
PROGRESS REPORT
SALTS
SOLAR CONCENTRATORS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR RECEIVERS
SOLAR REFLECTORS
SPECIFICATIONS
TESTING