Abstract
Many thermal solar power plants use thermal oil as heat transfer fluid, and molten salts as thermal energy storage. Oil absorbs energy from sun light, and transfers it to a water-steam cycle across heat exchangers, to be converted into electric energy by means of a turbogenerator, or to be stored in a thermal energy storage system so that it can be later transferred to the water-steam cycle. The complexity of these thermal solar plants is rather high, as they combine traditional engineering used in power stations (water-steam cycle) or petrochemical (oil piping), with the new solar (parabolic trough collector) and heat storage (molten salts) technologies. With the engineering of these plants being relatively new, regulation of the thermal energy storage system is currently achieved in manual or semiautomatic ways, controlling its variables with proportional-integral-derivative (PID) regulators. This makes the overall performance of these plants non optimal. This work focuses on energy storage systems based on molten salt, and defines a complete model of the process. By defining such a model, the ground for future research into optimal control methods will be established. The accuracy of the model will be determined by comparing the results it provides and those measured in the molten-salt heat storage system of an actual power plant.
Highlights
Thermal solar plants use mirrors to focus the energy coming from the sun on a point where a heat transfer fluid (HTF) is heated; this is usually referred to as concentrated solar power (CSP) [1,2]
Once simulation results have validated the performance of the model, further tests were carried out using actual measurements from a real thermal power plant in order to compare them with the results provided by the model
A simulation dynamic model of the molten-salt thermal energy storage system included in thermal power plants has been developed
Summary
Thermal solar plants use mirrors to focus the energy coming from the sun on a point where a heat transfer fluid (HTF) is heated; this is usually referred to as concentrated solar power (CSP) [1,2].The fluid heated in this way is used in a thermodynamic cycle (usually a water-steam cycle) to produce electricity. Thermal solar plants use mirrors to focus the energy coming from the sun on a point where a heat transfer fluid (HTF) is heated; this is usually referred to as concentrated solar power (CSP) [1,2]. Technologies [3,4,5] to heat some kind of oil, which plays the role of HTF. This is a very mature technology that is being used, for instance, in the 160-MW power plant that Sener, Acciona and TSK are installing in Ouarzazate, Morocco, and which has an overall cycle efficiency of 40%. As well as defining an efficient and economical way to produce electric energy, it is important to store thermal energy in an efficient and economical way so that it can be used when demanded [6]; this is usually referred to as thermal energy storage (TES)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
