Abstract
To better understand the thermal hydraulic characteristics of the parabolic trough solar field (PTSF), a comprehensive thermal hydraulic model (CTHM) based on a pilot plant is developed in this paper. All of the main components and thermal and hydraulic transients are considered in the CTHM, and the input parameters of the model are no longer dependent on the total flow rate. In this paper, we solve the CTHM by a novel numerical approach based on graph theory and the Newton-Raphson method, and then examine it by two tests conducted based on a pilot plant. Comparing the flow rate, temperature, and pressure drop results show good agreement and further validate the availability and accuracy of the CTHM under hydraulic and thermal disturbance. Besides, two applications of the CTHM are implemented for presenting its potential function. In the first application, two cases are simulated to reveal how the thermal effects influence the PTSF behavior, and in the second application, the CHTF is used for the study of control strategies under uniform and nonuniform solar irradiance. The results verify the feasibility of controlling the PTSF outlet temperature through the header and loop valves.
Highlights
Through long-time operation experience accumulation and continuous research, the parabolic trough solar thermal power plant (PTSTPP) is considered as the ripest in technique and most commercialized concentrating solar power technology [1]
The cold test was used to validate the hydraulic characteristics of the comprehensive thermal hydraulic model (CTHM); the transient hydraulic effects are caused by periodically varying the opening of the loop control valves (LCVs)
Both the hydraulic and thermal characteristics of the CTHM are validated through the hot test; in addition to the periodically varying opening of the LCVs, the loop collectors are operating at concentrating status to cause the thermal transient effects
Summary
Through long-time operation experience accumulation and continuous research, the parabolic trough solar thermal power plant (PTSTPP) is considered as the ripest in technique and most commercialized concentrating solar power technology [1]. The parabolic trough solar field (PTSF), where solar energy is collected and converted to the thermal energy, is the component most worth exploring in a PTSTPP [2]. In a representative PTSF, the heat transfer fluid (HTF) is distributed by the cold header and harvested by the hot header. Several parallel loops connect the cold and hot headers; each loop consists of a series of parabolic trough collectors (PTC), and the cold HTF is heated to a high temperature as it flows through the PTC loop. As the solar irradiance and thermal requirement change, three parameters are used to adjust the flow rate of the HTF to meet the outlet temperature demand: the opening of the control valve in headers, the opening of the control valve in PTC loops, and the pump frequency [3]
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