Potential of performance improvement of concentrated solar power plants by optimizing the parabolic trough receiver

doi:10.1007/s11708-020-0707-y

Front. Energy

2020, Vol. 14

Issue (4) : 867-881 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-020-0707-y

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Potential of performance improvement of concentrated solar power plants by optimizing the parabolic trough receiver

Honglun YANG¹, Qiliang WANG¹, Jingyu CAO¹, Gang PEI¹(

), Jing LI²(

)

¹. Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
². School of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK

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Abstract

This paper proposes a comprehensive thermodynamic and economic model to predict and compare the performance of concentrated solar power plants with traditional and novel receivers with different configurations involving operating temperatures and locations. The simulation results reveal that power plants with novel receivers exhibit a superior thermodynamic and economic performance compared with traditional receivers. The annual electricity productions of power plants with novel receivers in Phoenix, Sevilla, and Tuotuohe are 8.5%, 10.5%, and 14.4% higher than those with traditional receivers at the outlet temperature of 550°C. The levelized cost of electricity of power plants with double-selective-coated receivers can be decreased by 6.9%, 8.5%, and 11.6%. In Phoenix, the optimal operating temperature of the power plants is improved from 500°C to 560°C by employing a novel receiver. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis of the receiver heat loss, solar absorption, and freeze protection temperature is also conducted to analyze the general rule of influence of the receiver performance on power plants performance. Solar absorption has a positive contribution to annual electricity productions, whereas heat loss and freeze protection temperature have a negative effect on electricity outputs. The results indicate that the novel receiver coupled with low melting temperature molten salt is the best configuration for improving the overall performance of the power plants.

Keywords concentrated solar power parabolic trough receiver heat loss solar energy annual performance

Corresponding Author(s): Gang PEI,Jing LI

Online First Date: 23 November 2020 Issue Date: 21 December 2020

Cite this article:

Honglun YANG,Qiliang WANG,Jingyu CAO, et al. Potential of performance improvement of concentrated solar power plants by optimizing the parabolic trough receiver[J]. Front. Energy, 2020, 14(4): 867-881.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fie/EN/10.1007/s11708-020-0707-y
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fie/EN/Y2020/V14/I4/867

Parameters	Value
Aperture width/m	5.77
Length of collection assembly/m	150
Incident angle modifier	$cos ? θ + 0.000884 θ − 0.00005369 θ 2$
Optical efficiency of the collector	0.8711
Glass envelope outer/inner diameter/mm	125/120
Absorber outer/inner diameter/mm	70/66
Optical efficiency derate of receiver	0.8698

Tab.1 Parameters of collector and receiver

Fig.1 Schematic diagrams of traditional and double-selective-coated receivers.

Fig.2 Steam turbine cycle efficiency and HTF input energy variations with main steam temperatures.

Fig.3 Schematic of two-dimensional heat transfer model.

Fig.4 Flowchart of the computation process of simulation program.

Fig.5 Comparison of developed model and SAM model.

Tab.2 Main plant configuration data

Tab.3 Location and solar irradiation

Fig.6 Solar irradiation of different locations.

Fig.7 Simulation process of parabolic trough power plants.

Fig.8 AEP process of CSP plants with traditional receivers.

Fig.9 AEP process of CSP plants with double-selective-coated receivers.

Fig.10 AEP variation with solar field outlet temperatures utilizing traditional receivers.

Fig.11 AEP variation with solar field outlet temperatures utilizing double-selective-coated receivers.

Tab.4 Economic data of power plants

Tab.5 LCOE reduction using double-selective-coated receivers

Fig.12 AEP variation with freeze protection temperatures utilizing traditional receivers.

Fig.13 AEP variation with freeze protection temperatures utilizing double-selective-coated receivers.

Fig.14 Influence of varying heat loss on AEP.

Fig.15 Influences of varying receiver solar absorption on AEP.

A	Area/m²
C	Cost
D	Diameter/m
e	Enthalpy/(J·kg⁻¹)
f_abs	Friction factor
h	Heat transfer coefficient/(W·m⁻²·K⁻¹)
k	Conduction coefficient/(W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹)
L	Length/m
m	Mass flow rate/(kg·s⁻¹)
Nu	Nusselt number
P	Perimeter/m
Pr	Prandtl number
$q ˙$	Thermal loss/(W·m⁻²)
$Q ˙$	Heat transfer rate/(W·m⁻¹)
Re	Reynolds number
T	Temperature/°C or K
v	Velocity/(m·s⁻¹)
$η$	Efficiency
$θ$	Incident angle/(°)
$Δ x$	Discrete unit length/m
$ξ IAM$	Incident angle modifier
$λ$	Thermal conductivity/(W·m⁻¹·K)
AEP	Annual electricity production
CRF	Capital recovery factor
CSP	Concentrated solar power
DNI	Direct normal irradiation
HTF	Heat transfer fluid
LCOE	Levelized cost of electricity
MS	Molten salt
SAM	Solar advisor model
SM	Solar multiple
Subscripts
a	Ambient
abs	Absorber
b	Frame
cond	Conduction heat transfer
conv	Convection heat transfer
cs	Cross section
eff	Effective
f	Heat transfer fluid
i	Inner
invest	Investment
o	Outer
OM	Operation and maintenance
SCA	Solar collector assembly

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