scholarly journals Concentrating Solar Power - Molten Salt Pump Development, Final Technical Report (Phase 1)

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael McDowell ◽  
Alan Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Molten Salt ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power ◽  
Technical Report

Development of High Temperature, Corrosion Resistant Sensors for Concentrating Solar Power Systems

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Usrey ◽  
Yiping Liu ◽  
Mark Anderson ◽  
Jon Lubbers ◽  
Brady Knowles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Thermal Flux ◽  
Temperature Cycling ◽  
Chloride Salt ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power ◽  
Salt Corrosion ◽  
Chloride Salts ◽  
Functional Ceramics

Solar power is a sustainable resource which can reduce the power generated by fossil fuels, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy independence. The U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative has set goals to increase the efficiency of concentrating solar power (CSP) systems. One SunShot effort to help CSP systems exceed 50% efficiency is to make use of high-temperature heat transfer fluids (HTFs) and thermal energy storage (TES) fluids that can increase the temperature of the power cycle up to 1300°C. Sporian has successfully developed high-temperature operable pressure, temperature, thermal flux, strain, and flow sensors for gas path measurements in high-temperature turbine engines. These sensors are based on a combination of polymer derived ceramic (PDC) sensors, advanced high-temperature packaging, and integrated electronics. The overall objective is the beneficial application of these sensors to CSP systems. Through collaboration with CSP industry stakeholders, Sporian has established a full picture of operational, interface, and usage requirements for trough, tower, and dish CSP architectures. In general, sensors should have accurate measurement, good reliability, reasonable cost, and ease of replacement or repair. Sensors in contact with hot salt HTF and TES fluids will experience temperature cycling on a daily basis, and parts of the system may be drained routinely. Some of the major challenges to high-temperature CSP implementation include molten salt corrosion and flow erosion of the sensors. Potential high-temperature sensor types that have been identified as of interest for CSP HTF/TES applications include temperature, pressure, flow, and level sensors. Candidate solar salts include nitrate, carbonate, and chloride, with different application temperatures ranging from 550°C-900°C. Functional ceramics were soaked for 500 hours in molten nitrate, carbonate, and chloride salts, showing excellent corrosion resistance in chloride salts and good resistance in nitrate salts. The demonstration of functional ceramics in relevant HTFs laid the foundation for full prototype sensor and packaging demonstration. Sporian has developed a packaging approach for ceramic-based sensors in various harsh gaseous environments at temperatures up to 1400°C, but several aspects of that packaging are not compatible with corrosive and electrically conductive HTFs. In addition to consulting published literature, a 300 hour soak test in molten chloride salt allowed the authors to identify suitable structural metals and ceramics. Based on discussions with stakeholders, molten salt corrosion testing and room-temperature water flow testing, suitable for CSP sensor/packaging concepts were identified for future development, and initial prototypes have been built and tested.

scholarly journals Dynamically Coupled Operation of Two-Tank Indirect TES and Steam Generation System

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolei Li ◽  
Zhifeng Wang ◽  
Ershu Xu ◽  
Linrui Ma ◽  
Li Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Dynamic Models ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Steam Generation ◽  
Generation System ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power ◽  
Thermal Oil

A thermal energy storage system is a critical component in concentrating solar power plants (CSPP), owing to which concentrating solar power (CSP) has superiorities over photovoltaic and wind power. Currently, the sole thermal energy storage (TES) system which is commercially applied to parabolic trough solar power (PTSP) plants worldwide is the two-tank indirect TES. In this study, the dynamic models of a solar field (SF), a two-tank indirect TES system, and a steam generation system (SGS) in a PTSP plant were developed and validated. Control and operation strategies on a clear day and a cloudy day were provided, and the dynamic simulations of the coupled operation using actual meteorological data were conducted. The influence of the two-tank indirect TES system on the dynamic characteristics of SGS on a system level was analyzed. Other key parameter variations were also presented. The results show that during the transition from the charge to the discharge process, the steam parameters slowly decrease. The variation of the molten salt height is further affected by the molten salt mass flow rate at the inlet and outlet of the molten salt tank. We adopted the PI control to adjust the thermal oil mass flow rate, thermal oil temperature, and water height. The developed dynamic models are useful in guiding system operation and control.

scholarly journals Comparative Analysis of Single- and Dual-Media Thermocline Tanks for Thermal Energy Storage in Concentrating Solar Power Plants

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Mira-Hernández ◽  
Scott M. Flueckiger ◽  
Suresh V. Garimella
Keyword(s):  
Energy Storage ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Filler Material ◽  
Tank Wall ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power ◽  
Wall Boundary Conditions ◽  
Thermal Ratcheting

A molten-salt thermocline tank is a low-cost option for thermal energy storage (TES) in concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. Typical dual-media thermocline (DMT) tanks contain molten salt and a filler material that provides sensible heat capacity at reduced cost. However, conventional quartzite rock filler introduces the potential for thermomechanical failure by successive thermal ratcheting of the tank wall under cyclical operation. To avoid this potential mode of failure, the tank may be operated as a single-medium thermocline (SMT) tank containing solely molten salt. However, in the absence of filler material to dampen tank-scale convection eddies, internal mixing can reduce the quality of the stored thermal energy. To assess the relative merits of these two approaches, the operation of DMT and SMT tanks is simulated under different periodic charge/discharge cycles and tank wall boundary conditions to compare the performance with and without a filler material. For all conditions assessed, both thermocline tank designs have excellent thermal storage performance, although marginally higher first- and second-law efficiencies are predicted for the SMT tank. While heat loss through the tank wall to the ambient induces internal flow nonuniformities in the SMT design over the scale of the entire tank, strong stratification maintains separation of the hot and cold regions by a narrow thermocline; thermocline growth is limited by the low thermal diffusivity of the molten salt. Heat transport and flow phenomena inside the DMT tank, on the other hand, are governed to a great extent by thermal diffusion, which causes elongation of the thermocline. Both tanks are highly resistant to performance loss over periods of static operation, and the deleterious effects of dwell time are limited in both tank designs.

Modeling and parametric study of molten salt receiver of concentrating solar power tower plant

Energy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 200 ◽  
pp. 117505
Author(s):  
Qiang Yu ◽  
Peng Fu ◽  
Yihui Yang ◽  
Jiafei Qiao ◽  
Zhifeng Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molten Salt ◽  
Parametric Study ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power ◽  
Solar Power Tower

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Cycle Configurations for Use in Concentrating Solar Power Systems

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig S. Turchi ◽  
Zhiwen Ma ◽  
John Dyreby
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Energy Storage ◽  
Molten Salt ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Thermal Energy Storage ◽  
Solar Power ◽  
Brayton Cycle ◽  
Concentrating Solar Power ◽  
Power Cycle ◽  
Cycle Efficiency

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants utilize oil, molten salt or steam as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) to transfer solar energy to the power block. These fluids have properties that limit plant performance; for example, the synthetic oil and molten salt have upper temperature limits of approximately 390°C and 565°C, respectively. While direct steam generation has been tested, it requires complex controls and has limited options for integration of thermal energy storage. Use of carbon dioxide as the HTF and power cycle working fluid offers the potential to increase thermal cycle efficiency while maintaining simplicity of operation and thermal storage options. Supercritical CO2 (s-CO2) operated in a closed-loop recompression Brayton cycle offers the potential of higher cycle efficiency versus superheated or supercritical steam cycles at temperatures relevant for CSP applications. Brayton-cycle systems using s-CO2 have smaller weight and volume, lower thermal mass, and less complex power blocks versus Rankine cycles due to the higher density of the fluid and simpler cycle design. Many s-CO2 Brayton power cycle configurations have been proposed and studied for nuclear applications; the most promising candidates include recompression, precompression, and partial cooling cycles. Three factors are important for incorporating s-CO2 into CSP plants: superior performance vs. steam Rankine cycles, ability to integrate thermal energy storage, and dry-cooling. This paper will present air-cooled s-CO2 cycle configurations specifically selected for a CSP application. The systems will consider 10-MW power blocks that are tower-mounted with an s-CO2 HTF and 100-MW, ground-mounted s-CO2 power blocks designed to receive molten salt HTF from a power tower.

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