CHAPTER V

Solar Thermal Powerplant

The parabolic trough system is the most prevalent type of concentrating solar

power (CSP) technology. It utilizes curved mirrors, or troughs, to focus solar energy,

typically increasing its intensity by a factor of over 80, onto receiver tubes positioned at

the focal length of the trough. A standard receiver comprises an absorber tube housed

within an evacuated glass chamber. To enhance thermal efficiency, the absorber tube,

often constructed from stainless steel, is coated with a spectrally selective surface that

optimizes solar energy absorption while minimizing heat loss through reduced radiation

emissions. A heat transfer fluid, such as synthetic thermal oil, flows through the tubes at

the focal point, reaching temperatures of approximately 400°C under concentrated solar

radiation. This heated oil is then directed through a series of heat exchangers to

generate superheated steam (Greenpeace, 2005). The steam drives a conventional

steam turbine generator, which may operate within a standard steam cycle or as part of

a combined steam and gas turbine cycle. Alternatively, superheated steam can be

directly produced using solar collectors, eliminating the need for thermal oil and heat

exchangers, thereby reducing costs. However, this direct solar steam generation

remains at the prototype stage. Due to its technological maturity, parabolic trough

systems dominate most commercially developed CSP projects.

The solar field system, serving as the central component of the parabolic trough

solar thermal power system, facilitates the conversion of solar energy into the thermal

energy of heat transfer oil. The efficiency of the solar field reflects the effectiveness of

this energy conversion process. Within the same system, the Direct Normal Irradiance
(DNI) for each collector can be identical at a given moment, allowing the solar field

efficiency ηc to be calculated using the following formula:

[FORMULA]

Here, n c represents the solar field efficiency, Q denotes the heat effectively

absorbed by the thermal oil in the solar field, I is the Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI), and

Srefers to the aperture area of the collector mirrors in the solar field. To enhance the

accuracy of the calculation, the efficiency of the j-th collector in the i-th section. The

SEGS VI parabolic trough plant in the United States is used as the research subject,

representing the most typical of the nine SEGS power plants in California, with an

installed capacity of 30 MW. The SEGS VI Plant operates with two cycles: the thermal oil

cycle through the solar field, which utilizes an LS-2 collector, and the power plant cycle.

During normal operation, the high-temperature thermal oil exits the solar field, is

pumped, and passed through several heat exchangers, where its energy is transferred

to the power plant’s working fluid, typically water or steam. The superheated steam is

then used to drive turbine generators to produce electricity. Subsequently, water

entering the plant’s regenerative system undergoes six stages of extraction, which are

used to heat two high-pressure heaters (H1 and H2), a deaerator (H3), and three low-

pressure heaters (H4, H5, and H6). The low-temperature thermal oil then re-enters the

solar field through the pump. section of the solar field can be determined as follows:

[FORMULA]

Here, ηc;ij represents the efficiency of the j-th collector in the i-th section of the

solar field, Q ij denotes the heat effectively absorbed by the thermal oil in the j-th collector

in the i-th section, I ij is the Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) for the j-th collector in the i-th

section, and Sij refers to the aperture area of the collector mirror in the j-th collector in
the i-th section. To analyze the impact of temperature on solar field efficiency, this study

references data from Vernon E. Dudley, obtained through operational testing of the LS-2

collector in the SEGS VI Plant. Specifically, it uses the relationship between the average

temperature difference (between the atmospheric temperature and the thermal oil's

average temperature) and the measured collector efficiency, along with the

corresponding diagram. This relationship is applied to calculate the efficiency of the j-th

collector in the i-th section of the solar field:

[FORMULA]

The efficiency of the collector gradually decreases as the average temperature

difference between the atmospheric temperature and the thermal oil increases.

Consequently, the average temperature of the thermal oil significantly impacts the

collector's efficiency and should be minimized when optimizing the thermal oil

parameters. However, the relationship between the average temperature difference

(atmospheric temperature versus thermal oil average temperature) and collector

efficiency is typically defined for a 0° incident angle, limiting its use for direct

calculations. To address this limitation, the analysis by S. D. Odeh et al. is referenced,

which provides a general collector efficiency formula for more accurate calculations:

[FORMULA]

Convection Heat Transfer from the Absorber to the HTF

The receiver consists of two concentric pipes, with the inner pipe made of metal

and the outer pipe made of glass. A vacuum is created between the two pipes to prevent
thermal losses due to convection and conduction. The convective heat transfer from the

inner surface of the absorber pipe to the heat transfer fluid (HTF) is:

[FORMULA]

A convective heat transfer coefficient can be determined using the Dittus–Boelter

correlation.

[FORMULA]

The Nusselt number is estimated as follows: if R e f > 2300.

[FORMULA]

Conduction Heat Tansfer through the Absorber Wall

The temperature distribution and heat flux for the long hollow cylinder under one-

dimensional and steady-state conditions [19–21] are described by Fourier’s law of

conduction through a hollow cylinder:

[FORMULA]

where kp represents the thermal conductivity of the absorber at the average temperature

of the absorber

[FORMULA]
Convection Heat Transfer from Absorber to Glass Envelop

The inner tube serves as the absorber, while the outer tube functions as the

glass cover. A vacuum, with a pressure close to Pa, exists between the two tubes,

resulting in negligible heat convection losses between the absorber and the cover tube.

Radiation Heat Transfer from the Absorber to the Glass Envelop

Thermal radiation transfer from the outer surface of the metallic pipe to the inner

wall of the glass cover is calculated as:

[FORMULA]

The radiation coefficient between the receiver and the cover is expressed as:

[FORMULA]

The heat transfer rate from the outer surface of the pipe to the glass wall and

from the glass wall to the surroundings is equivalent, which implies:

[FORMULA]

Conduction Heat Transfer through the Glass Wall

The thermal conductivity of the insulating material in the glass wall is much lower

compared to that of high thermal conductivity materials. This is one of the reasons why

conduction heat transfer through the glass wall is neglected. Convection heat transfer

from the envelope to the atmosphere is:

where the convective heat transfer coefficient h w between the external surface of the

glass cover and the ambient air is:

[FORMULA]

The Nusselt number can be estimated as:

[FORMULA]

The dimensionless Reynolds number for the air over the outer wall of the glass

cover is:

[FORMULA]

Radiation Heat Transfer from Glass Envelop to Atmosphere

Sky Temperature

The effective temperature of the sky is calculated using the following

simple empirical relation:

[FORMULA]
Overall Heat Loss Coefficient (U L)

The heat loss from the collector, in terms of an overall heat loss

coefficient, is expressed. The parameter for the overall heat loss U L can be

determined by:

[FORMULA]
[TABLE 1]

Simulation Model

The EBSILON simulation model for the SEGS VI Plant consists of three

subsystems: the solar field system, heat exchange system, and power generation

system. When comparing design values to simulation results for the heat exchange

system, a relative error of less than 0.3% is observed, confirming the model's accuracy.

In the enhanced plant simulation, the output power and steam turbine system results

closely match the design values, with errors within 2%, except for certain flow errors in

H1, H2, H3, and H6, which range from 4% to 8%. The overall agreement between

simulation and design values for water/steam parameters, heat exchange, output power,

and the steam turbine system validates the accuracy and reliability of the simulation

model for both SEGS VI and the improved plant. The improved plant maintains similar

water/steam parameters to SEGS VI for system comparability, with the solar field divided

into three sections.

This system consists of a long parabolic-shaped collector with curved mirrors that

concentrate the sun’s rays onto a receiver pipe (absorber tube) located at the focal point

of the parabolic troughs. These troughs can extend over 600 m in length, and the metal

absorber tube is typically enclosed in an evacuated glass tube to minimize heat losses.

The troughs are rotated throughout the day to track the sun’s movement from east to

west, maximizing the solar energy received. The metal absorber tube contains fluid,

usually synthetic oil, which can be heated up to 400°C. Due to the parabolic shape, the

troughs concentrate the sun’s rays to 30–100 times their normal intensity. The fluid is

then pumped through a heat exchanger, transferring heat to water, which, upon boiling,

produces steam. This steam drives a turbine to generate electricity. The use of

alternative heat transfer fluids, such as molten salts or direct steam, enables operation at

temperatures up to 550°C, thereby enhancing the plant’s efficiency. These systems can

also be designed as hybrids, utilizing fossil fuels to supplement solar thermal output

during the night or on cloudy days.

The SEGS VI Plant utilizes a double-circuit structure, with the power generation

equipment positioned in the center of the solar field. The SEGS VI Plant features a solar

field consisting of a total of 50 loops. One of these loops is made up of 16 solar

collectors that use the LS-2 type collector. For the Improved Plant, the number of

collectors in each section is determined based on the thermal oil parameters. The layout

of the Improved Plant’s solar field follows the same configuration as the SEGS VI Plant.

It can be observed that the Improved Plant has 16 fewer collectors than the SEGS VI

Plant, while still maintaining the same output power. This reduction in the number of

collectors helps lower the initial cost of the plant to some extent.

System Structure

The SEGS VI parabolic trough plant in the United States is used as the research

subject, representing the most typical of the nine SEGS power plants in California, with

an installed capacity of 30 MW. The SEGS VI Plant operates with two cycles: the

thermal oil cycle through the solar field, which utilizes an LS-2 collector, and the power

plant cycle. During normal operation, the high-temperature thermal oil exits the solar

field, is pumped, and passed through several heat exchangers, where its energy is

transferred to the power plant’s working fluid, typically water or steam. The superheated

steam is then used to drive turbine generators to produce electricity. Subsequently,

water entering the plant’s regenerative system undergoes six stages of extraction, which

are used to heat two high-pressure heaters (H1 and H2), a deaerator (H3), and three

low-pressure heaters (H4, H5, and H6). The low-temperature thermal oil then re-enters

the solar field through the pump.