TY - GEN
T1 - An efficient method for aiming heliostats using ray-tracing
AU - Wang, Shuang
AU - Asselineau, Charles Alexis
AU - Pye, John
AU - Coventry, Joe
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Author(s).
PY - 2022/5/12
Y1 - 2022/5/12
N2 - In a solar power tower plant, the role of the heliostat aiming strategy is to control the radiative flux distribution at the receiver surface to avoid thermally induced damage, while minimising spillage losses. Flux limitations arise from factors including the heat transfer fluid stability limits, and thermo-mechanical stress limits in receiver pipes. To accurately determine receiver flux distributions, ray-tracing is preferred, although it is more computationally expensive than convolution-based methods. In this study, we introduce a new parameterisation of heliostat aim-point locations that significantly reduces the number of parameters to determine. The new aiming model enables efficient use of ray-tracing to optimise the aiming strategy and, together with receiver thermal and mechanical models, is able to closely match the flux distribution to local values of allowable flux on the receiver. A reference case with a surround field and a cylindrical external receiver compatible with the Gen3 Liquid Pathway project is presented to test the capability of the method developed in this study.
AB - In a solar power tower plant, the role of the heliostat aiming strategy is to control the radiative flux distribution at the receiver surface to avoid thermally induced damage, while minimising spillage losses. Flux limitations arise from factors including the heat transfer fluid stability limits, and thermo-mechanical stress limits in receiver pipes. To accurately determine receiver flux distributions, ray-tracing is preferred, although it is more computationally expensive than convolution-based methods. In this study, we introduce a new parameterisation of heliostat aim-point locations that significantly reduces the number of parameters to determine. The new aiming model enables efficient use of ray-tracing to optimise the aiming strategy and, together with receiver thermal and mechanical models, is able to closely match the flux distribution to local values of allowable flux on the receiver. A reference case with a surround field and a cylindrical external receiver compatible with the Gen3 Liquid Pathway project is presented to test the capability of the method developed in this study.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85131183635&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1063/5.0085672
DO - 10.1063/5.0085672
M3 - Conference contribution
T3 - AIP Conference Proceedings
BT - SolarPACES 2020 - 26th International Conference on Concentrating Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems
A2 - Richter, Christoph
A2 - Shultz, Avi
PB - American Institute of Physics Inc.
T2 - 26th International Conference on Concentrating Solar Power and Chemical Energy Systems, SolarPACES 2020
Y2 - 28 September 2020 through 2 October 2020
ER -