Object-oriented modelling of an external receiver for solar tower application: Dynamic simulation and impact of soiling

Abstract

The most solar-specific components in a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant are the solar field and the receiver. The latter is exposed to extreme working conditions as it withstands high heat fluxes and temperatures in a corrosive environment during usual and transient conditions. It is then of paramount importance to assess the thermal behavior of such a fundamental component of the plant. The object-oriented modelling paradigm enables precise dynamic analysis of physical systems through the solution of sets of equations derived following an acausal approach. This guarantees modularity and description of interactions through physical connection equations with no causality specification. The application of the object-oriented modelling technique on the external receiver of a CSP tower plant is described in detail in this paper, proving its potentialities and modelling capabilities. The model is first verified against data available in literature and then applied for the analysis of dynamic operations, including typical issues of CSP plants as the impact of clouds and heliostats soiling.