Improvement of Concentrating Solar Field Operation through Mass Flow Determination Using Operational Data Analysis

von Thomas Kraft

148 Seiten, Taschenbuch

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

Concentrating solar-thermal (CST) systems with parabolic trough collectors (PTC) can provide low-emission heat and electricity with temporal flexibility. Conventional plants typically deploy numerous temperature sensors for thermal balancing but, for economic reasons, lack sufficient mass-flow sensors to quantify the mass-flow distribution within the solar field. This work advances the Time-of-Flight method, using commercial power-plant data, specifically for line-focusing CST to determine the mass flow distribution across the solar field. The approach enables straightforward localization of underperforming collectors and, moreover, attribution of losses - for example, distinguishing optical from thermal causes such as vacuum losses. Because the method is simple, safe, cost-effective, precise, and fully non-invasive, it offers substantial potential to enhance the competitiveness of line-focusing CST systems.

• Reihe: Solare Energie- und Systemforschung / Solar Energy and Systems Research
• Themen: Technologie, Ingenieurswissenschaft, Landwirtschaft, Industrieprozesse Energietechnik, Elektrotechnik und Energiemaschinenbau Alternative und erneuerbare Energiequellen und -technik
• ISBN: 9783839621608
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 03.02.2026
• Größe: 21 x 14.8 cm
• Verlag: Fraunhofer Verlag
• Herausgegeben von: Fraunhofer ISE