Robust Optimal Design of Heliostat Arrays for Concentrating Solar Power Plants Project for IMSM 2011
Dr. Jordan Massad
Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dr. Ralph Smith
Department of Mathematics
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
Project Description
Concentrating solar-thermal power plants represent a new generation of power plants that use the sun as a heat source. In power tower configurations, an array of flat mirrors, called heliostats, focuses and concentrates sunlight onto a receiver on the top of a tower. Ultimately, the heat generated from the directed sunlight generates steam, which, in turn, is used in a turbine generator to produce electricity. The amount of sunlight that can be concentrated on a given tower depends on several parameters, such as the annual solar insolation, tower height, and the number, size, and position of the heliostats in the array. The climate, environmental factors, and fabrication tolerances lead to variations and uncertainties in system performance. Determination of a cost-effective array of heliostats that optimizes the annual irradiance on a tower receiver in the presence of uncertainty is sought. This project aims to design a robust heliostat array by optimizing reflected sunlight under uncertainty. The project’s approach is to develop a modeling capability and subsequently study heliostat array performance for varying design parameters. In support of project development, data on existing heliostat arrays, meteorological data, and specifiable design parameters and constraints will be provided.
Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.
References
J.E. Pacheco, et al.: Final Test and Evaluation Results from the Solar Two Project, Sandia Technical Reports, SAND2002-0120 (2002)
C.K. Ho and G.J. Kolb: Incorporating Uncertainty into Probabilistic Performance Models of Concentrating Solar Power Plants, J. Solar Energy Engineering, 132(3), pp. 0310121 - 0310128 (2010)
US Department of Energy: Concentrating Solar Power
Gregory J. Kolb: Heliostat Cost Reduction Study
Power from the Sun