Study on two-phase flow instability of direct steam generation in solar thermal power

Author(s):  
Ting Wang ◽  
Liping Pang ◽  
Yongping Yang
2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Doerte Laing ◽  
Thomas Bauer ◽  
Dorothea Lehmann ◽  
Carsten Bahl

For future parabolic trough plants direct steam generation in the absorber pipes is a promising option for reducing the costs of solar thermal power generation. These new solar thermal power plants require innovative storage concepts, where the two-phase heat transfer fluid poses a major challenge. A three-part storage system is proposed where a phase change material (PCM) storage will be deployed for the two-phase evaporation, while concrete storage will be used for storing sensible heat, i.e., for preheating of water and superheating of steam. A pinch analysis helps to recognize interface constraints imposed by the solar field and the power block and describes a way to dimension the latent and sensible components. Laboratory test results of a PCM test module with ∼140 kgNaNO3, applying the sandwich concept for enhancement of heat transfer, are presented, proving the expected capacity and power density. The concrete storage material for sensible heat was improved to allow the operation up to 500°C for direct steam generation. A storage system with a total storage capacity of ∼1 MWh is described, combining a PCM module and a concrete module, which will be tested in 2009 under real steam conditions around 100 bars.


2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Fabian Feldhoff ◽  
Daniel Benitez ◽  
Markus Eck ◽  
Klaus-Jürgen Riffelmann

The direct steam generation (DSG) in parabolic trough collectors is a promising option to improve the mature parabolic trough solar thermal power plant technology of the solar energy generating systems (SEGS) in California. According to previous studies [Langenkamp, 1998, “Revised LEC Projections and Discussion of Different DSG Benefits,” Technical Report No. DISS-SC-QA-02, Almeria, Spain; Price, et al., 2002, “Advances in Parabolic Trough Solar Power Technology,” ASME J. Sol. Energy Eng., 124(2), pp. 109–125; Zarza, E., 2002, “DISS Phase II Final Report,” Technical Report EU Contract No. JOR3-CT98-0277, Almeria, Spain], the cost reduction in the DSG process compared with the SEGS technology is expected to be 8–25%. All these studies were more or less preliminary since they lacked detailed information on the design of collector fields, absorber tubes required for steam temperatures higher than 400°C, and power blocks adapted to the specific needs of the direct steam generation. Power blocks and collector fields were designed for four different capacities (5 MWel, 10 MWel, 50 MWel, and 100 MWel) and different live steam parameters. The live steam temperature was varied between saturation temperature and 500°C and live steam pressures of 40 bars, 64 bars, and 100 bars were investigated. To assess the different cases, detailed yield analyses of the overall system were performed using hourly data for the direct normal irradiation and the ambient temperature for typical years. Based on these results, the levelized costs of electricity were determined for all cases and compared with a reference system using synthetic oil as heat transfer fluid. This paper focuses on two main project findings. First, the 50 MWel DSG system parameter comparisons are presented. Second, the detailed comparison between a DSG and a SEGS-like 100 MWel system is given. The main result of the investigation is that the benefit of the DSG process depends on the project site and can reach an 11% reduction in the levelized electricity cost.


Author(s):  
Doerte Laing ◽  
Thomas Bauer ◽  
Dorothea Lehmann ◽  
Carsten Bahl

For future parabolic trough plants direct steam generation in the absorber pipes is a promising option for reducing the costs of solar thermal power generation. These new solar thermal power plants require innovative storage concepts, where the two phase heat transfer fluid poses a major challenge. A three-part storage system is proposed where a phase change material (PCM) storage will be deployed for the two-phase evaporation, while concrete storage will be used for storing sensible heat, i.e. for preheating of water and superheating of steam. A pinch analysis helps to recognize interface constraints imposed by the solar field and the power block and describes a way to dimension the latent and sensible components. Laboratory test results of a PCM test module with approx. 140 kg NaNO3, applying the sandwich concept for enhancement of heat transfer, are presented, proving the expected capacity and power density. The concrete storage material for sensible heat was improved to allow the operation up to 500 °C for direct steam generation. A storage system with a total storage capacity of approx. 1 MWh is described, combining a PCM module and a concrete module, which will be tested in 2009 under real steam conditions around 100 bar.


Author(s):  
Jan Fabian Feldhoff ◽  
Daniel Benitez ◽  
Markus Eck ◽  
Klaus-Ju¨rgen Riffelmann

The direct steam generation (DSG) in parabolic trough collectors is a promising option to improve the mature parabolic trough solar thermal power plant technology of the Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) in California. According to previous studies [1–3], the cost reduction of the DSG process compared to the SEGS technology is expected to be 8 to 25%. All these studies were more or less preliminary since they lacked detailed information on the design of collector fields, absorber tubes required for steam temperatures higher than 400°C and power blocks adapted to the specific needs of the direct steam generation. To bridge this gap, a detailed system analysis was performed within the German R&D project DIVA. Power blocks and collector fields were designed for four different capacities (5, 10, 50 and 100 MWel) and different live steam parameters. The live steam temperature was varied between saturation temperature and 500°C, and live steam pressures of 40, 64 and 100 bar were investigated. To assess the different cases, detailed yield analyses of the overall system were performed using hourly data for the direct normal irradiation and the ambient temperature for typical years. Based on these results the levelized costs of electricity were determined for all cases and compared to a reference system using synthetic oil as heat transfer fluid (HTF). This paper focuses on two main project findings. First, the 50 MWel DSG system parameter comparisons are presented. Second, the detailed comparison between a DSG and a SEGS-like 100 MWel system is given. The main result of the investigation is that the benefit of the DSG process depends on the project site and can reach an 11% reduction of the levelized electricity cost (LEC).


Author(s):  
Bohra Nitin Kumar ◽  
K. S. Reddy

Direct steam generation (DSG) in parabolic trough collector (PTC) is an efficient and feasible option for solar thermal power generation as well as for industrial process heat supply. The two-phase flow inside the absorber tube complicates the thermo-hydraulic modeling of the DSG process. In the present work, a thermo-hydraulic model is developed for the DSG process in the receiver of a solar PTC. The two-phase flow in the evaporating section is analyzed using two empirical correlations of heat transfer and pressure drop, and a flow map integrated heat transfer and pressure drop model. The results of the thermo-hydraulic simulation using different two-phase heat transfer and pressure drop correlations were compared with experimental data from the direct solar steam (DISS) test facility at Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA), Spain. The test facility has collectors with aperture width of 5.76 m, focal length of 1.71 m, and absorber tube with inner and outer diameters of 50 mm and 70 mm, respectively. The simulation results using the aforementioned two-phase models were found to be satisfactory and consistent within the experimental uncertainty. The flow map based heat transfer model predicted the mean fluid temperature with root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.45% and 1.40%, for the cases considered in the present study. Whereas the flow pattern map based pressure drop model predicts the variation of pressure along the length of the collector with RMSE of 0.5% and 0.14%. Moreover, the flow pattern map based model predicts the different flow regimes paving a better understanding of the two-phase flow and helps in identifying the critical sections along the collector length.


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