☼ SPOTLIGHT ON SOLAR THERMAL MODELING ☼

THERMOFLOW
Thermoflow Software Solar Fields & Solar Fields with Storage

Parabolic Troughs

Thermoflow Software Engineering And Construction Linear Fresnel Collectors

Thermoflow provides software for Estimator) was introduced as a

design, simulation, and cost companion to GT PRO in 1998.
estimation of power, cogeneration, Today, PEACE is integrated into
process, and heating plants. Starting The rmof l
ow’ sentires uite.PEACE
Solar Towers
in 1987 with its flagship program GT provides physical equipment specs,
PRO™,The rmof low’ss oftwaresuite capital cost, labor estimates, and
has grown to include seven estimated installed costs for User-defined Fields
powerful, yet easy-to-use programs “ engi ne er
e d”c ompone nts,inc l
uding
to analyze the spectrum of power many elements used in solar Condensers & Cooling Towers
generating technologies in use thermal power plants models.
today, and under consideration to
THERMOFLEX & PEACE:
me ettomor r ow’sde mandi ng
Solar Thermal Modeling
challenges.
These powerful tools are used for
As of 2012, Thermoflow has sold heat balance design of thermal Water Cooled Air Cooled Direct Contact
over 7500 program licenses to power systems, and for simulation
companies in more than 75 of off-design plant performance.
countries. This proven track record THERMOFLEX is flexible. It
make sThe r mof low’ss oftwaresuite provides the user full freedom to
the most widely-used, and well- construct flowsheets using
respected in the power generation component models available in its
industry. toolbox. THERMOFLEX has all Mechanical Wet/Dry Natural
the components needed to model Draft CT Mechanical Draft Draft CT
This pamphlet focuses on solar
complete power plants of virtually
thermal power and heating cycles, a
every type, or to model only a small Feedwater Heater Trains—shell & tube LP &
smal ls ubsetoft hefulls uite
’s
subsystem such as a pump and HP heaters, deaerators, flashtanks, general-
capabilities. You can learn more pipe. purpose & general fluid heat exchangers
about the whole suite at
thermoflow.com, or by contacting THERMOFLEX Toolkit—
Thermoflow directly. Component Models

THERMOFLEX™,t oge therwi t

h FWH w/ flashback
PEACE™,pr ovide sde si
gn,
simulation and cost estimation for
solar thermal power and heating
cycles. First released in 1995,
THERMOFLEX has been under
continuous development ever since.
Today, THERMOFLEX is the most
well-proven fully-flexible heat
balance program available.
Flashtank
The icon toolkit includes all the
component models and fluid Deaerator (open heater)
properties needed to build solar
A
thermal power plant models. The
B
model boundary can be all-
inclusive; from solar irradiance FWH w/ pump forward
General Fluid HX
input to electric delivery on the
high-voltage side of step-up turbine and its feedwater heating
transformers. Alternatively, the train, or anything in between.
model can include only a steam

PEACE (an acronym for Plant These two pages show only a small subset of the full selection of
THERMOFLEX / PEACE model icons - those typically used in solar thermal
power plants. As of 2012, THERMOFLEX / PEACE collectively include over
one hundred and seventy-five (> 175) different icons. THERMOFLEX
includes built-in properties for seven (7) fluid types representing
hundreds of specific fluids used in power and process applications.
2 THERMOFLOW
 Solar Thermal Toolbox
Steam Turbines

Solar Boilers

Condensing, Non-Reheat
(single & multi-casing)
Back Pressure

Shell & Tube Superheater

Condensing Reheat
(single & multi-casing)
Shell & Tube Evaporator
Fluids—seven types with built-in properties to represent hundreds of
specific fluids
Heat Transfer Fluids: DOW, Solutia,
Water: subcooled, saturated, super-
Paratherm, Duratherm Molten Salt,
heated, & supercritical
user-defined, etc.

Dry & humid air, combustion prod- Fuels: solid, liquid,

ucts, pure gases such as N2, CO2, etc. Shell & Tube Economizer
gaseous

Brine: seawater Refrigerants: sub- Ammonia/Water

& brackish water cooled to supercritical mixtures

Gas Turbines & Boilers—Supplemental steam, Pumps, Pipes, Headers, Valves, Processes—
backup heat input, parallel heating systems Network fluid flow modeling

LP IP HP Pumps—multi-stage BFP, verti-

cal turbine CW pumps, vertical
GT PRO Gas Turbine condensate forwarding, single
Library (>370 engine specs) stage multi-purpose

Heat Recovery Steam Piping systems—physical models with

Generators (HRSG) RH1 RH2 straight runs, headers, fittings, valves,
branches, elevation changes, etc.
User-defined
Boilers

SA

Recirc PA Temp
Package
Fired Utility Boilers—
Boilers
coal, oil, gas THERMOFLOW 3
Solar Field Component
Solar Field Model Options
In solar thermal plants, the solar
field supplies some or all of the heat
needed by the cycle. The field may
deliver hot thermal oil, hot water,
saturated steam, or superheated
steam.
THERMOFLEX has a completely
user-defined solar field where the
user directly specifies solar field heat
input to the working fluid used in
the cycle. In this case, no detailed
field modeling is done by
THERMOFLEX, r at
he rt heus er’s
specified field performance is
applied directly. This simple
approach makes including
manufacturer-specified performance
quick and easy.
THERMOFLEX also allows the user
tomode lt hes olarf i
eld’
sthe
rmal
- Collector Hardware &
hydraulic-optical performance
directly, in detail. THERMOFLEX
Main design-point model inputs. These are desired flowrate, exit temperature, pressure drop,
tube velocity (mass flux), and optical efficiency for normal ray strikes. All inputs have default
settings that are easily reset as needed. The field model or the heat consumer can ultimately
dete rminef luidf lowr atepar tl
ybas edont he‘flowpr ior
4 THERMOFLOW
computes number and length of
each collector row, the total solar
field size, fluid pressure drop, land
use requirements and estimated
field cost based, on desired field
performance. At off-design the solar
field model estimates field heating
capacity and fluid-side pressure
drop for given solar irradiance and
field operating conditions.
The THERMOFLEX solar field
model is a general line collector
model with options to pick specific
parabolic trough and linear Fresnel
collector configurations, and ability
to specify user-defined collector
characteristics.
Design Point
The Main Inputs menu for design
calculations is shown here. The
Characteristics menu is shown at
the top of the next page. These two
ity
’ setting.
menus allow the user to specify the
desired field thermal-hydraulic
performance and the physical and
optical characteristics of the
collector used. Default values are
supplied for all inputs, and the user
can always adjust the inputs to suit
their needs.
At design, THERMOFLEX uses
the s
einput st oc omput et hefield’s
thermal-hydraulic performance and
estimate the collector size and land
requirements.
The solar field consists of a number
of flowpaths connecting cold supply
header to the hot return header.
Each flowpath spans one or more
collector rows. Large trough fields
typically use two collector rows per
flowpath so the hot and cold headers
are at the same end of the row
banks.
Some linear Fresnel collectors,
especially with direct
steam generation use one
flowpath per collector row
so cold fluid enters at one
end, and steam exits to a
steam drum at the
opposite end.
Smaller roof-top heating
collectors often have many
collector rows per
flowpath to accommodate
the desired temperature
rise in a limited footprint.
 Design Point Model Inputs

Collector library includes layout and optical

properties for various technologies. This
built-in data is easily adjusted to model a
particular collector.

This menu is used to specify collector cross-section, receiver dimensions and

Incident Angle Modifiers (IAM) factors adjust
nominal optical efficiency to account for non-
incident ray strikes. IAM data may be edited
to reflect the specific characteristics of any line
collector. The data is typically generated by
collector manufacturer using ray-tracing
programs. This is key to determining how
much irradiance is incident on the receiver,
which ultimately affects field efficiency and
required size to achieve desired heating.
heat transfer characteristics, and desired field arrangement. This data can be
selected from a library of built-in collectors, and/or be edited directly.
The Flow Path Hardware menu to compute an equivalent length of
(below) is used to specify hydraulic straight piping. The pressure drop is
parameters affecting the pressure computed using that length together
drop from cold header to hot header. with flow conditions and
The fittings specified here together temperature/pressure-dependent
with the straight run of receiver tube fluid properties.
with its specified roughness are used

Receiver tube roughness, and number/type of fittings installed in Collector cross section data, as set by user, or automatically
each flowpath can be set automatically, or by user input. These by THERMOFLEX, is displayed as one of the graphic output
parameters impact the computed field pressure drop, and hence reports.
pump size and power requirements.

THERMOFLOW 5
Solar Resource

Solar Resource plant designer has limited access to time of day, and a day of year for a
Site irradiance levels and the relative detailed site-specific irradiance data, specified site, and rely on the
sun-collector position are two key yet still wants to compute a solar program to compute irradiance and
parameters for the solar plant mode l.I t
’sagr e
atwayt o“ ge t solar angles.
designer. Once a system is designed s ta rt
e d”ort oc ompa rerelativesite
performance. The input menu for this method is
(sized), its heating ability at different
shown below. The Estimated
times of day, on different days of the
THERMOFLEX estimates the DNI Irradiance panel along the top
year is heavily dependent on the
and relative sun-collector angles includes the solar-specific inputs
site's solar characteristics.
using a model of relative sun-earth needed to estimate irradiance. Site
THERMOFLEX provides four ways positioning as a function of time of altitude is set elsewhere. The daily
to input irradiance and relative sun- day and day of year. Ground-based variation in DNI and ANI (Aperture
collector positioning. Each method irradiance is computed using an Normal Irradiance) are shown as a
is designed to make it easy to use estimate of atmospheric function of solar time as the green
assumptions, actual measurements, transmissivity. This atmospheric and blue lines, respectively. The
or data from statistical analysis, representation is most applicable for graph title shows a summary of the
such as TMY3 data. sites with a large number of sunny conditions used to estimate the
days per year, those typically most irradiance together with the length
1. Estimated from Site Data desirable for solar thermal plant of the solar day. Daily peak ANI and
This method is most useful for up- siting. daily average ANI values are shown
front scoping studies where the to the right.
This method makes it easy to pick a

Plot shows estimated variation in DNI and ANI throughout the day. Site-specific data and day of year used in
the estimate shown above the plot. Daily peak ANI and daily average ANI values are shown to the right.

6 THERMOFLOW

2. User-defined DNI & Local
Time
More detailed plant design and
simulation often uses irradiance
data measured from ground or
satellite. This data is available from
a number of sources. In the US,
data for hundreds of sites is
available in TMY3 datasets available
from National Renewable Energy
Laboratory (NREL). TMY3 data
statistically represent conditions at a
specific site by analyzing
measurements made over decades.
Data sources are available for other
locations worldwide, some for free
and others on a commercial basis.
Regardless of the source, the solar
data is characterized by site
longitude, latitude, altitude, local
time, day of year, and irradiance
(DNI, diffuse, total).
THERMOFLEX includes this
method of solar data input to
facilitate use of TMY3 (and similar)
data sets. The Site location and
current time panel shown on the
input menu below lists the input
parameters needed. THERMOFLEX
computes the solar time from this
data using an equation of time. The
relative sun-collector positioning is
used to compute azimuth and zenith
angles associated with the specified
day and time.
Irradiance and Solar Angles
3. User-defined DNI & Solar
Angles
This method is used to directly
specify DNI and location of the sun
in the sky. THERMOFLEX
computes Aperture Normal
Irradiance (ANI) from this data
using inputs for collector orientation
on the earth (N-S, E-W, or other)
and tilt from horizontal.
This method is used to specify
“typical”irradianc ec onditi
onf or
collector design, or when scanning
through a range of conditions for
off-design simulation.
4. User-defined ANI
This method is used to directly
specify Aperture Normal Irradiance
(ANI), that is how much beam
irradiance falls normal to the
collector aperture. As such, it has a
single input value. In this case,
THERMOFLEX simply applies this
value and ignores collector
orientation, solar angles, and other
inputs that would be used to
ultimately compute this quantity.
This approach requires the least
amount of input to THERMOFLEX
but usually requires the largest
amount of independent calculation
outside THERMOFLEX to
determine this input value.
Solar Angles
The diagram below shows the
definition of solar angles relative to
collector midpoint. The collector is
not shown, but may be located with
primary axis along N-S, E-W, or
anywhere in between. Large
collectors are typically installed with
zero tilt, but the model allows
specification of tilt away from the
horizontal if needed.
z (Zenith)
Sun
S
n (North)
Zenith Angle
Azimuth
Altitude Angle
Angle
e (East)
THERMOFLOW 7
Kramer Junction SEGS VI
Model Overview
The overall heat balance result from
a THERMOFLEX model of the
Kramer Junction SEGS VI plant is
shown below. The well-known
facility is a single reheat indirectly
heated Rankine cycle with six
feedwater heaters. The solar field
heats Therminol VP-1 which flows
through the solar boiler to make and
reheat steam. The steam turbine
exhausts to a water cooled
condenser serviced by a wet cooling
tower.
The model is a complete
representation of the entire facility
including solar field, solar boiler
elements, steam turbine, feedwater
heater train, condenser, cooling
tower, and associated balance of
plant.
For a given model run, the minimum
required inputs are (1) Ambient
conditions, and (2) Solar irradiance
data. The program computes gross
Overall design point heat balance result from a THERMOFLEX model of the Kramer Junction SEGS VI plant.
8 THERMOFLOW
power, net power, auxiliary
electric loads, as well as flow,
pressure, temperature, and
enthalpy throughout the cycle.
The result below is for the
100% solar loading case at
design ambient conditions.
The plant model produces 35
MW gross electric power, consumes
2.6 MW of auxiliary power, and
produces 32.4 MW net power. In
the diagram only key state data are
displayed for clarity. However, the
user can display the state data at
every node, and each icon includes a
series of text and graphic output
reports for each run.
Model predictions match design
point data to a high level of fidelity.
Summary Report
Summary results for each
component are available by double-
clicking an icon from the overall
heat balance view. The display
above is the summary display for the
solar field. THERMOFLEX includes
a library of heat transfer fluids that
are commonly used in solar
applications. The fluid library
includes thermal and physical fluid
properties used in pressure drop and
heat transfer calculations. In this
model Therminol VP-1 circulates
within the field and the solar boiler.
The solar field diagram shows the
state of the Therminol (pink fluid)
entering the field on the left, and the
field delivery condition on the right.
A performance summary is shown in
blue in the lower left corner. In this
model, DNI is 916 W/m2, total heat
 Select Model Results & Output Reports

transferred to fluid in the field is

92.7 MW, and the fluid pressure
drop from receiver inlet to exit is 6.5
bar, or about 27% of exit pressure.

Detailed Reports
A series of detailed text and graphic
reports are presented to describe the
computed heat balance, the physical
equipment description, and for
PEACE components, estimated
equipment and installation costs.
The field size and layout report is
displaye dbe low.Thebi rd’
s-eye
view shows the collector rows are
oriented North-South. Fifty (50) U- in and around the turbine, section
shaped flowpaths are arranged in
one hundred (100) collector rows in configuration, leakage schematics,
two row banks. Fluid enters from
and returns to headers in between
row banks. Major dimensions are
listed along with total field aperture
and required land area.
Steam Turbine
THERMOFLEX output reports
include text and graphics to describe
steam turbine performance,
configuration, and cost. Reports
include detailed heat balance results
efficiencies, turbine casing
estimated turbine generator size,
weight, capital cost, and installation
labor.
The steam turbine expansion path,
Mollier diagram, is shown in the top
right corner above. Extraction
pressures for
feedwater
heaters are
shown along the
path which consist of an HP section
and an IP/LP section with steam
reheat in between. Steam exhausts
at 80 mbar with a quality of about
90%.
PEACE cost and installation
estimates are based on equipment
size, weight, and configuration
details. A series of reports present
this data. The estimated elevation
view for the steam turbine is shown
below along with a summary of
overall dimensions for the turbine
and its generator. The steam
turbine design model is entirely
dynamic, so any changes to design
parameters are reflected in these
reports, and in the cost and
installation labor estimates.

Sol
arf i
eldbird’
s-eye view output graphic showing field arrange-
ment and computed land area, aperture area, flowpaths, etc.

THERMOFLOW 9
Solar Power with Thermal Storage

The Storage Issue One way to mitigate some problems Storage Systems
On“ good”day s,in“ sunny ” associated with varying solar Various types of thermal storage
locations, pure solar plants (see availability is to include a thermal systems have been tried in pilot
preceding pages) produce electricity storage system to store heat projects and in commercial power
for seven to thirteen hours of the captured by the solar field. The plants. A number of advanced and
day. As the sun rises, sets, and is storage system decouples the solar novel concepts are currently the
blocked by clouds, the energy field’sabi li
tyt oc apturehe atfr
om focus of research efforts. The basic
capture rate changes; sometimes the po w erpla nt’s dema nd f
o rheatt
o forms of storage are (1) direct oil
very rapidly. The steam power achieve a desired power production storage, (2) indirect storage using a
plant ’
se lectricit
yout putfollows level. This capacitance effect is second liquid such as salt, (3)
solar capture rate up to a point, but useful to ride out transients, and for indirect using a solid such as
cannot always follow without time-shifting the power production concrete, and (4) indirect using a
tripping off-line. In these situations, relative to the sun. Storage systems phase change material to capitalize
thes olarf ieldmus t“dump”e ne rgy, potentially help plants dispatch on relatively high apparent heat
or defocus to prevent overheating power in a more predictable and capacity from melting and freezing
the fluid and field components. reliable fashion. So, rather than suitable materials.
producing a continuously variable
During startup, or following a trip, power level throughout the day, a Early storage projects used direct oil
the solar field and power plant are plant can deliver a fixed baseload storage. Such a system was
restarted, and resynched to the grid. level for a more predictable period. implemented for a period of time at
This process takes time, and is not Or, a plant could be dispatched to Kramer Junction, but is no longer
always possible given the time of meet morning and evening peak operational. In this system, some
day, or prevailing and expected demands experienced by many thermal oil from the field is diverted
weather conditions. utilities. to insulated storage tanks instead of

10 THERMOFLOW
 Andasol 1 Power Plant
Solar Field
36.88 p 36.88 p 26.05 p 26.05 p
288.9 T 292.5 T DP = 5.378bar 391 T 391 T

DP=2.735bar

DP=2.722bar
963.9 h 972.1 h Aperture defocused = 0 % 1212 h 1212 h
535 m 1079.4 m Heat from field = 100 % 1079.4 m 535 m
156 of 156 flowpaths in use
From network To network
THERMINOL VP-1

34.15 p 28.77 p
291.8 T 392.2 T
970.6 h 1215 h
1079.4 m 1079.4 m 1696.3 kW
used to make
steam. When the 36.88 p 40.09 p
392 T
296 T DP = 3.201 bar 1214.7 h
heat is needed later 980.1 h 544.4 m
544.4 m Heat Exchanger
on, hot oil is UA = 25785 kW/C
DTLM = 4.952 C
pumped from the DTc = 4.019 C DTh = 6.019 C
storage tanks to the
2.341 p
solar boiler where 5.582
291.9
p
T
386 T
984.1 h
842.4 h DP = 3.24 bar 892.2 m
it is used to make 892.2 m
steam. This system
increases the
amount of thermal
274.1 kW
oil onsite, which is
problematic for Level = 38 % Level = 62 %
permitting reasons,
and economic 1.854
291.8
p
T
2.341 p
386 T
842.1 h 984.1 h
reasons because Cold Tank 892.2 m 892.2 m Hot Tank
bar - p
thermal oils are Vol = 14524 m^3 Vol = 14524 m^3 C-T
kJ/kg - h
Storage system: charging mode Stored fluid: Nitrate Salt 60% NaNO3 - 40% KNO3 by wt kg/s - m
relatively
expensive.
Molten salt is pumped from tank to power plant to make power when
Currently, commercial-scale solar tank through the salt-to-oil storage needed or desired, as opposed to
thermal storage is being designed HX as the storage system charges being held entirely captive by the
and built using indirect storage. The and discharges. When the solar field sun’savailability.
storage medium is molten salt, not captures more heat than is needed
thermal oil. Molten salts are by the power plant, some thermal oil Solar fields with two tank storage
advantageous because they have flows through the storage HX to heat systems have been designed to
high volumetric heat capacity, can the salt flowing from the cold tank to provide between six and twelve
be stored in atmospheric tanks the hot tank. This charges the hours of full load power without
becaus eofs alt’slowv aporpr essure, storage system with the excess field sunshine.
and are relatively inexpensive. heat. In contrast, when the solar
Andasol 1 Plant Model
field absorbs less heat than is
Two-tank Molten Salt THERMOFLEX was used to create
needed to run the power plant, cool
The Andasol plants located in thermal oil flows in the other the model shown to the left. It is a
Granada Spain, and other similar direction through the heat 50 MW reheat Rankine cycle similar
facilities, use a two-tank molten salt exchanger where it is heated by salt to the Andasol 1 solar thermal power
storage system. The system is flowing from the hot tank to the cold plant located in Granada, Spain. It
compr isedofs e pa
r ate“hot
”a nd tank. Thermal oil heated by the has five feedwater heaters and steam
“cold”i ns ulateds toragetanksof storage system is combined with any is condensed in a water cooled
roughly equal volume. The oil heated by the field and used to condenser serviced by a wet cooling
schematic above shows such a make steam for the power plant. tower. A solar boiler with parallel
system operating in charging mode. Discharging the storage allows the reheater produces and reheats steam
in shell-tube heat exchangers. The

THERMOFLOW 11
Daily Plant Operation
heaters use hot thermal oil
(Therminol VP-1) provided by the
solar field. A two-tank molten salt
storage system is used to store
excess heat generated by the
oversized solar field, when possible.
Steam conditions are lower than
with fossil fired plants because they
are limited by thermal oil operating
temperatures. Nominal steam
turbine conditions are 100 bar, 381
C at HP admission, and 18 bar, 381
C at reheat admission. At nominal
conditions, approximately 535 kg/s
of hot thermal oil is required to run
the power plant.
The solar field consists of a large
number of parabolic trough
collectors that focus solar energy on
a receiver tube carrying the thermal
oil. The oil is heated as it passes
through the field.
The solar field is sized at noon on
the Vernal equinox with a solar
multiple of 1.5. The storage system
capacity is 1045 MWhr, and the
storage heat exchanger is rated at
just under 140 MW. Operating on
storage alone, this plant can operate
for about 7.5 hours at rated
discharge capacity. The model was
developed using ambient conditions
typical of the Andasol 1 location in
southern Spain (37.1 north latitude,
1100 masl).
The solar field is oversized for
summer operation and can heat
almost twice as much fluid at noon
than is needed to run the power
plant at its rated load. The solar
12 THERMOFLOW
field and storage system are relative to the time step.
modeled together in a single icon
(#16) which has built-in logic to The model shown in preceding page
charge and discharge the storage was run from midnight to midnight
system as the field heating ability on day 173, the summer solstice.
changes throughout the day. The initial condition for hot tank
storage level is the value computed
This system is 100% solar; there is byt hepr e viousday ’ssi mul ation.
no backup thermal oil heater to THERMOFLEX’ sbui lt-in solar
provide heat when the solar field is irradiance model was used to
out of service, or unavailable due to estimate DNI and solar angles
a lack of sunshine. throughout the day. The latitude is
37.1 degrees north, the location of
Simulation of Daily Plant Andasol 1 in Granada, Spain.
Operation
Storage system operation is The following series of charts show
naturally a time-dependent process. variation in selected parameters
THERMOFLEX calculates steady- throughout the day. In each case,
state models, so modeling plant the x-axis is solar hour of day.
operation with storage is done with a
quasi-steady approach using a series
of runs, each representing a single
slice of time where the plant is
assumed to operate in steady-state.
E-LINK is the tool used to carry out
these runs where the inputs are
entered in Excel, and
1000
the outputs are
900
DNI
presented in Excel.
800
In Excel, the storage 700
DNI, W/sq.m.
system’ ss t
a teatt he 600
end of the current 500
time step is fed 400
forward as the initial 300
condition for the next 200
time step. Quasi- 100
steady modeling is a 0
useful tool for 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
approximating plant These calculations use irradiance from the built-in sun model.
operation over long This plot shows computed variation in Direct Normal Irradiance
time periods where for Day 173 at elevation of 1100m at 37.1° North. This is the key
the transients driver governing heat input to the plant.
encountered are fast
 100 Thermal Storage
90 Hot tank level
80
Hot storage tank level, %

70
60
60 390
50
40
50
30 385

Main steam flow, kg/s

40

Temperature, C
20
10
30 380
0
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
20
375
Hot and cold tank levels change throughout the day. In this Main steam flow
10
model, the hot tank is about 30% full at midnight, the starting
Main steam temperature
time for this quasi-steady analysis. The hot level drops steadily
0 370
as the demand for hot oil remains constant. Once the hot tank
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
is empty, the storage system shuts down, and no oil is
delivered to the network, so the power plant shuts down. Plant loading in this model is established by setting a desired hot oil
flow on the solar field with storage icon, #16 in diagram on previous
At about 6:30AM, the field is capable of heating more oil than page. The delivered oil temperature depends on the heating source.
required by the network. At this time, the storage system goes When the field heats all the oil, it is available at its design
into charging mode and the hot tank level begins to rise. The temperature. The oil temperature drops whenever some of the heat
rate of rise increases initially as the DNI level rises. Just comes from storage.
before 9AM the storage system charge rate hits its limit, and
the hot tank level begins to rise at a constant rate. At about The result is variable steam flow to steam turbine, and variable HP
2:45PM the hot tank is full and the storage system cannot and RHT steam temperatures. This plot shows main steam flow of
absorb anymore heat. At about 5:30PM the storage system just below 50 kg/s at 373 C when the storage system is the only heat
begins to discharge because the solar field cannot produce source. During the day, the steam flow rises by about 4% and is
enough hot oil to satisfy demand by itself. available at 382 C due to higher oil temperature from the field.

This plot shows Therminol flows from the solar field, from the storage system, and to the storage system as a percent of flow delivered to
the solar boiler. The solid line shows field flow. The long dashed line shows storage discharge used to makeup field shortfall. The short
dashes represent flow used to charge the storage system.

The early summer sunrise allows the field to begin to produce hot oil just after 5AM. Field oil heating continues until almost 7PM. The
flowrate increases until just before 9AM when the storage system charge rate hits its maximum due to maximum salt flowrate. This
capacity limit is in place until just before 3PM
when the storage tank becomes filled to 250
Therminol from field
Flow as percent of delivery flow, %

capacity. At this time, the storage system shuts

down and mirrors are defocused to restrict field 200
Therminol from storage
heating to that needed to just meet demand Therminol to storage
flow. Starting around 5:30PM, the field flow
150
begins to drop because of waning sunlight.

The discharge flow mixes with any field-heated 100

fluid and is delivered at the mixture
temperature. During the evening and overnight
50
period the storage system provides all
Therminol. During the daytime, the field alone
is capable of satisfying flow demand and the 0
storage system is operated in charge mode or is 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
shut downi fit’
sf ull.

The field flowrate is large enough to begin to charge the storage system at about 6AM. The charging period that lasts until just before
3PM. The cap in charging flowrate occurs when the storage system charge rate hits its maximum, as implied by maximum salt flowrate
from tank to tank. The charging flow quickly drops to zero at about 2:45PM when the hot tank is full.

THERMOFLOW 13
Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC)

Integrated Solar Combined contribution is used to augment design was imported to

Cycle (ISCC) plant capacity, or to replace gas- THERMOFLEX and the solar field
Integrated Solar Combined Cycle fired duct burners to generate extra and solar boiler were added to
plants are a gas turbine combined steam during peak power demand generate steam in the model shown
cycle with a solar thermal plant to periods. In many warm locations, below.
add heat to the combined cycle. power demand peaks in the mid-day
hours of the summer when The plant design is derived from a
While solar-captured heat may be
significant air conditioning loads heat balance provided courtesy of
incorporated in many ways; it is
Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery.
typically introduced as high pressure occur. This demand profile is well-
It is a 2x1 ISCC with two Siemens
saturated steam, mixed with HRSG ma t
che dtoas olarfield’
sc apa city
profile. SGT-800 gas turbines exhausting
HP steam, and superheated for
into fired single pressure HRSGs
admission to the steam turbine.
THERMOFLEX together with GT making steam at 83 bar / 565 C for
THERMOFLEX can readily model
PRO deliver rapid plant scoping admission to a condensing steam
this, or any other arrangement
capability together with flexible turbine. Steam is condensed in a dry
under consideration.
plant modeling features. Here, GT air-cooled condenser. The parabolic
Medium to large scale (100 to 500 PRO was used to create the initial trough solar field nominally adds 50
MW) ISCC plant designs have been plant model, where solar heat input MWth to augment HP steam
proposed where the solar wasmode l
e dasan“ externalhe at generated in the HRSG.
addi ti
on” .Af terwards ,theGTPRO
Under desert-like
ambient conditions,
35 C, 35% RH, 928
mbar, and with 49.3
MWth heat input
from the solar field,
the plant generates
157.6 MW gross
electric output using
276.3 MWth LHV
fuel input.
Considering the
fuel-free solar
contribution, the
plant operates with
a 57.1% gross LHV
electric efficiency,
considerably higher
than typically
THERMOFLEX model of a heat balance provided courtesy of Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery. achieved with one
It is a 2x1 ISCC with two Siemens SGT-800 gas turbines exhausting into fired single pressure pressure non-reheat
HRSGs making steam for admission to a condensing non-reheat steam turbine. Model includes a GTCC plants.
parabolic trough solar field that adds just over 49 MWth to the plant as saturated HP steam. The
solar-generated steam is about 80% of duct burner heat input at this condition, and represents
about 32% of the steam flow to the steam turbine.

14 THERMOFLOW
 Solar Thermal Desalination

Solar Thermal Desalination

Desalination of sea and brackish Heat input is provided by the
water to produce fresh water for combination of a solar field and
domestic and industrial uses is natural gas-fired boiler, installed in
parallel. This solar-fossil hybrid A single-casing steam turbine
becoming increasingly important in
de si
gnl everagest hes i
te ’ssunny operates at high speed with a
many places around the world.
climate and its proximity to natural reduction gear coupled to a
Presently, the major desalination
gas fields. The hybrid design can synchronous generator. Nominal
processes in use are Reverse
produce power and water 24 hours turbine inlet steam conditions are 55
Osmosis (RO), Multi-Effect
per day without a solar storage bar, 400 C. Three steam extractions
Distillation (MED), and Multi-Stage
system. The desalination system provide steam to a deaerator and
Flash (MSF).
condenses steam turbine exhaust two higher-pressure feedwater
Electrically-driven RO is typically and produces potable water from heaters. Water is preheated to about
used in small to medium-scale water seawater. It takes the place of what 190 C before the economizer section
production facilities. Thermally- would be a steam condenser in a of the solar field. Feedwater to the
driven MED and MSF use low to pure power plant. gas-fired boiler comes directly from
moderate grade heat, and are used the feedpump.
in most of the medium to large-scale The solar field uses Linear Fresnel
Collectors (LFC) with direct steam The desalination system is
systems installed today.
generation (DSG). It consists of comprised of two parallel units, each
THERMOFLEX together with three sections; one to preheat water, having a nominal capacity of 7,500
PEACE can model these desalination one to evaporate water, and the final m3 per day (1.5 MIGD). The MED
processes at the design-point and at section to superheat steam. The design has a nominal performance
off-design conditions. Model results evaporator is designed to produce ratio of 10.4 (gain output ratio of
include detailed thermodynamic 30% quality steam. A steam drum 9.4). This high level of efficiency is
states, performance metrics, and separates the phases; liquid recircu- achieved by using twelve effects over
installed system cost estimate. lates to evaporator inlet, and dry a temperature range of 30 C.
steam flows to the superheater field.
The THERMOFLEX model at
right was supplied courtesy
of Solar Power Group,
GmbH. It models water &
power producing plant in the
coastal Surt region of Libya,
owned by the Libyan
Ministry of Energy.
Nominally, this plant
produces 15,000 m3 per day
(3 MIGD) of potable water
and has 15 MWnet electric
capacity.

THERMOFLOW 15
Solar Tower Fields

Solar Tower Field
The Solar Tower and Solar Tower
with Direct Storage models were
introduced in Thermoflow 22,
February 2012. These models
provide design and simulation for
both external and cavity receivers
with surround and directional
(wedge-shaped) fields. The receiver
can be used with water/steam,
molten salt, thermal oils, and air and
other gases. Storage is available
when using molten salt or thermal
oils only.
The tower field can be integrated
into power and heat cycles using the optional energy recovery turbine and
full feature set available in
THERMOFLEX.
Tower field optical performance is
computed outside THERMOFLEX
using any of the available tools, such
as Solar Advisory Model (SAM),
HFLCAL, etc. and specified as input
to the tower icon. The optical
performance efficiencies are
specified as a two-dimensional
matrix of data parameterized by
solar zenith and azimuth angles.
The tower model computes the
thermal-hydraulic performance of
the tower supply pipes, receiver, and
return pipes. For models with
storage, the system pump with
tank system is automatically
handled by the model. The storage
system is sized in design, and used
at off-design in either charging,
discharging, or off-line modes. The
model provides for ability to limit
heat input, and logic for shutdown
under low DNI conditions.
Design Point
The Main Inputs menu for design
calculations is shown here. The
Collector Hardware &
Characteristics menu is shown at
the top of the next page. These two
menus allow the user to specify the
desired field thermal-hydraulic
performance and the physical and
optical characteristics of the
collector used. Default values are
supplied for all inputs, and the user
can always adjust the inputs to suit
their needs.

At design,
THERMOFLEX uses
these inputs to compute
thef iel
d’st he rmal -
hydraulic performance
and estimate the
collector size and land
requirements.

With external receivers,

the reflector field
consists of a large
number of heliostats
surrounding the tower,
perhaps biased to one
s idet omat cht het owe r’
s
output to the utility
needs. With cavity
receivers, the reflector
Main design-point thermal-hydraulic model inputs include desired flowrate, exit temperature, field is biased towards
pressure drops, and heat losses from pipes. The solar multiple and desired number of fields are the northern side of the
used for sizing. All model inputs have default settings that are easily reset as needed. The field tower (above the
model icon itself, or the heat consumer (a solar boiler in many cases) can ultimately determine equator) so they can
fl
uidf l
owr atepar tlybas e dont he‘
fl
owpr iority’setting.

16 THERMOFLOW
 Model Features

Collector library includes layout and optical

properties for various technologies. This built-in
data is easily adjusted to model particular plants.

S o la r T o we r E ff ic ie nc y
8 5 0 M Wt S urro und F ie ld - E xt e rna l R e c e iv e r
60 0
50
40 60
30
20 This menu is used to specify collector cross-section, receiver dimensions and heat
120
transfer characteristics, and desired field arrangement. This data can be selected
10
from a library of built-in collectors, and/or be edited directly.
0
180
0 15 30 45 60 75 90
A l t i t ud e A ng l e, d eg

Tabulated optical efficiency as a function of solar

zenith (1-altitude) and azimuth angles. Efficiency
maps produced by any optical design program such
as HFCAL, and even SAM can be entered to
represent a particular field. Several built-in towers
are available if no data are available.

“see ”thec avity .Thes i

zeoft he
reflector field, the height of the
tower structure, and the cavity area
are output from design based on
thermal demand required of the
tower given a solar condition and
thet owe r ’
sopt icalcharac ter i
stic
s.

The fluid flows up to the receiver

through the cold pipe, and returns
through the hot pipe. The overall
pressure drop from cold inlet to hot
outlet is comprised of the frictional
losses in the pipes and receiver, and
the net gravity head between fluid Heliostat field layout showing location of the tower is available on
column in the cold and hot pipes. output. Land area required, number of heliostats, and tower
structure height are included in the output reports.

THERMOFLOW 17
Rice Solar Energy Project

Solar Tower Power Plants storage .Thi sproje ct

Nine solar thermal power plant
projects were approved by the
California Energy Commision in
2010 alone. As of mid-2011 a
number of these are in construction
in the southeastern California
desert. Some of these projects
utilize solar towers with molten salt
and some use towers with direct
steam generation and reheat in the
receiver.
When molten salt is used as the
primary heat absorption fluid, it can box. The reheat steam turbine,
be stored in large atmospheric-
pressure tanks to provide capacity to cooled condenser system are shown
ride-out cloudy periods, for load
management, and power production is shown; the turbine generates
after sunset.
Rice Solar Energy Project
The Rice Solar Energy Project is one ACC, pumps, and other loads.
that uses molten salt with direct
40
’spl anwas tank through the
submitted to the CEC by receiver and returned to
SolarReserve LLC and was approved the hot tank. The solar
by the CEC in December 2010. The boiler uses salt from the Output flow diagram shows to
model described here was created hot tank to produce a clear summer afternoon. He
using publicly available information superheated steam from 30% more heat than required
from the California Energy feedwater coming from is used to heat salt taken from
Commission website (http:// the feedwater heating
www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/ train, and to reheat steam from the
ricesolar/index.html). turbine. Five feedheaters and a
deaerator preheat the feedwater
A THERMOFLEX model of Rice is before it enters the solar boiler. The
shown below. The solar tower and plant uses a dry cooling system
boiler are on the left in the green (ACC) to condense low pressure
steam to produce condensate. Use
feedwater heater train, and air- of an ACC minimizes water
consumption, but penalizes the
on the right. Nominal performance power cycle because the exhaust
pressure is necessarily higher than it
about 150 MWe and the plant would be with a wet cooling system.
exports 142 MWe, consuming about
8 MWe of auxiliary load to run the The heliostat field is roughly circular
with a 9000 foot (2750 m) diameter.
At this size, the plant uses about 9 to
Molten salt is pumped from the cold 10 acre per nominal MWe capacity.
2
1837.1 p 1800 p
950 T
HP Steam 946.3 T
285 m 285 m
3
Hot Reheat
450 p
947.5 T
150047 kW
264 m
81.54 1049.4
5 7 9 11 13 15 17 G1
2

680
42
81.34 1049.4 460.9 p
1 950 T
1

29.15 1049 1182.9 IPT-1

1862.9
salt pump 264 m HPT
29.15 548 LPT-1
1862.9
8
IPT-2
14 LPT-2
296.6 p 10 IPT-3
12
839.7 T 37.65 p 16
LPT-3
466.4 p 257.3 m 176.3 p 386.3 T
43 44
612.6 T 1442.2 h 710.3 T 217.9 m 11.4 p 1.65 p
264 m 245.7 m 1230 h 199.5 T 119.1 T
48 1380.8 h 203.1 m 203.3 m
Rice Solar 78.84 851.3
1182.9
78.84 851.5
Cold Reheat
4
6
1141.5 h 1034.3 h 19
473.9 p
Electric Plant 680 615.3 T
264 m
296.6 p
839.7 T 176.3 p 100 p
37.65 p
386.3 T 11.4 p
47 11.43 m 710.3 T 581.2 T 14.07 m 199.5 T
1442.2 h 11.56 m 14.54 m 1.5 p
473.9 p 1230 h 14.85 m
1380.8 h 1320.2 h 115.7 T
1844.7 p 615.3 T 1141.5 h
203.3 m
624.4 T 14.48 m
285 m
78.84 851.4
1862.9 38 36
34 30 28 26

Ambient temp 85 F 52 18

Ambient RH 50 % 45

Gross power 150047 kW

460.1 p 282.4 p 167.9 p 95.24 p 36.73 p
11.01 p
Ex c es s s te am ASY

Net power 142458 kW 53.42 633.4

1862.9
611.8 T 836.8 T 707.5 T
11.56 m
578.5 T
14.54 m
383.9 T
14.07 m
197.8 T 5.838 p
1844.7 p 14.48 m 11.43 m 14.85 m 115.7 T
Net electric eff. 39.82 %
Pa c k i ng e x h ASY

615.4 T 1309.6 h 1441.2 h 1379.8 h 1319.2 h 1229 h

39 1140.5 h 203.4 m
285 m
25 23
46 20
37 35 29 27 24
22
31
29.15 548 1903.7 p
1862.9 33 373.6 T
1886.4 p 1887.9 p 285 m 52 21
458.6 T 459 T 1895.4 p 200.4 p 215.5 p 230.3 p c o n d e n s a t...
285 m 285 m 416.9 T 319.3 T 257.1 T 193.8 T 243.6 p
285 m 247.5 m 247.5 m 247.5 m 117.1 T
32 203.3 m
fe e d p u mp

Rice Solar Energy Project—design point heat balance. All data extracted from publically available sources, California En-
ergy Commission. Solar tower with molten salt storage system and solar boiler shown on left in green shaded region. Re-
heat steam turbine with six feedwater heaters and an air cooled condenser (ACC) shown on the right side. Turbine capacity

18 THERMOFLOW
 Ivanpah 1 SEGS

wer and storage system operation at 3:00 PM on
re, the oversized solar collector absorbs about
to run the turbine at full load. The excess energy
the cold tank and stored in the hot tank.
Ivanpah SEGS
Ivanpah SEGS will consist of two
100MWe blocks and one 200MWe
block. The 100MWe blocks will use
three towers to generate HP steam
and one to reheat the steam. The
200MWe block will use four tower
fields to generate HP steam and one
to reheat the steam.
This design generates steam directly A THERMOFLEX model of this
in the receiver. It thereby eliminates plant (shown below) was built using
the cost and complexity of the
molten salt loop, the storage tanks,
the salt-to-water heat exchange
system, and the charge of salt.
publicly available information from
However, it has no ability to store
the California Energy Commission
heat, and as such cannot make
website (www.energy.ca.gov/
power unless the sun shines. The
sitingcases/ivanpah/index.html).
design does include a small gas fired
boiler aid in plant startup and allow In this model, the three HP tower
the plant to ride out transients due fields are represented by a single
to temporary cloud cover. The use icon on the left, and the single
of gas backup is anticipated to result reheat tower is modeled by its own
in a small amount of gas usage over icon to the right. The tower blocks
the course of the year. and relatively long piping runs are
shown in the green area.

Ivanpah 1 SEGS—design point heat balance. All data extracted from the publically available California En-
ergy Commission website. Solar tower field consists of three tower fields to generate high pressure steam
from feedwater, and a separate reheat tower to heat cold steam exhausting from the HPT before readmission
at the reheat turbine inlet. No storage system is included, but the plant includes a gas fired boiler to aid in
plant startup and transient mitigation from passing clouds.

THERMOFLOW 19
Hybrid Solar-Fossil Power Plant

Model Overview
The overall heat balance result from
a THERMOFLEX model of a
proposed hybrid solar-fossil power
plant is shown below.
It is a condensing steam turbine
power plant with an air-cooled
condenser (ACC), a low pressure
feedwater heater, and a deaerator.
Steam is directly generated in a
Linear Fresnel Collector (LFC) solar
field and/or by a gas-fired package
boiler installed in parallel. The solar
field consists of three sections, one
to preheat water, one to evaporate
water, and the final section to
superheat steam. The evaporator is
designed to produce 30% quality
steam. A steam drum separates the
phases; liquid recirculates to
evaporator inlet, and dry steam
flows to the superheater field.
Nominal turbine inlet conditions are
65 bar, 450 C, 13.6 kg/s. Nominal
ACC pressure is 125 mbar in a 32 C
ambient. This plant design
minimizes plant makeup water
requirements, consistent with
desert-like site conditions
present at many solar sites. Gross power
Net power
Net fuel input(LHV)
This design includes a Plant auxiliary
natural-gas fired backup
The steam cycle is small, does not
include reheat and has few heaters.
Therefore the base cycle efficiency is
relatively low. However, this plant is
also relatively simple, inexpensive,
and easily capable of operation in
full solar mode, full gas-fired mode,
or in hybrid mode when some steam
is generated in the field and the
balance is provided by the fired
boiler. So, it is flexible.
This model was used to simulate
operation over a year using ambient
and irradiance conditions typical of
Daggett California, USA. The plant
was run on a 24 hour schedule for
8000 hours per year. The annual
average net LHV (lower heating
value) efficiency was computed from
the sums of net power produced and
net fuel consumed; (GWhr electric
export / GWhr LHV fuel
consumption). Results of the yearly
simulation show this relatively low
efficiency steam cycle operates at
41% effective net LHV electric
efficiency, a high value by Rankine
cycle standards. This efficiency
would be far higher if the plant were
10954 kW
10260 kW
0.0002 kW
693.7 kW desup
shut down overnight, and would be
lower in locations with poorer solar
characteristics.
Direct Steam Generation
THERMOFLEX can compute
pressure drop and heat transfer for
receiver tubes carrying single phase
thermal oils, single phase water,
two-phase water, and superheated
steam. It includes a detailed
physical model of thermal-hydraulic
behavior of solar fields using Direct
Steam Generation (DSG).
Estimates of pressure gradient and
heat transfer coefficient in two-
phase flow situations is more
complicated than for single-phase
situations. THERMOFLEX uses a
one dimensional model where the
flow path is discretized into a
number of steps. The model
estimates step-wise local values for
internal heat transfer coefficient and
pressure gradient based on
prevailing flow conditions and
physical characteristics of the
flowpath including length,
roughness and fittings.
Condensing Steam Turbine
10954 kW
G1
35 HPT
IPT
LPT
2
66.12 450 66.12 450
7

11 50.46 3294 48.75 3294

boiler, in parallel with the 66.12 459.6

50 3318
M
Ov erf low by pass
23
50
66.12 450 0.125 50.27
solar field, to generate Superheater
12
39
1.713 3294 38.22 2332.7

69.65 285.5

steam when the field is 50 2706 66.12 450

0 3294

unavailable due to Ev aporator

maintenance, weather, or
ST Leak ASY

time-of-day. The backup BACKUP

BOILER
Pac k age Boil er[20] - Bac k up Bl r: Aux

0 kW

boiler facilitates firm

Recirc
electric dispatch, without 16
ST Leak ASY

79.38 281.1 42

storage.
50 1241.8 76.04 181.1
0 771.1

41 13
84.94 181 0.8428 50.22
Economiser 50 771.1 44.98 210.2
BFP CND FWD
35
SOLAR FIELD
desup

20 THERMOFLOW
 Direct Steam Generation (DSG)
0.8 25
ECO EVA P
0.7
20

Mass Flux kg/m2-h .

Bulk Velocity m/s .

0.6

0.5 15
0.4
10
0.3

0.2
This series of three graphs show of a desuperheater 5
0.1 SUP
distributions of computed pressure, between the solar field
0.0 0
temperature, pressure gradient, heat and turbine. 0 200 400 600 800 1000
transfer coefficient, mass flux, and Position, m
bulk velocity from economizer inlet The pressure gradient
to superheater exit for this plant and heat transfer coefficient between evaporator exit where
model operating steam quality is 30%, and
22 20
at design heat ECO EVA P SUP superheater inlet illustrates how
Pressure Gradient mbar/m .

Heat Trans Coeff kW/m2-K.

balance dramatically this differs between wet
18 16
conditions. low quality steam and dry vapor.
Three distinct 14 12
regions The number of paths in each field
correspond to 10 8
section is different, although the
the separate receiver tube diameters are the same
fields for 6 4 throughout (70 mm OD). Therefore,
heating water, the mass flux in each section is
making steam,
2 0 different, and the velocities are
0 200 400 600 800 1000
and Position, m discontinuous at field boundaries.
superheating Velocity varies inversely with density
steam. distributions (above) are along the flow path.
discontinuous in value
Pressure distribution (below) is because the mass flux in
discontinuous because of pressure each field is different, to
losses in piping systems between ensure reasonable
fields. The temperature plot is velocities in each section.
discontinuous between economizer The slope of pressure
and evaporator because subcooled gradient in evaporator is
economizer exit water mixes with discontinuous because
saturated liquid recirculated back inlet water is slightly
from the steam drum. The final subcooled. The sharp
steam temperature exceeds the discontinuity in value of
turbine inlet by 10 C, requiring use heat transfer coefficient

77 500
ECO EVA P SUP
450
75
Temperature C .

400
Pressure bar .

73
350
71
300 THERMOFLEXout putsi nc l
udeabi r d’
s-eye view and
69
250 a cross-section of the collector. Starting with Version
67 20, THERMOFLEX provides a 3D view of the solar
200
field as shown here. This helps the user visualize
65 150
effects of changing collector design, spacing, field
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Position, m arrangement, etc.

THERMOFLOW 21
Daily Plant Operation & Annual Yield
Off-design Modeling mode means the user specifies (or
Once a plant design is established, THERMOFLEX automatically
off-design simulations are used to determines) equipment physical
compute expected plant characteristics, general
performance at site and operating configuration data, and desired
conditions expected during the year. thermodynamic constraints.
Typically simulations are done at THERMOFLEX computes the heat
different ambients, solar conditions, and mass balance and also
load levels, etc. Results are used to determines the equipment size
map expected plant performance needed to realize the heat balance
throughout the operating envelope, r esult.I nc ontr ast
,“ off-design”
and to compute yearly totals for mode means the equipment size is
power production, fuel already established by a design
consumption, water consumption, calculation (subject to user edits),
and the model computes how
etc. Sometimes off-design
simulations identify ways to fine- equipment of that size operates at
tune the original design so it more user-specified loading, ambient, and
effectively satisfies expected duty solar conditions.
cycle.
In both modes the computed heat
THERMOFLEX models can run in and mass balance parameters are
design mode, in off-design mode, or the same, but the method of
in mixed mode where some computing them is different.
components are in design and some
E-LINK—Running
in off-design.
THERMOFLEX from Excel
Wi thThe rmof l
ows oftwar e ,“de s
ign” E-LINK allows Thermoflow models the steam turbine and regulates
to be run from
inside Microsoft
Excel. E-LINK is a field makes less than the minimum
feature included
with any
Thermoflow
software license.
E-LINK is a great
tool for parametric admission flow, the controller shuts
studies, performing down the auxiliary boiler and dumps
batch runs, and
making automated through a letdown station. The
calculations.
Values for user-
E-LINK workbook used to simulate hour-by-hour perform- selected model
ance throughout the year. Each column (case) represents inputs are entered
one hour. Model inputs are in the yellow region, and com-
puted model results are stored in the blue region. Other cells
are normal Excel cells, available for use as needed.
22 THERMOFLOW
in normal Excel cells, and computed
results are stored in associated cells.
The inputs and outputs are treated
like any other Excel cell so they can
be used in formulae, as source data
for charts and tables, or linked to
other Excel-aware applications.
With E-LINK, any number of model
runs can be made in a workbook.
So, E-LINK is the tool to use for
making annual yield calculations
where some users make 8760
simulations to map out the year.
Daily Operation
This example uses the hybrid solar-
fossil plant with DSG described on
the previous page. During the day
the solar and ambient conditions
change. Prevailing values for these
key model inputs are used to predict
hourly plant operation. In this
model, automated plant loading is
accomplished using a steam flow
controller icon. This logical
component is connected upstream of
steam flow to the turbine so it stays
in a specified range. When the solar
steam turbine admission flow, the
controller automatically draws
steam from the backup boiler to
makeup the shortfall. If the solar
field makes more than the maximum
excess steam to the condenser
cont roller’
sl i
mi tsma intains team
turbine power between roughly 8
and 11 MW.
 45
Daily & Seasonal Variation of Ambient Temperature & DNI
900
Off-design Modeling
- Summer - 750
35
Ambient Temperature, C .

600

DNI, W/sq.m.
25
- Spring / Fall - 450
15
300

5
- Winter - 150

-5 0
0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
Solar Hour of Day

Annual Yield Simulations

condenser performance, and hence
Hour-by-hour simulations are used steam turbine power production.
to compute annualized totals and
averages. In this example the plant DNI (dashed lines) and solar angles associated with minimum steam
model is the hybrid solar-fossil vary with solar hour and day of year. flow to the turbine.
power plant described on the These parameters strongly influence
steam production in the solar field. On the summer day the solar field
previous page. It is operated on a
The solar angles, not shown, are makes more steam than the turbine
24-hour schedule with power levels
computed by the program for this can swallow for six hours, and
ranging from just over 8 MW to a
location based on the day and the makes all needed steam for eight
maximum of 11 MW. Power limits
solar hour. hours in the middle of the day.
are established by limiting steam
During early morning and late
turbine admission flow in a range of
Hour-by-hour simulation results for afternoon the field can still generate
40 to 53.4 t/h.
winter, spring/fall, and summer a significant fraction of maximum
Here, the hourly inputs and outputs days are plotted below. Steam steam for the turbine.
for three particular days are shown turbine flow from the solar field is
shown with bright green bars. Flow Plant net power varies throughout
to demonstrate how the plant
the day. The variation is most
operates under different conditions. from the backup fossil-boiler is
pronounced in the summer and
Estimated ambient temperature and shown with light green bars. Steam
shoulder season. This variation is
DNI for particular summer, winter, flows are plotted on the left axis in
the result of two effects. First, the
and shoulder season days are shown tonne/hour (t/h). Net plant power
admission steam flow varies
in the plot above. The ambient data (MW) is plotted as a solid black line
on the right-hand axis. throughout the day. Increased
is from a model of the site in
steam flow to the turbine raises its
southwestern US, near the Kramer
The solar field cannot make the output power. Second, the air
Junction SEGS plants. The DNI is
minimum admission flow at any cool edconde ns
e r’
sc apac it
yv ar i
es
estimated by the program using its
hour of the winter day. For six throughout the day. During the
theoretical sun model.
hours in the middle of the day the hottest parts of the day, the capacity
Summer conditions are shown in solar field can make about 45% of is reduced which in turn reduces
red, winter in blue, and shoulder the steam needed to load the turbine steam turbine gross power. The
season in green. The solid lines at the minimum power. Throughout model accounts for these effects
show ambient temperature which the winter day the plant generates a automatically, consistent with plant
has a strong impact on air cooled roughly constant power level equipment capacity.

W inter Day Shoulder Season Day Summer Day

60 12
Backup Boiler
Solar Field
Steam Flow to Turbine, t/h .

50
Net Power
Plant Net Power, MW

10
40

30 8

20
6
10

0 4
0.5 4.5 8.5 12.5 16.5 20.5 0.5 4.5 8.5 12.5 16.5 20.5 0.5 4.5 8.5 12.5 16.5 20.5
Solar Hour Solar Hour Solar Hour

THERMOFLOW 23
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ogr
am GTPRO™,Ther
mof
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powerful, yet easy-to-use tools to analyze the spectrum of power generating technologies in use today, and
underconsi
der
ati
ont
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ngchal
lenges.

As of 2012, Thermoflow has sold over 7500 program licenses to companies in more than 80 countries. This
pr
ovent
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ecor
dmakesTher
mof
low’
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y-used, and well-respected in the power
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Thermoflow, Inc.
2 Willow Street—Suite 100 · Southborough, MA 01745 · USA · info@thermoflow.com · +1 508-303-5033

Thermoflow Europe GmbH

Gartenstrasse 18, D-35469 Allendorf · GERMANY · huschka@thermoflow.com · +49 640-790-6991

www.thermoflow.com
24 THERMOFLOW
August 2012