Energies, Vol. 12, Pages 3161: Establishment, Validation, and Application of a Comprehensive Thermal Hydraulic Model for a Parabolic Trough Solar Field (Energies)

To better understand the thermal hydraulic characteristics of the parabolic trough solar field (PTSF), a comprehensive thermal hydraulic model (CTHM) based on a pilot plant is developed in this paper. All of the main components and thermal and hydraulic transients are considered in the CTHM, and the input parameters of the model are no longer dependent on the total flow rate. In this paper, we solve the CTHM by a novel numerical approach based on graph theory and the Newton-Raphson method, and then examine it by two tests conducted based on a pilot plant. Comparing the flow rate, temperature, and pressure drop results show good agreement and further validate the availability and accuracy of the CTHM under hydraulic and thermal disturbance. Besides, two applications of the CTHM are implemented for presenting its potential function. In the first application, two cases are simulated to reveal how the thermal effects influence the PTSF behavior, and in the second application, the CHTF is used for the study of control strategies under uniform and nonuniform solar irradiance. The results verify the feasibility of controlling the PTSF outlet temperature through the header and loop valves.