Flow measurement system concentrated in Online Tower Plants (eFeCTO)

Date

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Brief relate

The eFeCTO has been carried out thanks to the collaboration between private companies and public research organizations. The consortium has been formed by: COBRA Instalaciones y Servicios SA; EGATEL SL ; MESUREX SL .; CENER (National Center for Renewable Energy); IMDEA Energy ; and AICIA (ETSi-US).

The main objective of the eFeCTO has been the development of an advanced concentrated solar flux measurement system for solar thermal power plants with central receiver or tower technology. This system has pursued the following objectives related to the operation of the plant:

  • Improvement of the operation and maintenance of solar receivers by measuring the incident flow with greater precision and reliability.
  • Reduction in start-up times and increase in safety at work points, thanks to greater control of the surface temperature of the receiver.
  • Improvement of the peak performance of the solar receiver, due to the possibility of bringing the operating flow to the admissible limit.
  • Improvement of the durability of the solar receiver through the possibility of measuring and controlling the incident concentrated solar flux and its distribution over the entire surface.
  • Improvement of the integration of the solar field and the receiver, based on optimized plant control.

The work carried out to achieve the aforementioned objectives has been structured into five main tasks:

  1. Technical definition of the solar flux measurement system. In this task, the technical specifications of the system have been established, in which the measurement systems have been selected and the most appropriate methods for the construction of the prototype of the eFeCTO .
  2. Development of components and software of the measurement system. In this task, the development of point measurement sensors, visible and thermographic cameras, and calculation software has been carried out, as well as the analysis of the implementation in the control system of commercial plants. In particular, ETSi-US has developed a series of optical sensors for measuring concentrated solar flux and high temperature.
  3. Integration of all components and software of the measurement system. In this task, the integration of all the signals provided by the sensors and cameras, together with the calculation software, has been carried out through the development of specific hardware and software for the measurement of concentrated solar flux in the eFeCTO .
  4. Testing of the demonstrator prototype. The design, instrumentation, assembly and commissioning of the receiver prototype has been carried out along with all the necessary equipment (sensors, cameras, data acquisition system, etc.) to carry out the tests and the subsequent evaluation of results.
  5. Detailed technical specifications of the equipment at a commercial level. In this task he has completed the analysis and evaluation of the functional technical specifications of the design at a commercial level. The reports detail the commercial design of the solution (using as a reference a commercial solar thermal power plant in operation), analyze the economic viability of the solution and detail the functionalities that the developed commercial tool would have.