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SOLAR THERMAL POWER PLANTS ENGINEERING
Advanced
courses and specialized training that aims to deepen in the Solar
Thermal Power Plants Engineering, from Design to Operation.
We offer the following courses to be conducted individually, of 13 hours each:
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INTRODUCTION
The
solar thermal technology is based on the notion of the concentration of
solar radiation to produce steam or hot air, which can be used later in
conventional power plants. For the concentration, the majority systems
use mirrors because of its high reflectivity.
As shown
in figure 1, the steam produced by the concentrated heat of the sun's
energy is conducted directly to the turbine or stored for later use.
Once is turbined the steam is condensed and pumped to the tower as a
liquid to be heated and begin the cycle again. This is one of several
systems currently in use, there are also cogeneration systems that join
gas turbines with solar collectors.
Figure
1. Diagram of energy production.
SOLAR RADIATION COLLECTION.
In
solar thermal power plants use two systems for concentrating sunlight
directly because the diffuse radiation can not be used as in
photovoltaics. These systems are:
-
Concentration in a point,
that is to guide all mirrors the same point, thereby achieving high
temperatures. Within this system there are two methods:
1) Stirling
dish, consist of a mirror with shape of parabolic antenna which
concentrates all the radiation in a receiver.
Figure
2. Sollar collection by Stirling dish.
2)
Tower, consists a field of mirrors that directs the radiation onto a tower, concentrating all the sunlight on a receiver.
Figure
3. Solar collection by Tower with mirrors field.
- Lineal concentration,
consist to concentrate all the solar radiation on a linear receiver
located above the mirror, as shown in figure 4 and 5. This system
achieves lower temperatures to have a lower degree of freedom for solar
tracking.
1)
Parabolic-trough, is the most commonly used system, consists of a
series of half-cylinder-shaped mirrors, above them are place the pipe
with the heat carrier fluid, the function of the mirrors to concentrate
the maximum possible energy in the tubes.
Figure
4. Solar collection by Parabolic-trough mirrors.
2)
Fresnel, in this system the mirrors are flat and are placed
horizontally, will rotate throughout the day to be reflecting sunlight
on the tube with the fluid heat carrier.
Figure
5. Solar collection by Fresnel system.
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