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An experimental and numerical study of the gap effect on wind load on heliostat

Author

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  • Wu, Zhiyong
  • Gong, Bo
  • Wang, Zhifeng
  • Li, Zhengnong
  • Zang, Chuncheng

Abstract

The main handicap of the concentrating solar power technology is still the higher cost compared with the conventional coal power plant. Heliostat arrays cause about 40% of the costs of central receiver power plants. The cost reduction of heliostats is of crucial importance to central receiver power plants. The reduction of wind load on heliostats will decrease the structural requirement for heliostats, and then cut the cost of heliostats. In this paper, different gap sizes (0–40mm) between the facets of the heliostats were studied experimentally and numerically. Both of the results showed that the wind load increases slightly with the increase of gap size (0–40mm). The result of the numerical simulation shows the flow pattern through the gap resembles a jet flow which does not affect the static pressure on the windward surface but does decrease the static pressure on the leeward surface of the facets. Consequently it increases the total drag force on the heliostat. However, the absolute increment of the wind load is very small compared with the overall wind load on the heliostat structure. It is not necessary to take account of the gap size effects on the wind load during the design process of heliostat.

Suggested Citation

  • Wu, Zhiyong & Gong, Bo & Wang, Zhifeng & Li, Zhengnong & Zang, Chuncheng, 2010. "An experimental and numerical study of the gap effect on wind load on heliostat," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 797-806.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:35:y:2010:i:4:p:797-806
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2009.09.009
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Okoroigwe, Edmund & Madhlopa, Amos, 2016. "An integrated combined cycle system driven by a solar tower: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 337-350.
    2. Mammar, Mohamed & Djouimaa, Sihem & Gärtner, Ulrich & Hamidat, Abderrahmane, 2018. "Wind loads on heliostats of various column heights: An experimental study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 867-880.
    3. Choi, Seok Min & Park, Chang-Dae & Cho, Sung-Hoon & Lim, Byung-Ju, 2022. "Effects of wind loads on the solar panel array of a floating photovoltaic system – Experimental study and economic analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    4. Gupta, M.K. & Kaushik, S.C. & Ranjan, K.R. & Panwar, N.L. & Reddy, V. Siva & Tyagi, S.K., 2015. "Thermodynamic performance evaluation of solar and other thermal power generation systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 567-582.
    5. Zang, Chuncheng & Wang, Zhifeng & Liu, Hong & Ruan, Yi, 2012. "Experimental wind load model for heliostats," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 444-448.
    6. Clifford K. Ho, 2014. "Computational fluid dynamics for concentrating solar power systems," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(3), pages 290-300, May.
    7. Siva Reddy, V. & Kaushik, S.C. & Ranjan, K.R. & Tyagi, S.K., 2013. "State-of-the-art of solar thermal power plants—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 258-273.
    8. Bendjebbas, H. & Abdellah-ElHadj, A. & Abbas, M., 2016. "Full-scale, wind tunnel and CFD analysis methods of wind loads on heliostats: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 452-472.
    9. Abiola-Ogedengbe, Ayodeji & Hangan, Horia & Siddiqui, Kamran, 2015. "Experimental investigation of wind effects on a standalone photovoltaic (PV) module," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 657-665.

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