Design and Analysis of CSP Trough-Plant with Water as Working Fluid

Introduction and Scope

Candidates are advised to refer to relevant literature [7] and class/lecture material to focus of the module aims being explored [8], ergo the Learning outcomes identified on the title page of this document. It is the purpose of the final submitted report to demonstrate what learning has taken place throughout to assessment process and what module learning outcomes have been achieved [9]. In preparation for the modelling work to be conducted, it is strongly recommended that candidates view Prof Rangel’s last five lectures from his excellent course Introduction to Thermodynamics at the University of California in Irvine2 , in addition to reading Chapter 8 of the text [7].

Use the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) or otherwise to design and analyse the CSP trough-plant as shown in Figure 1[7], using water as a working fluid. The boiler is supplied heat from the solar collector field and plant rejects heat to a temperature reservoir. Fluid is extracted from a high pressure turbine with a faction of this used to feed the Closed Feed-Water Heater (CFWH). The remaining fluid is passed though a lower temperature turbine which is then subsequently reheated using heat transfered from the collector array, then expanded through a third turbine.

A fraction of the exhaust fluid is then directed to an Open Feed-Water Heater (OFWH), with the remainder of passing through the final low pressure turbine and then condensed. Saturated fluid leaving the condenser is pumped to the Open Feed-Water Heater (OFWH). The liquid is pulled from the OFWH and pumped up to the CFWH. The flow through the CFWH being controlled so that the extracted fluid leaving is a saturated liquid. With a third pump being exploited to ensure isobaric conditions in a mixing chamber. The pinch points for both of these heat exchangers occur at their warm end. Use salient values evident in the literature [7]pp414 for each of the cogent device isentropic efficiencies and heat-exchanger approach temperatures throughout your model.

(a) Describe and discuss the principle of operation the CSP trough-plant shown in Figure 1. Particular attention being directed toward the capital and operational costs when compared with an equivalent nuclear power plant.

(b) Devise a standard procedure [7]pp415 to facilitate each of the turbines and another procedure [7]pp41 for each of the pumps in the system.

(c) Produce the pressure-volume, entropy-temperature and Mollier diagrams for the cycle.

(d) Find three plant design criteria.

(e) Assuming that all of the radiation is absorbed by the collector pipe. Determine the total rate of solar energy incident on the solar-trough field for a sensible collector size, obtaining an appropriate solar flux value from literature

(a) Introduction and scope

• Principle of operation and costing analysis, e.g. Task 1 part(a)
• Scope: How are the Learning Outcomes to be demonstrated?

(b) Methods

• Definitions, including the standard Rankine cycle.
• Justification of assumptions e.g. isentropic efficiency, approach temperatures, etc.
• Benchmarking: Turbine and pump procedures.
• Complete description of the modelling process used. You may find it useful to use the EES automated LyX/LATEXreport command to generate any required equations and formulae.

(c) Results

• Tabulated state arrays
• Pressure-volume, temperature-entropy and Mollier diagrams, together with appropriate description of them.
• Plant design criteria values together with suitable explanations.

(d) Discussion

• Consideration of technological merits in terms of energy sustainability environment impacts of this system.
• Suitable cost and/or size comparisons made with nuclear power equivalents.

(e) Conclusions

• Reflection on Learning Outcomes, stating when and were they have been demonstrated in the previous sections.
• Main scientific conclusions (possibly bullet pointed) based on 5-10 key results.

(f) Salient language

• Freedom of spelling, grammatical and cross-referencing errors.
• Use of appropriate scientific and academic language.

Any references used throughout the presentation of the work therein should be cited throughout the text of the final submitted document and be in strict adherence to our preferred Vancouver [10] (or Harvard) standard [11]. It is thereforehighly recommended 4 that you use LyX3 rather than MS-Word for the preparation of the final document. Where possible all main sections of the final submission (i.e. excluding the Pre-report: title page and contents page) should not exceed ten sides of A4. Any extra material not directly related to the demonstration/achievement of the module descriptor learning outcomes (e.g. Module descriptor) should be include in an appendix.