Using SAM to model steam production

Is it possible to use SAM to model steam production only from solar thermal systems? I would like to model solar thermal systems that are used to augment facility steam production, as opposed to producing electricity. Does anyone have any pointers on how this can be done using the parabolic trough and linear fresnel models?

Here are couple of threads on this topic in case you did not see them:

Solar Process Heating

Trying to Perform a Particular Simulation Using SAM

Best regards,
Paul.

Thanks for the links Paul, they are helpful. However, there are a few things that I don't quite understand.

First, is the "Solar Field Thermal Power" output variable a net value (accounts for the energy returning from the power cycle) or a gross value (is the absolute amount of energy from the solar field)?

Second, is there any way to tell what the feedwater conditions to the solar field are? I want to make sure that they are somewhat similar to the feedwater conditions in the process heating application. Is it safe to assume that the feedwater conditions are equal to saturated liquid conditions at the condenser pressure?

Thanks,

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

For the physical trough model (for a system with no storage and no fossil backup) and the linear Fresnel model, the hourly Solar Field Thermal Power is the energy delivered by the solar field for each hour of the year, and is equal to Thermal Energy to the Power Block. (For the physical trough model, depending on the value of the Min Turbine Operation input on the Power Cycle page, there may be some hours where the solar field output is insufficient to drive the power block at its minimum load, where you'll see a non-zero value for the field output and zero for the energy to the power cycle.)

I think there are several hourly variables that might provide information about feedwater conditions. For example, for the linear Fresnel model, see the hourly variables beginning with "Flow Rate," "Pressure," along with the Solar Field Outlet Temperature, Solar Field Steam Inlet Temperature. The physical trough model does not model a direct steam generation plant, so the temperatures and flow rates are for a heat transfer fluid (HTF) other than water, and may be less useful for estimating feedwater conditions.

As I think we mentioned in the posts I linked to in my previous message, SAM is an electric power generation model, and is not designed to model process heat and other thermal applications of CSP.

Best regards,
Paul.

Thanks for the responses Paul. I think the software is tremendous - very helpful as an impartial initial evaluator for renewable projects. My one suggestion for improvement would be the development of models for thermal output.