Storage min/max operating temperature and Fluid Temperature

Dear Paul,

This question refers to the Parabolic Trough Physical Model.

I do not understand the origin of these three calculations made by SAM at Thermal Storage section. I have looked for them in SAM’s Help without results.

So, the questions are:

- How are min/max operating temperatures calculated?
- Where does Fluid Temperature value come from? It seems that it is the same for all HTF fluids available in the library, even the ones with a lower maximum operating temperature than the Fluid Temperature value calculated by SAM.

Thanks in advance and best regards,

José María Morales.

Dear Jose,

I don't see min/max operating temperatures on the Thermal Storage page. Can you describe the variables?

The Fluid Temperature value on the Thermal Storage page is the average solar field temperature at the design point:

Fluid Temperature =
( Design Loop Inlet Temperature + Design Loop Outlet Temperature ) / 2

I have added equations for all of the calculated values on the physical trough input pages to Help -- you can see the most current version of Help in SAM Beta 2012.9.27.

Best regards,
Paul.