Parasitics in Physical Model

The field pumping power is the energy required to operate HTF circulation pumps in the solar field. SAM uses a detailed model based on the physical properties of the field to calculate this parasitic loss. For a description of how SAM calculates the value, see Section 2.5 of the physical trough reference manual.

The power cycle/TES pumping power is the pumping power required by both the power cycle and TES. For your system with no TES, the value represents the energy required by fluid pumps in the power cycle. SAM calculates the pumping requirements of the field, TES, and power cycle separately because the power cycle model does not have sufficient detail to calculate the losses based on physical properties. See Section 5.2.2 in the physical trough reference manual for a detailed explanation.

You can download the physical trough reference manual from the Performance Models page .

Best regards,
Paul.


For the physical trough model, the HTF pump consumption depends on the physical properties of the field. If you make changes to many of the inputs on the Solar Field page, they will affect the energy required to circulate fluid in the field. The HTF pump efficiency input on the Solar Field page is one input that you could use to try to calibrate your results.

Best regards,
Paul.

Hello,

As described in Section 2.5 of the physical trough manual, SAM calculates the solar field HTF pumping losses as a function of the drop in HTF pressure across the field and the HTF mass flow rate. Both of these quantities depend on the properties of the solar field. Unlike some of the other parasitic losses that SAM estimates using the inputs on the Parasitics page, SAM calculates the HTF pumping losses as part of the solar field simulation. Please see Section 2.5 in the reference manual for a detailed description.

Best regards,
Paul.