Power Tower: which tool calculates hourly total field efficiency?

Hello,

I had a look into the TRNSYS modules used for
calculating the Molten Salt Power Tower.

(Heliostat Field: sam_mw_pt_Type221.for
Tower and Receiver: sam_mw_pt_Type222.f90)

From what I understand so far the
total heliostat field efficiency is
passed to the heliostat field module
as input and it just modifies it using wind data, etc.

Is DELSOL3 used to calculate the hourly
total heliostat field efficiency or is it just
used within PTgen?

Kind regards,
Joe

Hi Joe,

I'm sorry I let this question slip by without an answer.

For the power tower models with a circular field, when you run the optimization wizard from the Heliostat Field page, SAM runs PTGen, which is an implementation of the DELSOL3 code.

The optimization wizard (PTGen/DELSOL3) calculates optimal values for the receiver diameter and height, tower height, and the field layout values (radial step size for layout, total reflective area, number of heliostats, and number of heliostats per radial zone.)

After you run the optimization wizard, you can adjust those values on the Heliostat Field page if you want to, and then run simulations to calculate the power tower system's electrical output.

In terms of the TRNSYS modules, their interaction is described in detail in Wagner 2008, which you can download from the Performance Models page. PTGen calculates plant geometry data, which the central receiver model (Type 222) and heliostat model (Type 221) use to model the system's hourly performance based on solar resource and ambient weather data from the weather file.

Best regards,
Paul.

Hello Paul,

thanks for your response.
This answers my question.

Kind regards,
Joe