Jesus Guallar

Bio: Jesus Guallar is an academic researcher from University of Zaragoza. The author has contributed to research in topics: Heliostat & Flux. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 8 publications receiving 381 citations.

A review of optimized design layouts for solar power tower plants with campo code

Abstract: Solar power tower (SPT) systems are viewed as one of the most promising technologies for producing solar electricity, in which direct solar radiation is reflected and concentrated by a field of giant mirrors (heliostats) onto a receiver placed at the top of a tower. However, the optimized design of a heliostat field is a rather complex problem because the annual performance of a heliostat is a function of not only the instants of time considered and its own position, but also the relative location of neighbouring heliostats, which cause shadows and blockings. A variety of procedures may be found in the open literature, although there is great lack of information on the details of an optimized layout. This review shows that these complex problems have partially led to the expansion of parabolic trough technologies in USA and Spain in spite of their lower thermodynamic efficiencies compared with solar tower power. As a modest support of SPT systems, the authors have presented elsewhere the abilities of a new code called campo for fast and accurate calculations of the shadowing and blocking factor for each and every heliostat. This work explores a review of the optimized heliostat field layouts yielded by campo. Campo commences the optimization search based on the densest layout, with the worst shadowing and blocking factor, but with good values for the other optical factors, and then progresses towards gradually expanded distributions. The search for maximum annual energy through campo results in a clear, steady and reproducible procedure. Finally, as an example of this new procedure, some options of optimized heliostat field layouts are reviewed using as input parameters the scarce open literature data on Gemasolar, the first solar power tower commercial plant with molten salt storage in the world.

A review of studies on central receiver solar thermal power plants

Abstract: The use of central receiver system (CRS) for electricity production promises to be one of the most viable options to replace fossil fuel power plants. Indeed, research and development activities on its basic subsystems have been booming rapidly since 1980s. This paper reviews the most important studies on the major components of central receiver solar thermal power plants including the heliostat field, the solar receiver and the power conversion system. After an overview of Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology, current status and applications of the CRSs are highlighted. Next, a detailed literature survey of existing design comprising optical, thermal and thermodynamic analysis, and techniques used to assess components have been arranged. This is followed by experimental investigations in which design concepts are established. The last section contains recent subsequent improvement of such key components as heliostat, receiver and hybrid solar gas turbine that are boosting in many R&D activities merging international collaboration during the past 30 years.

A review of optimized design layouts for solar power tower plants with campo code

Abstract: Solar power tower (SPT) systems are viewed as one of the most promising technologies for producing solar electricity, in which direct solar radiation is reflected and concentrated by a field of giant mirrors (heliostats) onto a receiver placed at the top of a tower. However, the optimized design of a heliostat field is a rather complex problem because the annual performance of a heliostat is a function of not only the instants of time considered and its own position, but also the relative location of neighbouring heliostats, which cause shadows and blockings. A variety of procedures may be found in the open literature, although there is great lack of information on the details of an optimized layout. This review shows that these complex problems have partially led to the expansion of parabolic trough technologies in USA and Spain in spite of their lower thermodynamic efficiencies compared with solar tower power. As a modest support of SPT systems, the authors have presented elsewhere the abilities of a new code called campo for fast and accurate calculations of the shadowing and blocking factor for each and every heliostat. This work explores a review of the optimized heliostat field layouts yielded by campo. Campo commences the optimization search based on the densest layout, with the worst shadowing and blocking factor, but with good values for the other optical factors, and then progresses towards gradually expanded distributions. The search for maximum annual energy through campo results in a clear, steady and reproducible procedure. Finally, as an example of this new procedure, some options of optimized heliostat field layouts are reviewed using as input parameters the scarce open literature data on Gemasolar, the first solar power tower commercial plant with molten salt storage in the world.

Review on applications of particle swarm optimization in solar energy systems

Abstract: Solar energy is one of the most important factors used in the development of the countries. Since it is a renewable energy source, it reduces the demand on the non-renewable energy sources such as fossil fuels, oil, natural gas, nuclear, and other sources. Therefore, many researchers have sought to improve the performance of solar energy systems via applying several metaheuristic methods such as particle swarm optimization (PSO) which simulates the behavior of the fish schools or bird flocks. PSO has been used in different applications including engineering, manufacturing, and medicine. The main process of the PSO is to determine the optimal position for each particle inside the population. This is performed through updating the position using the velocity of each particle and the shared information between the particles. The aim of this paper is to provide a review on the PSO’s applications to improve the performance of solar energy systems and to identify the research gap for future work. The literature review used in this study indicates that the PSO is a very promising method to enhance the performance of solar energy systems.