Heliostat canting (alignment of mirror facets) is known to have a major influence on the optical efficiency of heliostat fields and therefore on the power output of solar tower plants. In recent years several canting concepts were used, mainly on- and off-axis canting. Several new canting concepts, such as stretched-parabolic or target-aligned canting, were proposed in order to improve the performance of heliostats. As solar power plants become economically more attractive, knowledge about the influence of canting becomes more important. In this context, the influence of several factors on the canting method is discussed and optimal canting strategies are described. The considered factors comprise plant power level, heliostat position in the field, heliostat area, receiver dimension, and site latitude. It is concluded that the target-aligned tracking method is superior to all other variants in the majority of cases. As for the standard azimuth-elevation tracking methods, not one of these exhibits a clear advantage. It is only the on-axis method that performs worst in all cases.
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February 2009
Research Papers
Comparison and Optimization of Heliostat Canting Methods
R. Buck,
R. Buck
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Technical Thermodynamics
, Pfaffenwaldring 38-40, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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E. Teufel
E. Teufel
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Technical Thermodynamics
, Pfaffenwaldring 38-40, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
R. Buck
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Technical Thermodynamics
, Pfaffenwaldring 38-40, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
E. Teufel
German Aerospace Center (DLR),
Institute of Technical Thermodynamics
, Pfaffenwaldring 38-40, 70569 Stuttgart, GermanyJ. Sol. Energy Eng. Feb 2009, 131(1): 011001 (8 pages)
Published Online: January 6, 2009
Article history
Received:
July 16, 2007
Revised:
March 20, 2008
Published:
January 6, 2009
Citation
Buck, R., and Teufel, E. (January 6, 2009). "Comparison and Optimization of Heliostat Canting Methods." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. February 2009; 131(1): 011001. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3027500
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