DOC // SIM_04_CSP_TOWER STATUS // ONLINE MODEL // MOLTEN-SALT CENTRAL RECEIVER TES // TWO-TANK NITRATE SALT REV 2026.01
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CSP TOWER SIMULATOR heliostat field · central receiver · TES

CLK 05:00 Trec — SOC — Pnet —

Plant Animation heliostat field · external cylindrical receiver · two-tank molten salt · steam cycle day 1

Energy Chain — instantaneous

Bars are scaled to the design solar input (950 W/m² × total mirror area), so the whole chain empties at night. Percentages are of the current Qsun. Loss rows are subtractive; bold rows are the headline heat flows Qsun, Qreceiver, QHTF and Pnet.

Today

24-hour Profile Qsun QHTF Pnet TES SOC

Model Notes

Optics. Cosine efficiency is integrated over a surround field at the area-weighted mean radius (heliostat normal bisects the sun and receiver vectors). Atmospheric attenuation follows the Vittitoe–Biggs clear-day polynomial in slant range; shading/blocking scales with tan θz and ground-cover ratio; spillage grows with slant range. Mirror reflectivity incl. soiling is fixed at 0.90.

Receiver. Surface temperature is found by bisection on the steady balance αQinc − εσA(Tr⁴−Tsky⁴) − hA(Tr−Tamb) − Qcond = UA(Tr−T̄salt), with h combining forced (wind) and natural convection. Salt outlet is held at 565 °C by varying flow; below the minimum stable flow the outlet temperature falls and the cycle is Carnot-derated.

Dispatch. Surplus above the turbine's thermal rating charges the hot tank; deficit is made up from storage. When the tank is full the field defocuses. Turbine trips below 20 % load and restarts at 30 %. Tank standing loss is 0.4 %/day.