SOSreceiver Project

Safe operation of solar tubular receivers by means of inverse thermo-elasticity methods.
Sosreceiver

Aim

The main objective of the SOSreceiver project is to gain in-depth knowledge in the thermo-elasticity of solar tubular receivers of SPT to improve their efficiency of while ensuring their secure operation. This is done in the project through two interrelated ways:

  • The characterization of the thermo-elastic behaviour of standard and new tube designs of central receivers.
  • The development of cutting-edge control techniques able to infer in real-time the extremally high temperatures and thermal-stresses arising in the tubes of the central receiver of this kind of CSP plants during their daily operation, including nominal and non-nominal conditions such as cloud passing and the plant start-up.
Summary of the inverse thermo-elasticity analysis proposed in the present project

This characterization and in-situ evaluation of the temperatures and thermal-stresses of the receiver tubes will lead to a better design and control strategy of CSP plants, with the ultimate goal of increasing the receiver efficiency and extending its operation life, which is crucial to lower the levelized cost of solar thermal energy, increase its flexibility and dispatchability and make it a viable option for a base load power generation.

Work packages

Three work packages have been defined in the present project. One of them is related to the numerical part, another is dedicated to the experimental part, and finally there is a work package devoted to the coordination of the project activities.

New test section built in the project with the revamping the molten salt loop

Research groups

Two research groups at Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M), belonging to different Departments and scientific fields, are working co-ordinately in the SOSreveiver project.

  • The Energy Systems Engineering group of the Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering, UC3M.
  • The Lightweight Structures Dynamics group of the Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis, UC3M.
Sosreceiver UC3MSolar group

The Energy Systems Engineering group of the Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering, UC3M

This group contributes to the project, not only with its expertise in thermal system analysis, but also with expensive and singular experimental facilities such as a molten salt loop.

The Lightweight Structures Dynamics group of the Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis, UC3M

This group contributes with its expertise in numerical and experimental analysis of mechanical systems as well as with their also expensive three dimensional digital image correlation (DIC) equipment.

People

The following researchers are working in the SOSreceiver project:

Antonio Acosta

Antonio Acosta Iborra

Principal investigador – Simulation (subproject 1 & coordination)
Full Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Antonio Acosta

Antonio Acosta Iborra

Principal investigador – Simulation (subproject 1 & coordination)
Full Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Biography: PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Organization (2004, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid). and MSc in Industrial Engineering (2000, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid). He has been teaching and researching at the Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering of UC3M for more than 20 years. His research is currently focused on the Solar Energy in general, including the analysis and thermo-structural modelling of tubular receivers of SPT plants in particular, and the numerical simulation of heat and mass transfer processes of industrial interest. Since 2021 he is full professor at Carlos III University of Madrid.

Domingo José Santana

Domingo José Santana Santana

Principal investigator – Experiments (subproject 1 & coordination)
Full Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Domingo José Santana

Domingo José Santana Santana

Principal investigator – Experiments (subproject 1 & coordination)
Full Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Biography: Domingo Santana studied at the Universidad de La Laguna where he obtained a degree in Mathematics in 1994. After finishing his studies, he got a scholarship for the Spanish Government and moved as research assistant to the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria where he obtained his Master in Energy and Environmental and PhD in Chemical Engineering. His thesis concerned the modeling and design of fluidized bed aerosol generators. He received the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the outstanding PhD dissertation award in the areas of Architecture and Engineering for theses defended in 1999. Since then, he has been a faculty member at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, where in 2017 he was promoted to full professor in the Department of Thermal and Fluid Engineering. His research activities involve the study of the Solid-Gas Systems and Renewable Energies.

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Jorge López Puente

Principal investigador – Experiments and simulation (Subproject 2)
Full Professor
Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis
Carlos III University of Madrid

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Jorge López Puente

Principal investigador – Experiments and simulation (Subproject 2)
Full Professor
Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis
Carlos III University of Madrid

Biography: Doctorado en Ingeniería Mecánica y de Organización Industrial (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) Ingeniería Industrial (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid). Her current research topics are Concentrated Solar Power, Thermal Energy storage and Heat Transfer. Brief career history: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, october 2004 – june 2008, Delft University of Technology, june 2008 – june 2009, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, june 2009 – present.

Celia Sobrino

Celia Sobrino Fernández

Research team (subproject 1)
Associate Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Celia Sobrino

Celia Sobrino Fernández

Research team (subproject 1)
Associate Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Biography: Celia Sobrino is an associate professor in the Thermal and Fluids Engineering Department at UC3M. She received a doctorate in engineering in 2008 and held a postdoc position at TU Delft. Her PhD thesis focused on the hydrodynamics of fluidized beds. After the PhD she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at TU Delft in an EU project led by the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands related to biomass combustion. Her current research lines are concentrating solar energy, thermal energy storage, and heat transfer. She has supervised two PhD thesis and is currently supervising an industrial doctorate focused on 3D printed heat pipes, a PhD thesis on novel materials to be used under high temperature and extreme conditions and a PhD on molten salt receivers in the framework of the TOPCSP project (HORIZON MSCA Doctoral Network).

Carolina Marugán

Carolina Marugán Cruz

Research team (subproject 1)
Associate Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Carolina Marugán

Carolina Marugán Cruz

Research team (subproject 1)
Associate Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Biography: PhD Mathematical Engineering (2008 University Carlos III de Madrid), Master in Mathematical Engineering (2006, University Carlos III de Madrid) and Industrial Engineering Degree (2004, University Carlos III de Madrid). Her current research topics are the experimental and numerical analyses of the thermal gradients and thermal tensions in the solar tubes of receivers, the improvement of the efficiency and performance of concentrated solar tower power plants and the technologies involving sustainable heating and cooling.

María de los Reyes Rodríguez Sánchez

María de los Reyes Rodríguez Sánchez

Research team (subproject 1)
Associate Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

María de los Reyes Rodríguez Sánchez

María de los Reyes Rodríguez Sánchez

Research team (subproject 1)
Associate Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Biography: María de los Reyes Rodríguez studied at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid where she obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2010. She got a scholarship for the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid to study a master in Thermal and Fluids Engineerig from 2011 to 2012 and to develop a PhD thesis in Mechanical Engineering from 2012 to 2015. Her thesis entitled «On the design of solar external receivers” concerned the thermal, mechanical and hydrodynamic optimization of solar central receivers. Her research activities involve the study of solar power tower plants. She has developed several numerical models to predict the behavior of the heliostat field and the receiver, stablishing the guidelines to design these plants. Additionally, she has carried out several international stays in CNRS-PROMES, where she worked in the demonstration solar power tower of Themis. Since 2021 she is associate professor at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.

International expert

Manuel Blanco Muriel

Manuel J. Blanco Muriel

International expert (subproject 1)
Full Professor
Senior Scientist German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institut für Solarforschung and The Cyprus Institute (part-time)
The Cyprus Institute

Manuel Blanco Muriel

Manuel J. Blanco Muriel

International expert (subproject 1)
Full Professor
Senior Scientist German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institut für Solarforschung and The Cyprus Institute (part-time)
The Cyprus Institute

Biography: Thirty-six years of experience as a solar researcher and engineer, leading research teams and advancing the state-of-the-art of Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) technologies. Expert on Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Optics, and Modelling of Energy Systems. Full Professor with Tenure of the Cyprus Institute (CYI) and Holder of the European Research Area (ERA) Chair in Solar Thermal Technologies for the Eastern Mediterranean. Current Vice-Chair and former Chair of the Executive Committee of SolarPACES, the Technology Collaboration Program of the International Energy Agency responsible for promoting the development and deployment of solar thermal power technologies and the solar-assisted manufacture of fuels and chemicals. Earlier, he served as Science Leader of the Solar Energy Systems Research Group of CSIRO (Australia’s National Research Agency); Director of the Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative (ASTRI); General Coordinator of EU-SOLARIS; Director of the Solar Thermal Energy Department of CENER, the National Renewable Energy Centre of Spain; Chair and Full Professor of the Engineering Department of the University of Texas at Brownsville; Director of the Plataforma Solar de Almería of CIEMAT -the largest European solar research infrastructure; and Principal Investigator of the EC SOLGAS and SIREC solar tower technology R&D projects, which paved the way towards PS10, the first commercial solar tower power plant. Author of numerous scientific publications, and participation in a senior capacity in a large number of national and international expert groups and committees.

Working Team

Andrés Montoya Sacha

Andrés Montoya

Research team (subproject 2)
Research associate
Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis
Carlos III University of Madrid

Andrés Montoya Sacha

Andrés Montoya

Research team (subproject 2)
Research associate
Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis
Carlos III University of Madrid

Bibliography: Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Technology Engineering by Universidad de Málaga (2015), Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (2017), Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Organization by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (2020). His current research topics are the characterization of the thermal stress in solar tubular receivers and the behavior of structures against Impact loads. The career of Andrés Montoya has been developed in the Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid since 2017, as a research and teaching assistant during his Ph.D. Since December 2020, he is a research associate in the mentioned department.

Pedro_Angel_Gonzalez_Gómez

Pedro Ángel González Gómez

Working team (subproject 1)
Associate Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Pedro_Angel_Gonzalez_Gómez

Pedro Ángel González Gómez

Working team (subproject 1)
Associate Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Biography: Degree in Mechanical Engineering (University of Castilla-La Mancha), Master in Industrial Engineering (University Carlos III of Madrid), Master in Industrial Mechanics (University Carlos III of Madrid) and PhD in Mechanical Engineering (University Carlos III of Madrid). His main research interests are focused on heat transfer, thermal stress and fatigue-creep analyses of critical components of concentrating solar power plants as steam generators or solar central receivers. Other research interests are exergetic, exergoeconomic and transient analyses of thermal power plants. Pedro Ángel González Gómez is visiting professor at the Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering in the University Carlos III of Madrid. He has been working in the research and teaching activities in that institution since 2014. 

Maria_Fernandez_Torrijos

María Fernández Torrijos

Working team (subproject 1)
Assistant Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Maria_Fernandez_Torrijos

María Fernández Torrijos

Working team (subproject 1)
Assistant Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Biography: María Fernández Torrijos has a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Organization from Carlos III University of Madrid (2019). She is currently a visiting professor in the department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering of said university. He has published 16 research articles in the field of solar energy and heat transfer in prestigious international journals, and has 15 contributions to international conferences related to solar energy and heat transfer. In addition, he has carried out two international research stays, one of 3 months at Sandia National Laboratories (USA), and another of 6 months at DLR (Germany).

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Rafael Pérez Álvarez

Working team (subproject 1)
Postdoctoral Specific Assistant Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

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Rafael Pérez Álvarez

Working team (subproject 1)
Postdoctoral Specific Assistant Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Biography: Degree in Mechanical Engieneering and Master in Industrial Engieneering in Carlos III University of Madrid. Master in Numerical Simulation in Engineering with ANSYS in Polytechnic University of Madrid. PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Organization in Carlos III University of Madrid. His current research topics are the Design and optimization of receivers of Solar Tower Power plants. He is currently finishing his Ph.D thesis on these topics through CFD and structural simulations. He was awarded with a PhD fellowship of Predoctoral Investigator (FPI) by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad in the framework of solar research project at Carlos III University of Madrid from April 2017 to September 2021.

Marta Laporte

Marta Laporte Azcue

Working team (subproject 1)
Postdoctoral Specific Assistant Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Marta Laporte

Marta Laporte Azcue

Working team (subproject 1)
Postdoctoral Specific Assistant Professor
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Biography: Marta studied at the Universidad de Cantabria, where she obtained a BSc in Industrial Engineering in 2015 with the best student record. She then obtained a MSc in Industrial Engineering at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in 2017. She got a FPU grant from the Spanish Government to develop a PhD thesis in Mechanical Engineering from 2017 to 2021. Her thesis, titled “Thermo-mechanical modelling to evaluate solar receiver damage”, obtained the outstanding PhD dissertation award in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Organization for theses defended at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in 2021. In 2022 she was promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. She carried out an international research stay at Boise State University (Idaho, USA) in 2022. Her research interests include heat transfer, thermal stress, and creep-fatigue analyses of components in solar power tower plants.

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Celia Roldan Gil

Working team (subproject 1)
Predoctoral Investigator (FPI)
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

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Celia Roldan Gil

Working team (subproject 1)
Predoctoral Investigator (FPI)
Department of Thermal and Fluids Engineering
Carlos III University of Madrid

Biography: Degree in Industrial Technologies (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) and Máster in Industrial Mechanics (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia). Her research activities comprise the study of solar power plant technologies including the solar receivers and high efficiency power cycles for concentrated solar power. ). Her research started at CIEMAT (Department of high temperature solar energy). From 2019 to 2020 she worked as a researcher at the Madrid Research Centre of Excellence IMDEA (Energy institute, Department of high temperature). He was awarded with a PhD fellowship of Predoctoral Investigator (FPI) by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad in the framework of the present research project at Carlos III University of Madrid from 2021 to September 2024.

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Javier Antonio Moreno Moreno

Working team (subproject 2)
Research associate
Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis
Carlos III University of Madrid

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Javier Antonio Moreno Moreno

Working team (subproject 2)
Research associate
Department of Continuum Mechanics and Structural Analysis
Carlos III University of Madrid

Publications

González-Gómez, P.A., Laporte-Azcué, M., Fernández-Torrijos, M., Santana, D., Hybrid storage solution steam-accumulator combined to concrete-block to save energy during startups of combined cycles.
Energy Conversion and Management, 2022, 253, 115168

Open Access

Fernández-Torrijos, M., Marugán-Cruz, C., Sobrino, C., Santana, D., The water cost effect of hybrid-parallel condensing systems in the thermo-economical performance of solar tower plants. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2022, 202, 117801

Open Access

Cano-Pleite, E., Fernández-Torrijos, M., Santana, D., Acosta-Iborra, A., Heat generation depth and temperature distribution in solar receiver tubes subjected to induction. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2022, 204, 117902

Open Access

González-Gómez, P.A., Gómez-Hernández, J., Ruiz, C., Santana, D., Can solar tower plants withstand the operational flexibility of combined cycle plants? Applied Energy, 2022, 314, 118951

Open Access

González-Gómez, P.A., Laporte-Azcué, M., Fernández-Torrijos, M., Santana, D., Design optimization and structural assessment of a header and coil steam generator for load-following solar tower plants. Renewable Energy, 2022, 192, pp. 456–471

Open Access

Serrano, D., Sánchez-Delgado, S., Pérez-Álvarez, R., Acosta-Iborra, A., Experimental determination of the convection heat transfer coefficient in an eccentric annular duct. Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 2022, 136, 110664

Open Access

Moreno, J.A., Montoya, A., López-Puente, J., Santana, D., Lifetime optimization of solar central receivers via linear actuators.
International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 2022, 226, 107388

Open Access

Montoya, A., López-Puente, J., Santana, D., Longitudinal supports shape influence on deflection and stresses in solar receiver tubes. Renewable Energy and Power Quality Journal, 2022, 20, pp. 204–209

Open Access

Pérez-Álvarez, R., Cano-Pleite, E., Santana, D., Acosta-Iborra, A., Impact of a mechanical attachment on the preheating temperatures of a central receiver tube. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2022, 215, 118854

Open Access

Pérez-Álvarez, R., González-Gómez, P.Á., Santana, D., Acosta-Iborra, A., Preheating of solar power tower receiver tubes for a high-temperature chloride molten salt. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2022, 216, 119097

Open Access

M. Laporte-Azcué, M.R. Rodríguez-Sánchez, P.A. González-Gómez, D. Santana, Assessment of the time resolution used to estimate the central solar receiver lifetime, Appl. Energy. 301 (2021) 117451.

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Laporte-Azcué M, González-Gómez PA, Rodríguez-Sánchez MR, Santana D. Material selection for solar central receiver tubes. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 2021;231:111317.

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Pérez-Álvarez, R.; González-Gómez, P.A.; Acosta-Iborra, A.; Santana, D. Thermal stress and fatigue damage of central receiver tubes during their preheating (2021), Applied Thermal Engineering 195, paper num. 117115.

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Fernandez-Torrijos, M.; Gonzalez-Gomez, P.A.; Sobrino, C.; Santana, D. Economic and thermomechanical design of tubular sCO2 central-receivers (2021) Renewable Energy 177, pp. 1087-1101.

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Laporte-Azcué M, González-Gómez PA, Rodríguez-Sánchez MR, Santana D. Material selection for solar central receiver tubes. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 2021;231:111317.

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Laporte-Azcué, M.; González-Gómez, P.A.; Rodríguez-Sánchez, M.R.; Santana D. Deflection and stresses in solar central receivers (2020) Solar Energy 195, pp. 355-368.

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Montoya, A.; Rodríguez-Sánchez, M.R.; López-Puente, J.; Santana, D. Influence of longitudinal clips in thermal stresses and deflection in solar tubular receivers (2020) Solar Energy 198, pp. 224-238.

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Fernandez-Torrijos, M.; Sobrino, C.; Marugan-Cruz, C.; Santana, D. Experimental and numerical study of the heat transfer process during the startup of molten salt tower receivers (2020), Applied Thermal Engineering 178, paper num. 115528.

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Marugán-Cruz. C.; Sánchez-Delgado, S.; Gómez-Hernández, J.; Santana D. Towards zero water consumption in solar power tower power plant (2020) Applied Thermal Engineering 178, paper num. 115505.

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Laporte-Azcué, M.; González-Gómez, P.A.; Rodríguez-Sánchez, M.R.; Santana, D. Exergy analysis of solar central receivers (2020) Solar Energy 207, pp. 957-973.

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Fernandez-Torrijos, M.; Sobrino, C.; Almendros-Ibáñez, J.A.; Marugan-Cruz, C.; Santana, D. Inverse heat problem of determining unknown surface heat flux in a molten salt loop (2019) International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 139, pp. 503-516.

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Funding Entities

Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, MICINN (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation) through the Agencia estatal de Investigación, AEI (National research agency of the Spanish government) together with the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, FEDER/UE (European Regional Developed Fund, European Union). Project codes: RTI2018-096664-B-C21 and RTI2018-096664-B-C22.