Solar Energy Vol. 35, No. 2, pp.

137-151, 1985
Printed in the U.S.A.

0038-092X/85 $3.00 + ,00

1985 Pergamon Press Ltd.

DESIGN A N D OPTIMIZATION OF SOLAR STEAM

SYSTEMS FOR C O N S T A N T LOAD APPLICATIONS
D . B A E R , J. M. GORDON and Y. ZARMI+
Applied Solar Calculations Unit, Blaustein Institute for Desert Research. Ben-Gurion University of
the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus. Israel 84990

(Received 29 November 1983; revision received 29 June 1984: accepted 9 Januao' 1985)

method is developed for the design and optimization of solar steam systems for constant
load applications. Analytic formulae are derived for yearly collectible energy and collector operating
time in terms of all important system variables and for all principal solar collector types. Examples
are presented to illustrate the simplicity and applicability of the method in sensitivity studies.

Abstract--A

periods without load, e.g. idle weekends, holidays

or shutdown for maintenance, then the yearly colMany industrial steam loads have a constant daylectible energy is simply reduced proportionally.
time load year round and hence may permit optimal
utilization of solar energy. Most steam loads are
furthermore in a temperature range (100-300C) for
2. BASIC DESIGNS
which a developed solar technology already exists.
Solar steam systems can be connected in parallel
The technical feasibility of solar steam production
or in series with backup. Parallel connection refers
has been demonstrated in a number of pilot proto a system in which the collector pump is not acjects[l].
tivated until some steam can be produced (and is
As there are both cost and performance penalties
turned off when steam can no longer be produced).
associated with the storage of (high-temperature)
Steam is delivered to the load at a variable rate (deheat, the first type of solar industrial process steam
pending on radiation) in parallel with the backup
systems to become cost effective will be systems
steam boiler. With a series connection, as soon as
without storage. Indeed, almost every pilot plant
the radiation is sufficiently high so that the solar
built to date is a no-storage system. These demsystem can deliver preheated return condensate (or
onstration projects have, however, been custommakeup water, as the case may be), the collector
designed, one-of-a-kind projects, and the design
pump is activated. The constant flow of return concost was a significant fraction of the total cost.
densate is passed through the collector field (via a
Large-scale computer simulations which require
heat exchanger, if necessary). Then preheated reextensive computer time and detailed meteorologturn condensate is fed directly to the backup boiler;
ical data have commonly been employed.
steam is delivered directly to the load.
Constant-load solar industrial process steam
The series connection has the advantage of
systems without storage have enough factors in
higher yearly collectible energy because collectors
common to permit the formulation of general design
can deliver preheated water even when radiation
principles[l]. The purpose of this paper is to conmay be insufficient to produce steam. Nonetheless,
sider the five basic designs for solar steam producnonthermal factors may dictate a parallel connection without storage, and for each one derive antion, e.g. greater ease in monitoring useful energy
alytic formulae for the yearly useful energy
delivered by solar, simpler controls and interface
delivered as a function of climate and all important
with backup steam boiler, greater safety factor, etc.
system variables: collector area; collector characAccordingly, our analysis below handles both parteristics; load characteristics; heat exchanger charallel and series connections.
acteristics (when applicable); piping; flow rates;
There are five basic modes of solar steam proand collector coolant properties. These analytic reduction without storage:
sults will not only make fundamental functional re!. Direct (in situ) steam production in the colleclationships evident, but will enable the designer to
tors, with parallel backup (Fig. 1);
perform rapid and inexpensive sensitivity and op2. Direct steam production in the collectors, with
timization studies. The analysis of this paper is
series backup (Fig. 2);
based on a load of 7 days/week. If there are daylight
3. Flash boiler (backup in parallel) (Fig. 3);
4. Steam production via a heat exchanger (unfired
t and Department of Physics, Ben-Gurion University
boiler), with parallel backup (Fig. 4); and
of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel
5.
Steam production via a heat exchanger, with
Research funded by the Belfer Foundation for Energy
series backup (Fig. 5).
Research, Ramat Aviv, Israel.
1.

INTRODUCTION

137

138

D. BAEr~et al.

COLLECTORS

LOAD

MM

-"

Fig. 1. Direct (in situ) steam production in collectors with parallel backup.

In Figs. 1-5, Tin is the temperature of return condensate or makeup water (assumed to be near constant); Tp is the temperature at which saturated
steam is to be delivered from the solar system into
the plant steam header (typically a few degrees
above the process steam temperature); rhp is the
constant process steam flow rate; rhc is the flow rate
in the collector loop; Tc and Th are the collector
inlet (cold) and outlet (hot) temperatures, respectively, when a heat exchanger is employed; and Ac
is the collector area.
When solar and backup are in series (Figs. 2 and
5), the collector flow rate is equal to the process
flow rate rhp. When solar and backup are in parallel,
however, a variable flow rate per collector area is

required, with the quantity of steam produced by

solar varying with radiation (and ambient conditions). The words "per collector area" are stressed
here because the heat balance equations governing
collector performance (see Sections 3-8) depend on
inc/Ac and not on rh or Ac only. There are, therefore,
two ways to achieve variable thc/Ac. One way is to
require that steam be produced on but one pass
through the collectors, and vary the flow rate (e.g.
by a variable speed pump controlled by sensors/
microprocessor) according to the radiation level.
That is, vary rhc at fixed A,.. A second way is to
circulate fluid through the collectors at a constant
flow rate (via a simple one-speed pump) as many
times as is necessary to produce steam. That is, for

STEAM

ICO''ECTO.SII

BYPASS

I
""

mp

I
T

i{

t'~

LOAD

.
1 n

Fig. 2. Direct steam production in collectors with series backup.

Design and optimization of solar steam systems

139

TP

-~COL

L E CT ORS

FLASH
TANK

VALVE

LOAD

Tin
<

MM

<

Fig. 3. Flash boiler (parallel backup).

Th
T
COLLECTORS

I
m

HEAT
EXCHANGER

Tc

ILOAD

Tin

Fig. 4. Steam production via heat exchanger (unfired boiler) with parallel backup.

ST EArl

COLLECTORS

HEAT
XCHANGER

BYPASS

XJ

ILOAD
T

Fig. 5. Steam production via heat exchanger with series backup.

140

D. BAER et al.

a given moment of steam production, the fluid element " s e e s " an effective collector area equal to the
actual collector area times the number of passes
required to produce steam. This is an example of
rh< at variable A , . To a first approximation, collector thermal performance cannot distinguish between the two flow strategies.
Of the five modes noted above, direct (in s i t u )
steam production with backup in series must have
the greatest yearly collectible energy (for fixed A<,
location, load, etc.), because the collectors are operated at the lowest temperature possible, and
credit is given for preheating. Without detailed
knowledge of system and load characteristics, one
cannot predict the relative ranking of the other four
modes. Since secondary considerations, such as
pumping energy requirements, often render a superficially optimal design nonoptimal[2] (as can be
the case for direct steam production where pumping
energy can become very large relative to other
modes), our analyses below include analytic
expressions for both yearly collectible energy and
yearly collector operating time.
If one can derive an expression for instantaneous
collector performance for no-storage systems, then
an integration of the instantaneous performance
equation over the cumulative frequency of occurrence of radiation values on the collector aperture
represents the solution for yearly collectible energy. The correct result is obtained without computer simulation by evaluating one integral, as will
be shown below in Sections 3-8. Hence the analytic
formulae derived below are as valid as the approximations made in deriving instantaneous performance.

collector inlet temperature, Ti.:

n = F R [ ~ o -- ( U I I ) ( T i ,

T,)]

(3.2)

with
FR = ~

1 - exp

rh~C J J '

(3.3)

where C is the specific heat of collector coolant

fluid. F o r cases in which C has a temperature dependence, we approximate C by its average value
over the operating range of interest.
The collector turn-on/turn-off threshold X is
either
X~n = ( U l ~ o ) ( T i ,

7"<,)

(3.4)

for series backup (Ti, = return condensate temperature), or

x,, =

(Ul'qo)(Tp

T,)

(3.5)

for parallel backup, where Xi, and X R are to be

based on the yearly average daytime ambient temperature. Seasonal or diurnal variations of the instantaneous threshold about its average have a negligible effect[6].
In all of our analyses, the effect of transients is
treated as negligible.
If the instantaneous rate of energy delivery from
the collector field is denoted by q, then the yearly
collectible energy Q for a system that never produces excess energy ( " d u m p e d " energy) is:
Q =

q.

(3.6)

all time
with I > X
3. BASIC C O N C E P T S AND A P P R O X I M A T I O N S

The calculation of system performance requires

as input the instantaneous efficiency curve of the
solar collector:
,q = F ' [ ' q o -

(UII)(T -

To)],

For constant X, the sum over time of eqn (3.6) can

be replaced by an integral over the (dimensionless)
cumulative frequency of occurrence of radiation
values on the collector aperture, f(I):

(3.1)

where ~1 is collector efficiency; "% is collector optical efficiency; U is collector heat loss coefficient;
is the average collector fluid temperature; T~ is
ambient temperature; I is solar irradiance in W/m 2
of aperture; and F ' is a factor to account for the
temperature difference between absorber and fluid.
If-q is nonlinear in 1" - Ta, one needs to approximate
-q by a straight line which gives the best agreement
at anticipated operating temperatures[5]. Since F '
is typically close to unity for collectors used in
steam-producing systems, the very small increase
in F ' when steam is produced directly in the collector will be neglected here. The small change in
collector U value due to steam production in the
collector will also be neglected.
Efficiency is alternatively expressed in terms of

Q = tmax

ff

q df

(3.7)

where/max is the number of seconds of daylight per

year (1.578 107); and f x = f ( I = X ) , given by
f(I)

= 1 + d~b/d(I/I)

(3.8)

with 7 denoting the long-term average radiation on

the collector aperture, and ~b denoting the utilizability function, defined as +(I) = Q ( I ) / Q ( O ) . Utilizability curves are commonly available for the
principal solar collector types in a wide range of
locations[7,8].
If instantaneous collector output exceeds the
load L, then some of the energy delivered by the
collectors is not utilizable ( " d u m p e d " energy). The

Design and optimization of solar steam systems

largest value of Ac for which no energy dumping
occurs, A d u m p , c a n be calculated from the instantaneous heat balance equation evaluated at peak
radiation, I .... :
q(I = I . . . .

Ac = Adump) =

L.

(3.9)

Furthermore, if A , > A d u m p then the value of radiation at which energy dumping begins (dump
threshold) la is determined from:
(3.10)

q(I = L~,A~.) = L.

Once Ia is known (for a given value of A,. > Adump),

one calculates the net yearly useful energy delivered by the collectors Qnet as:

[r

Q n e t = tmax _ _ _

kJYx

q ( I , A , . ) d f + L(1 - fa)

where f e = f ( 1 = Ia), and the L(1 - fd) term in

eqn (3.11) arises from the fact that for I > ld the
net useful instantaneous energy delivery from solar
is simply L.
In Sections 4-8, we will derive expressions for
q(l, Ac) for the five principal modes of solar steam
production, from which calculation of Qnet is
straightforward.
The yearly collector operating time, top, is simply[9]:
top/tr, a = 1 -- f x .

(3.12)

An exact treatment of cooldown heat losses is

complex and will not be attempted here. Rather,
since cooldown losses should be of the order of a
few percent of the yearly collectible energy in
properly designed systems, an approximate treatment should be satisfactory[10]. Cooldown losses,
Qcool, are estimated by:
Qcool =

~,

(MC)i(Tfinal- T~)

BACKUP

This system design is presented in Fig. I. Computer simulation studies of the performance and feasibility of in situ steam production were recently
presented in Refs, [2-4]. During collector operation, the collector inlet and outlet temperatures ai'e
constant at Tin and Tp, respectively, and in,./A, is
variable. The total length of the collector is divided
into two parts. Along the first part, a fraction y of
the total length, sensible heat only is delivered.
Along the remainder, a fraction 1 - y of the total
length, latent heat is delivered at constant temperature Tp.
Water temperature at a fractional distance y
along the collectors is[1 i]
= T~. + [ ( l ' q o / U )

+ Ta -

Tin]

[1 - e x p [ - F ' U A , . y / ( / n c C ) ] ] .

(4.1)

First, let us assume that the collectors never deliver

more energy than the instantaneous load, i.e. no
superheating occurs. The value ofy at which boiling
starts is determined by T(y) = Tp. Equation (4.1)
yields:
I

Xin]

y = [rh,.C/(F'UA~)] In [ / _ - - - ~ j

(4.2)

The latent heat of vaporization, H, is delivered at

constant temperature Tp along the remainder of the
collector, 1 - y. The corresponding heat balance
equation is:
/ n , H = F"qoAc(l - y ) ( l - Xp).

(4.3)

Now & c / A , can be eliminated from eqns (4.2)-(4.3),

yielding for y:
y = B/(1 + B) where B

system
components i

X [I - e x p [ - ( t y e a r - top)/(365"ri)]],

4. D I R E C T (IN SITU) S T E A M P R O D U C T I O N - - P A R A L L E L

T(y)

(3.11)

141

C'q,,
(3.13)

where i denotes components from which cooldown

losses occur (e.g. piping, collectors, flex hoses,
etc.); (MC)i is the thermal capacitance of each component i; "ri -- ( M C ) ( ( U A ) i (in s) is the response
time of each component i; (UA)s is the heat loss
coefficient from the component to ambient (in W/
K); tyca, is the number of seconds in a year (3.1536
107); top is expressed in s/yr; T2 is the average
nighttime ambient temperature; and Tn,aj is the collector fluid temperature at collector turnoff: either
Tfinal =

Tp for systems with backup in parallel, or

Tfinal =

Tin

for systems with backup in series.

= HU(I-

r I - Xin]
XpJ "

Xp) ln l_I _

(4.4)

Over the collector region where sensible heat is delivered, the average fluid temperature T is:

= (l/y) fo ~' T(y') dy'

which with eqn (4.1) yields

(4.5)

= (l~qo/U) + T, +

kt

142

D. BAERet al.
The yearly collector operating time, based on the
threshold Xp, is [eqn (3.12)]:

This corresponds to a threshold X of

= (u/~,,)(~-

L,)

r
=I+

Xp-Xi,

-?)--Z

top/trnax = I -- fp.

"

(4.6)

"

(4.13)

The calculation of piping losses is also straightforward since the collector inlet and outlet temperatures are constant (Tin and Tp, respectively).

The instantaneous energy delivery q is then

S. DIRECT STEAM PRODUCTION--BACKUP IN SERIES

In this mode of operation, illustrated in Fig. 2,

the collector flowrate is equal to the process flowrate, /n~, = rhp. The collector inlet temperature is
constant at Tin while the collector outlet temperature may vary with radiation. Two ranges of radia-

q(I, A,.) = AcF',qo[y(l - X)

+ (1 - y)(I - Xp)]

(4.7)

which with eqn (4.4) yields

"A,.F'.q,,(I - Xp)[l + (Xp - X~,)[Oqo/(UH)][

q(l, A,,) =

1 + (I

(4.8)

"I "

Xp)[C'qo/(UH)] In [ / - - ~ p [

Use of eqns (3.7) and (4.8) then yields the yearly collectible energy Q:
[I + (Xp - Xm)[C,qo/(UH)](l(f) - Xp) ]
'

(4.9)

---2Tin-

where I(f) is the inverse function of f(I); and fp = f ( l = Xp). Provided there is no energy dumping,
eqn (4.9) is the desired result for Q.
Next, the value of Adump is calculated with eqns (3.9) and (4.8) as

Aaumo = (L/F"q,,)

]-/max

.1 + (C'qo/(Un))(Imax

- Xi.]]

- Xp) In [/~ax = Z ]

(4.lO)

For A, > mdump, the dump threshold/,t is the solution to the transcendental equation obtained from
eqns (3.10) and (4.8):

(4.1 l)

and the net yearly useful energy Q,et is obtained from eqns (3.11) and (4.8) as

Q.o,

tm~x A,,F'.% fsi"

[.

(I(f__)) - Xp)[._...~I+ (Xp - X,,)[C'qo/(UH)] ]

x--[~7)-Zo]/df
1 + [C'qo/(UH)](l(f) - p)In [ / ~ 7 X-pp]J

}
+ L ( 1 - S~) ,
(4.12)

where fa = f ( l = la). Equation (4.12), which will

typically be evaluated numerically, is the desired
analytic result for arbitrary collector area and system and load characteristics.

tion values are of interest here:

1. I > Xi,, but I still insufficient to produce steam;
and
2. I high enough to produce steam.

143

Design and optimization of solar sleam systems

L e t Imin denote the minimum radiation value at eqns (3.9)and (5.5)as
which the collectors begin to deliver latent heat at
temperature Tp, in addition to supplying all the sen- Qlatem = tm~xAcF%%
sible heat needed to reach Tp. /min is determined
from eqn (4.1) by requiring that y = 1 at I = lmi~
" rl(f)-X'"l](I(f)-X.)df
(where now inJA,, is a known constant):

xfz'm,,~[1-F--S--u~l
j m p CnL/-~_Xp

x.-x,.

lmin = Xp + [exp(F'UA,/(rh<.C)) - 1

(5.6)
"

(5.1)

For I > lmin, the fraction of collector length that

delivers sensible heat, y, is given by eqn (4.2) (while
the rest of the collector, a fraction 1 - y, delivers
latent heat), and the sensible heat delivered is simply m p C ( T . -- Tin). Hence the instantaneous sensible heat delivered by the collectors, q~e,sibl~, is:
q . . . . ible = A,.FR'qo(I - X,,)

/min ~" I > Xin

and Q is given by
Q = Qsensible + Qlatent

= t .... {a,Ftcqo [Id)(Xin) - Id)(lmi.)]

P

+ A,.F "qo ram

1 --

X,o]]
x~J J

[l(f)-

x In LT(f]

F' UAc
(I(f)

x,,)

(5.7)

dS}

(5.2)
q . . . . ible = #:rlpC(Tp -

Tin )

1 > Imin

If no energy is dumped, then the yearly collectible

energy delivered as sensible heat, Q .... ible, is obtained with eqns (3.9) and (5.2) as

Since neither Adump n o r Id depend on whether

backup is connected in parallel or in series, eqns
(4.10)-(4.11) give Adump and Id for this case as well.
The expression for Qnet(Ac > Adump) is then:

Qnet = /max (AcFR'qo[-Idi(Xin)

Q .... ible = tmax[A,.FRxloff~mi"(I(f) - Xi,) d f

+ #:npH(1 - fd) + AcF'xlo

X ~'~in '

+ t : n p C ( T p - T , n ) f/m, d f ]

= tmax [acFR'qo [ f f l n ( I ( f ) - gin) d f

- Id)(Imin)]

(I(f)

thpC In [ l ( f ) F'UAc
Ll--~)
Xp) d r }

x l]
(5.8)

(5.3)
The yearly collector operating time, based on the
turn-on threshold X~,, is [eqn (3.12)]

+ trl.C(Z. - Tin)(1 - fmin) 1

top/tma = 1 - fi,.

= tmaxAcFR"qo[l~b(X,n) - I~b(Imin)]

Piping losses can again be estimated in a straightforward manner as follows. For Im~n > I, the collectors function as preheaters (sensible heating)
only, and the formalism presented in Refs. [1] and
[12] is appropriate, in which one simply renormalizes "qo and U. F o r I > Imin, both collector inlet and
outlet temperatures are fixed (Tin and T,, respectively), and the calculation of line losses is relatively simple. Since one also knows the yearly collector operating time with Ira,. > I, namely, top(Imin
> I) = tmax(1 -- fmin), these two calculations for
piping losses can be correctly time weighted.

fin

where
= f ( I = Xi.), fmin = f ( l = Imin), and
the two integrals in eqn (5.3) are over the periods
of time during which radiation is insufficient and
sufficient to produce steam, respectively.
The instantaneous heat balance equation for latent heat delivery, qlatent, is:
qlatent ---- A,F"qo(l - Xp)(l - y)

(5.4)

which, with eqn (4.2), can be expressed as

qlatent =

A,.F"qo(I -- Xp)
x

F'UA,.

(5.9)

6. FLASH BOILER

II - x.J

"

(5.5)

If no energy is dumped, then the yearly collectible

energy delivered as latent heat, Qlatent, is given by

The instantaneous heat collected for the flash

boiler configuration drawn in Fig. 3 has been derived in Ref. [1]:

q - A,.FyFn-qo(l - X,),

(6.1)

144

D. BAER e t al.

where
Ff

7. STEAM PRODUCTION VIA HEAT EXCHANGER

(UNFIRED BOILER)--BACKUP IN PARALLEL
A,.FRU(Tp
Tin)
-'
Lknf(-CT~-- ~.) {- ~,.H]]

= [1 - [

In this configuration, shown in Fig. 4, steam can

be produced by varying the flowrate in either the
collector loop or the heat exchanger loop, while the
other is held constant (for convenience). In order
to model this system, the heat exchanger is divided
into sensible and latent sections (see Fig. 6)[1]. The
five governing heat balance equations are:

(6.2)

is a correction factor which accounts for the effect

of the flash boiler on collector performance. If no
energy is dumped, Q is given by [eqn (3.9)]:
Q = tm,A,.FfFR'qo

ff

( I ( f ) - Xt,) d f

(6.3)

(t:rlC)c( Th -- Ti) =

= tmaxacFfFR'qj+(Xp).
Adump is determined from eqns (3.3), (6.1) and

(6.2) as

(UA),(Th - T,)
[ T h - - Tp]
In [Ti _ TpJ

Boiler
(7.1)

gUH

Adump

t h c C In

F'U

/max -- Xp

-1

(thC),.(Th - Ti) = inwH

vloC

Im~ -- Xp - g(Xp - Xi,)

ffnC)c(T,- Tc) =

where L = inp(C(Tp - Ti,) + H) has been assumed, and g = rnp/inc. For A,. > Aoump, the dump
threshold Ia is given by [eqn (3.10)]:

(6.5)

AcFR[I~o-

~ ( I ( f ) - Xp) d f

(6.6)

top/tmax = 1 -- fp.

(6.7)

Piping losses can be evaluated with the procedure

described in Refs. [1] and [12], in which -% and U
are simply renormalized according to piping and
system parameters.

(Tl+ Tp-Tw)[(--~--~[I~Io-U(T,.-

ZF-Rs

Tp - T w ) ~

[1"% - U ( T , . -

(7.3)

Preheater

(7.4)

Collector

(7.5)

T,,)]

where Ti is the outlet fluid temperature from the

boiler section on the collector side; (UA)I and
(UA)2 are the effective heat exchange UA products
for the preheating and boiling sections, respectively; and subscripts c and w denote collector and
water (heat exchanger or load) loop, respectively.
We approximate the U values of the sensible and
latent heating sections as equal (since the dominant
resistance to heat transfer occurs on the collector
side, this should be a good approximation), and assume a knowledge of the total heat exchanger UA
value, (UA)Hx: ( U A ) n x = (UA)I + (UA)2.
Equations (7.1)-(7.5), five equations in five unknowns ( ( U A h or (UA)2; Th; 7",.; Ti; and rh,. or rh,,),
can be reduced to one equation in one unknown,
To:

ff

Since the turn-on threshold is X;, the yearly collector operating time is

----

U(Tc-

= (~nC),.(Th - To)

= tmaxAcFyFR"qo[I~b(Xp) - l~b(Ia)].

T,,))

(mC)c(Ti - To) = ffnC)w(Tp - T,,)

+ L(1 - fa)]

0 = In

(UA)2(Ti - Tp - ( T , . [ T, - Tp ]
In L T,, - Tw]
Preheater

Qnet is then [eqn (3.11)]:

Qnet = tmax A,.FyFR'qo

(7.2)

'

(6.4)

Id = Xp + L/(AcFfFs~qo).

Boiler

T , ) ] + T , . - Tp]
.

T.)] + ( L - -

Tp)(T, + Tp - Tw)

+
1 -

I AcFR . . . . . . .
L(--~ [ I x l o - U(T~- Ta) ]

(~,,- T~)A~FR
x

In[

(-rh--~

- ( UA)ttx/(inC),.,

[hol-U(Tc-Ta)]+(Tc-Tp)(T-S_
+
, Tp-Tw
-T'~)TT[
)]_(T[
+ Tp -- -T-~)

(7.6)

145

Design and optimization of solar steam systems

where T~ -- H/Cw; and we have taken thc as constant and known (this is the more common case in
actual practicet. Hence for every value of I > X,,
one can solve eqn (7.6) for T,. = T,(1). Then with
a knowledge of T,(I), q is given by:

q = A, F R ( I ~ , , - U[T,.(1) - T,,)]

(7.7)

so that if no energy is dumped, Q is given by [eqn

(3.7)]

Q = A,.F~no

f/

t,

[l(f) - XAIIf))I df

(7.8)

where X,. ~ ( U/~qo)(L. - T~). The procedure is then

to solve eqn (7.6) numerically for Tc(l) (Xc(1)), and
then perform numerically the integration in eqn
(7.8).
Adump is determined from eqns (3.3), (3.9) and
(7.7):

ffnC ),
Adump

An approximate but closed-form expression for

q (for the case of the unfired boiler with parallel
backup) has been derived in Ref. [1], wherein the
collectors are considered as suppliers of latent heat
only:

q = A,.FBFR"qo(I - Xt,)
where
FB=[ 1 [
A,.FtcU
]
+ [(rhC),.[exp((UA)t~x/(&C),,) - 1]]

'

(7.13)
For this approximate treatment, we can easily calculate Q:
l

Q = t,~A,.FBFRrlo

F' U

ff (l(f)
p

- Xp) df

= tmaxAcFBFR'qj~b(Xp).

ln [ 1 -

(7.12)

(7.14)

[ (thC)~[ImaxVlo -U~(T,.(lm~) - Ta)]] ]

(7.9)

adumo -

(&C), In
F'~

1 +

Setting q = L in eqn (7.12), we calculate Adumpas:

1
exp((UA)tc~g(~nC),.) - 1

(mC)c'qo(lm~ - Xp)
UL

(7.15)

and ld as
(7.16)

lj = Xp + L/(A,FBFR'qo).
Qnet is then:

Q.~t = tmax [ AcFRF#qo ~ Y~d ( I ( f ) -- Xp) df + L(I - fd)]

(7.17)

= tm,xa,.FBFR'qo[l+(Xp) - Iqb(ld)].

A solar steam system with backup in parallel produces steam during its entire operating time, and a
very large fraction of collector area delivers the latent heat of vaporization (as opposed to the sensible
as
heat part of steam production). Hence the approxla = L/(AFn'qo) + (U/,qo)(T,(ld) - T,) (7.10) imation of eqn (7.12) and the resulting calculations
[eqns (7.14)-(7.17)] turn out to be within a few perTc = T , ( I d )
cent of the exact treatment above [eqns (7.7)where eqns (7.10) must be solved simultaneously (7.11)] for typical solar steam system parameters.
and numerically for Id. Once Id, and hence fd, is
The yearly collector operating time is
known, Qnet is calculated from [eqn (3.11)]:

which is a transcendental equation for Adump because T,.(Ima) depends on Adu,w. The dump threshold, ld, is obtained from eqns (3.3), (3.10) and (7.7)

top/tmax =

Q,~t = tma[a,.Fn~.~a[I(f)'qo

- U(T,(I(f)) - 7",)] d f + L(I -

fa)]/

(7.11)

1 -- f p .

(7.18)

Piping losses can be estimated as described above

for the flash boiler case[l, 12].

146

D. BAER et al.

8. STEAMPRODUCTIONVIA HEAT EXCHANGER-BACKUP tem (in analogy to the analysis of Section 7, in

IN SERIES
which the heat exchanger is divided up into sensible
and latent heating sections):
For the system illustrated in Fig. 5, the flow rates
in both the collector and heat exchanger loops are
( U A ) j ( T h - T~)
constant, the latter being equal to &p. With series
(&C),(L,
- L) =
backup (as noted above in Section 5), there will be
a radiation value, I m i n , below which sensible heatIn LT.
_~.j
ing only can be delivered by the collectors. The
instantaneous heat balance equation for a solar colBoiler (8.6)
lector delivering sensible heat only at constant flow
rate and via a heat exchanger can be expressed
( U A ) 2 [ T i - Tp - ( T o - T.,)]
(rhC)c(L- T,)=
as[l 1]
_

In [ L
q = A,K~FR'qo(I - Xi.)

(8.1)
Preheater

where
F~ = [1

,,FRU
+ A(mC),-[ [ lmCl,

(8.7)

(&C).(Ti - L ) = (&C),,(T. - T,,.)

Preheater

(8.8)

(8.2)
where ( F ~ / C ) m i n = MIN((rhC),, rht,C,,.); and ~ is the
heat exchanger effectiveness.
For I > Imm, solar provides all the sensible heating, which is &pC(Tp - Tin), so that I ~ . can be
obtained from solving the instantaneous heat balance equation:
AcF.~FR~q,,(lmi.

Xin)

&pC,,,(Tp

A,.Fn[l'qo-

FRUA, [111,,
. . . . . . /--U -+
(&C), L

T.-

7",.] + T ~ . - TpJ

......
+T,.-Tp

(8.3)

The instantaneous sensible heat delivery, q .... ib~,

is then

, ]

(&C),.

In /

(--~)~---

ible

tnpCw(Tp - Tin)

I > Imin

I > Xin

tmax AcK~Fn'q,,

(8.10)

(8.4)

and, if no energy is dumped, the yearly collectible

energy delivered as sensible energy, Q .... ~b~, is

O .... ible

+]

T,-

-- ( O A ) H x / ( t ~ t C ) c

q ....

(8.9)

These four equations in four unknowns (T,. ; Th; Ti;

and A~ or A2) can be reduced to one equation in
one unknown, T,.:

0 = In

Imin >

Collector

= (&C),.(Th - L )

or

q .... ible = A,.I~FRxh,(I - Xi,)

T.)]

Tin)

U(T,.-

The solution for T,. as a function of I must be performed numerically. The instantaneous latent delivery, Oatcnt, is:

fffmin
i. ( l ( f ) - X i n ) d f

qlatent
+ I:npCw(Tp

--

Tin)

A,.FR(ITIo - U ( T , . -

rain df

T.))

Cn.C,,(T.

L.)

(8.11)

and the yearly collectible energy delivered as latent

heat, Qlatc,,, is

which, in analogy to eqn (5.3), yields

Q .... ible = tmaxA,F~FR'qo[ld~(Xin) -- Icb(Imin)].
(8.5)
When I > lmin (i.e. when latent heat is delivered),
there are four energy balance equations for the sys-

[ ['

Ql. . . . t = tmax AcFR

m,, [ l ( f ) ' q o -

U(T,(I(f))

- L,)I d f - CnpC,,.(T~ - Ti,)(1 - fmi,)]

(8.12)

Design and optimization of solar steam systems

147

Table 1. Load, location and collector characteristics for examples of section 9

L a t i t u d e : 350

Location:

T a = 15C

y e a r l y average normal beam i r r a d i a n c e

T = 354 W/m2

p = 0.255 = f r a c t i o n

max

of d a y l i g h t

= 450 W/m2

= 936 W/m 2
hours during which c o l l e c t o r s

see no (beam) r a d i a t i o n

Load:

Tp = 200C

Tin = 90C

H = 1.96 x 106 J/kg

Collectors:

concentrators

tracking

The total Q for no-dump systems is then

ible

+ A,.FR

f;

-- Iqb(Imin)]

u(L.(I(f)tint, C , , ( T p -

ff

thpC.,(Tp

(I(f)n,,-

( a t 200C)

(8.15)

and piping losses can be evaluated as for the case

of the system with a heat exchanger with parallel
backup (see Section 7).

T~n)(1 - f m i . ) l
3

l~b(Imin)]

U(T,,(I(f))-

T,,))df

rain

axis

tov/t ..... = 1 - fi,

Q,ct = t .... [A~,F~FR,qo[7+(Xi,)

fd

F'n o = 0.70

horizontal

T,)] d f

The values of Aa,,np and I d a r e the same as for

the heat exchanger system with parallel backup
[eqns (7.9) and (7.10)] since Aaump and ld cannot
depend on the mode of backup operation. Q.~, is:

+ A,,FR

365 d a y s / y r

(8.13)

[l(f)n,,

rain

= I kg/s

where a very large fraction of collector operating

time (and area) is spent delivering latent heat, this
approximate treatment will again be accurate to
within a few percent of the treatment derived immediately above.
The yearly collector operating time is

+ Qi,t~,t

= tmax[AcFxFR'qo[]~b(Xin)

about n o r t h - s o u t h

F'U = 0.40 W/(m2-K)

Q = Q....

Cw = 4300 J / ( k g - K )

9. ILLUSTRATIVEEXAMPLES
We consider a constant load solar industrial process steam system for which the load, location and
collector characteristics are summarized in Table
1. The average solar radiation on the collector aperture, I, can be obtained for all the principal solar
collector types from the correlations of Ref. [6].
The utilizability function + used in our calculations
is the analytic formula of Refs. [7, 8]:

Ti.) + L(I - f d ) ] (8.14)

(9.1)

The accuracy of applying the approximate treatment of Ref. [1], eqns (7.12)-(7.17), directly to this where p is the fraction of daylight hours during
case of series backup will depend on collector area which the collectors see no radiation. For the val(and system characteristics). At small collector ues cited in Table 1, eqn (9.1) is:
areas, where a significant fraction of collector operating time is spent delivering sensible heat (pre=
(9.2)
heating) only, this approximate treatment is poor
and should not be employed. At large collector
areas (of the order of Adump and larger), however, The cumulative frequency distribution function,

148

D. BAER et al.

Table 2. Yearly collectible energy per collector area, Q/Ac, for direct steam production with
backup in series and in parallel

Ac (m2)

Q/Ac series (Gd/(m2-yr))

Q/Ac parallel (Gd/(m2-yr))

500

3.483

3.126

1000

3.405

3.126

1500

3.346

3.126

2500

3.276

3.126

4000

3.244

3.126

or

f(I), is then obtained from eqn (3.8) as

f(i)= 1-(l-p)

= 8.54 hr/day
while for backup in parallel,

1 - 9-~j
top/tmax = 1 -- f ( X p )

Based on a knowledge of f ( I )
thresholds

and the two

top = 1.045 107 s/yr

= 7.96 hr/day

and
Xp = (Uhqo)(Tp

- T,) = 106 W / m z,

= 0.712

FRO~I

Th

COLLECTORS

(Sections 5-7).

We now consider the relative thermal advantage

of series over parallel backup as a function of collector area for the case of direct steam production
(Sections 4, 5). For Ac < Adump with parallel
backup, Q is linear in Ac [eqn (4.9)], while with
series backup, Q increases less than linearly with
A,. [eqn (5.8)]. Adump = 4158 m 2 [eqn (4.10)] independent of parallel or series backup. Table 2 sum-

we can immediately calculate the yearly collector

operating time [eqn (3.12)]. For backup in series,
f(Xi,)

= 0.663

or

gin = (U/Xlo)(Tin - Ta) = 43 W/m 2

top/tmax = 1 -

(Sections 4 and 8),

(9.3)

I ]o.97
= 1 - 0.745

top = 1.123 x 107 s/yr

/ ~ a x f 'rex" - p ' / ' - J

1-

TO

LOAD

I
BOILER
(UA) 1

Ti I

I o

EATER
(UA) 2
mc

Tc
<

[.Tin

mw
<

Fig. 6. Boiling and preheating sections of heat exchanger (when latent is delivered). Thermal power
/n~H and (inC)w(Tp - Tin)are delivered across the heat exchanger to the load loop in the boiling and
preheating sections, respectively.

Design and optimization of solar steam systems

149

1.00

f
t.)
,

v
c,

0.50
u

0.00

10

15

kg/s

Fig. 7. Dependence of yearly collectible energy on collector flow rate rh,. for flash boiler.
Q(~hc)/Q(th,, --* ~) is plotted vs. rhc for fixed A, = 1000 m 2. System parameters as in Table 1.

20000

S-

10000

0
0

5000
A c

m 2

000

Fig. 8. Dependence of net yearly collectible energy Qnet on collector area Ac for flash boiler, hl,./A,
is fixed at 0.005 kg/(s-mZ). System parameters as in Table 1. Adump = 4210 m 2.

150

D. BAER et al.

1.00

0
II

0.50

0.00

1
F'U

( W/m2K

Fig. 9. Dependence of yearly collectible energy on collector F'U value for flash boiler.
Q(F' U)/Q(F' U = 0) is plotted vs. F ' U for fixed Ac = 1000 m z. System parameters as in Table 1.

marizes these results, in which we see a thermal

advantage (in Q) of 9% at Ac = 500 m 2, which decreases as A , is increased, to 3% at Ac = 4000 m 2.
Next we consider the dependence of Q on collector flow rate th,. for the flash boiler configuration
(Section 6). Q depends on rh,, via both the FR [eqn
(3.3)] and Fs [eqn (6.2)] factors in eqn (6.3) and, if
A,, > Adump, via the rh,, dependence of the dump
threshold [eqn (6.5)] as well [see eqn (6.6)]. Figure
7 presents a plot of Q vs rh,, at fixed Ac = 1000 m E
(well below Aaump). Further sensitivity studies, illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, include the dependence
of Q on Ac (at fixed thc/A,.) and of Q on the collector
F ' U value, respectively.
10. SUMMARY

In this paper we have derived analytic results

which make solar steam system design, sensitivity
and optimization studies readily calculable and conceptually clear. Fundamental functional relationships emerge along with an understanding of the
basic physics of the problem. The formalism developed herein is applicable to all collector types
provided the utilizability function (or cumulative
frequency distribution) is available. The power of
the analytic results derived above is that they enable one to calculate accurately yearly collectible
energy, pumping energy and piping losses on a programmable hand calculator and without necessitating extensive hourly meteorological data and computer time.
The calculational step of going from instantaneous to yearly performance for no-storage systems

is exact (barring the effect of transients). The two

primary sources of inaccuracy in the calculation of
yearly energy delivery are: (a) the inaccuracy of
curve fits to utilizability functions; and (b) simplifying assumptions made in deriving the instantaneous heat balance equations.
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1. C. F. Kutscher, R. L. Davenport, D. A. Dougherty,

R. C. Gee, P. M. Masterson and E. K. May, Design
approaches for solar industrial process heat systems.
Solar Energy Research Institute Report SER1/TR-2531356, Golden, CO (1982).
2. L. M. Murphy and E. K. May, Steam generation in
line-focus solar collectors: A comparative assessment
of thermal performance, operating stability, and cost
issues. Solar Energy Research Institute Report SERf/
TR-632-1311, Golden, CO (1982).
3. R. J. Pederson and E. K. May, Flow instability during
direct steam generation in a line-focus solar collector
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