DESIGN OF CENTRAL SOLAR TOWER RECEIVER

Concentrated solar power plants are one of technologies that have been introduced for electricity generation with no usage of fossil fuels and without releasing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Concentrated solar plants convert the solar thermal energy from the sun for power production. However, this technology is still new and many advancements and modifications can be done on the concentrated solar tower power plants to make them more efficient and feasible. This project would solely base on designing the central receiver with materials that would have high rate of heat absorptivity and low rate of heat loss to the atmosphere. To achieve the objectives of this research, 3 main steps would be undertaken during this research project. The steps which were taken are mathematical study on the central receiver, simulation on TRNSYS and finally modeling the required design of the receiver. From the research carried out, the results obtained looks promising for this technology to be implemented in Malaysia because of the high amount of solar radiation (600W/m2), the high surface temperature of the receiver (300°C – 350°C ) and the high fluid outlet temperature of 350°C. Based on the findings, it can be said that the central receiver is one of the promising technology for electricity generation in Malaysia in the future.