Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

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Energy Conversion and Management

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Design and performance of a modular combined cycle solar power plant T

using the fluidized particle solar receiver technology
Omar Behar1, Benjamin Grange, Gilles Flamant
⁎

Processes, Materials and Solar Energy Laboratory (CNRS-PROMES), 7 rue du four solaire – 66120 Font-Romeu, France and University of Perpignan Via Domitia, 52
Avenue Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan, Cedex 9, France

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: The design and the performance of a medium-scale modular solar power plant (~20 MW) integrating a gas
Solar gas turbine turbine combined cycle with a fluidized particle-in-tube receiver and direct thermal storage are investigated in
Solar combined cycle this paper. A practical technique is used to design each part of the solar power plant. The complete design starts
Particles receiver with the solar gas turbine (SGT) since it defines the necessary power to run it; then, the other parts are designed
Thermal energy storage
upstream. Three different cases are investigated under different operation strategies corresponding to two
Particle heat exchanger
Performance modeling
particle temperatures 750 °C and 880 °C, and hybrid and solar-only operation modes respectively. The results
show that the nominal efficiency of the components including the heliostat field, the solar receiver, the gas
turbine, and the steam turbine can reach 67%, 80%, 32%, and 34.5% respectively. As a result, the nominal
thermal efficiency and the annual capacity factor of the complete solar power plant achieve 46% and 33.47%
respectively. The overall nominal efficiency (solar-to-electric efficiency) of the plant for hybrid operation mode
is 25.80%. It varies from 21.16% to 24.7% for the solar-only operation mode. Special interest is shown to the
part-load operations.

1. Introduction Research projects including SOLGATE [7,8],[9], SOLHYCO [10,], and

SOLUGAS [11,12] have tested and proved the concept of SGT. Heller
The development of the Solarized Gas Turbine (SGT) and the asso­ et al. [7–9] have reported the results of the SOLGATE project, which
ciated combined cycles has attracted a lot of interest in recent years aimed to investigate the feasibility of operating SGT at the hundred-
because it is one of the ways (with supercritical cycles) to improve solar kilowatt scale. During this project, a 230 kW gas turbine was powered
to electric efficiency. using three solar air receivers, connected in series, to heat the com­
Initially, very small (micro) SGT have been developed as an alter­ pressed air up to 800–1000 °C. The SOLGATE SGT was operated for
native to Stirling engines integrated to solar dish collector using tur­ 135 h including about 96 h of on-sun tests. SOLHYCO project aimed at
bocharger technology [1,2]. Next, a concept with dedicated GT has the development and demonstration of a SGT-cogeneration system able
been developed within the framework of the OMSOP project for pro­ to operate in both solar and hybrid modes. A 100 kW GT has success­
ducing an efficient, reliable, and cost-effective system that can generate fully tested during a period of more than 165 h. The main objective of
about 3–25 kW [3,4]. However, solar dish technologies have not been SOLUGAS was the qualification and validation of the first SGT at the
fully deployed to the market yet [5],. This is due to technical issues of pre-commercial scale (megawatt-scale). Thus, a 4.6 MW gas turbine has
scale-up, lack of thermal energy storage solution, and high investment been modified to integrate a pressurized air receiver. The compressed
costs associated with solar dish technology. Thus, R&D activities have air has been extracted from the compressor to be preheated by a 3.2
been re-oriented to the improvement of central receiver technology. MWth solar air receiver up to 800 °C [11,12]. The compressed air is then
The latter is easier to scale up and already reached sizes above 100 MW. injected into the combustion chamber to reach the turbine inlet tem­
Besides, it promises to be one of the most viable renewable options to perature (TIT). The SOLUGAS SGT was operated during one year under
replace fossil fuel power generation technologies in the near future [6],. a wide range of conditions, including a standard working regime for
Indeed, the integration of the GT cycle to the solar central receiver commercial plants [11],.
system was demonstrated at both small and pre-commercial scales. The cited projects have successively proved the SGT with

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (G. Flamant).
1
Present address: Solar Energy Research Center (SERC-Chile), Av. Tupper 2007 Piso 4, Santiago, Metropolitan Region (Chile).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2020.113108
Received 13 March 2020; Received in revised form 20 May 2020; Accepted 12 June 2020
Available online 25 June 2020
0196-8904/ © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

pressurized air receiver at both experimental and pre-commercial evaluate the LCOE (Levelized Cost Of Electricity) of modular solar
scales. Following these projects, various studies have further in­ tower plants using solid particles as Heat Transfer Media (HTM), al­
vestigated the performance of the SGT. Behar [12], proposed to preheat lowing HTM temperatures up to 1000 °C is proposed in [29]. A LCOE of
the compressed air of the SGT using parabolic trough technology. The about 6c€/kWh is found for high insolation site like in Chile. The
simulation showed that a solar-to-electric efficiency of 17% is achiev­ previous cited works proposed a simplified analysis of some parts of the
able. Bellos et al. [13], used a multi-objective approach to optimize the SGT and did not account for the actual performance of the SGT at part-
SGT with a parabolic trough technology. The analysis showed that the load. Besides, the practical design of the solar receiver and the heliostat
optimum design leads to 64% fuel savings but with 2.8% penalty on the field for a given capacity of the GT is not investigated. The design of
produced electricity. Spelling [14], used a multi-objective optimization some components such as the multi-stages fluidized bed heat exchanger
approach to evaluate the thermo-economic performance of several and the steam cycle were arbitrary selected rather than designed based
configurations of the SGT. The author concluded that the integration of on practical approach. This study proposed a complete approach that
thermal energy storage and the use of combined-cycle configurations fills the gap between purely academic approaches and detailed en­
are mandatory to overcome the limitations of the simple-cycle SGT. gineering developments providing a realistic design tool that integrates
Grange et al. [15], investigated the impact of packed bed energy storage comprehensive modeling of each component. Moreover, from the aca­
on the performance of SGT with pressurized air receiver. Simulations demic point of view, this work establishes a methodology for the
showed that the use of a packed bed heat storage allows increasing the modeling of complex solar thermal energy conversion systems that in­
solar fraction by 10–15%. Sánchez-Orgaz et al. [16], investigated the tegrate components modeled on the basis of optical, thermal science,
impact of the recuperator effectiveness in a multi-step SGT. The authors and thermodynamic concepts.
pointed out that for the optimum design the increase in the effective­ Reliable simulation tools are needed to predict the performance of
ness of the recuperator is always associated with an increase in the large-scale solarized gas turbine cycles with a particles-in-tube solar
overall efficiency of the SGT. Santos et al. [17], developed a modular receiver and direct storage of particles. Therefore providing a flexible
thermodynamic model for predicting the performance of the SGT. approach necessary to upscale the technology to a commercial level.
Based on the model developed by previous authors, Merchán et al. [18], The present work aims at designing and evaluating the performance
have evaluated the annual performance of several configurations and of a solar gas turbine combined cycle with a fluidized particles-in-tube
operation modes of a SGT with pressurized air receiver. The authors receiver and direct thermal storage using practical modeling techni­
analyzed the margin for improvement for each component and con­ ques. We propose the design of a representative medium-scale module
cluded that the Brayton cycle is the key element to improve the overall using an on-the-shelf gas turbine. Section 2 describes the modeling
efficiency. Petrakopoulou et al. [19], have investigated the integration approaches while Section 3 provides the design and the validation of
of a SGT with a high-temperature air volumetric receiver. The results each component of the system. Section 4 and 5 present the performance
showed that the significant amount of solar energy required to increase evaluation during typical days and under different operation strategies.
the inlet temperature of the combustion chamber to 800–1000 °C The most important conclusions are summarized in the last section.
causes a relative decrease in the energy efficiency of the SGT.
The previous scientific literature review highlights the limitations of
the use of pressurized air receiver including low thermal efficiency, low 2. Modeling the components of the system
allowable solar heat flux, and limited working temperature. Besides, the
use of air as a heat transfer fluid (HTF) is associated with unsolved issue 2.1. Description of the system
about thermal energy storage, which results in limited capacity factor
and solar share, and daily start-up and shut-down of the SGT. This in­ Fig. 1 shows a typical solar gas turbine combined cycle with a
duces a significant increase in the O&M costs and cost of the electricity fluidized particles-in-tube receiver and direct thermal storage. It con­
produced. sists of four main sub-systems:
The use of particles as a HTF was introduced to improve the thermal
efficiency of the solar receiver, to increase the working temperature • The heliostat field,
(allowing high allowable heat flux), and to integrate efficient and cost- • The solar particle receiver,
competitive thermal energy storage. Up to now, there are three pro­ • The two-tank particle storage and fluidized particles/pressurized air
mising concepts of solar particle receivers. The first one is the so-called heat exchanger,
falling particle receiver, which is developed by Sandia Laboratory (SNL) • The combined-cycle integrating a modified simple cycle GT and a
[20]. The second concept is the centrifugal receiver, which is developed Rankine steam cycle.
by the German aerospace center (DLR) [21]. The third one, known as
particles-in-tube (or upward bubbling fluidized bed) solar receiver, has During sunny periods, the particles flow from the cold tank toward
been developed by CNRS within the framework of the CSP2 [22], and the receiver where they are heated up in the receiver tubes. The par­
Next-CSP [23], European projects. This concept relies on a simple- ticles circulate upward inside the tubes in the fluidized state (fluidiza­
proven design [24,25]. The main advantages are the use of a tube-re­ tion with air). Then they are stored in the hot tank. When power pro­
ceiver similar to the standard receiver of solar power tower and small duction is needed, they are introduced in a fluidized bed heat exchanger
diameter particles that exhibit high wall-to-fluidized bed heat transfer to heat the compressed air of the GT. The GT can work in two modes:
[26]. hybrid solar-fuel mode and solar-only mode. In solar-only mode, the
The review of the previously published studies showed that there compressed air is heated into the FB-HEX and then passes directly in the
are few published works on the SGT with fluidized particle receiver. turbine section where it expands. In the case of hybrid mode, the
Farsi and Dincer [27], have conducted a thermodynamic analysis of a compressed air is preheated in the FB-HEX and flows in the combustion
solar power plant with a fluidized particle receiver. They concluded chamber to be heated up to reach the turbine inlet temperature (TIT).
that the integration of the particle solar receiver with direct energy The exhaust gases of the GT passes through a Heat Recovery Steam
storage in the Rankine and Brayton cycles enables to achieve the energy Generator (HRSG) to produce superheated steam for the Rankine cycle.
and the exergy efficiencies of 50% and 53.8% respectively. Kang et al. The complete design started with the solar gas turbine (SGT) since it
[28], have carried out the energy analysis of a hybrid solar combined defines the necessary power to run it. Then, the other parts have been
cycle with particles-in-tube solar receiver and direct energy storage. designed upstream. However, to make this section easier for the
The authors indicated that the overall efficiency of the thermal con­ readers, it is organized into three main sub-sections starting from solar
version (without the optical part) might achieve 48%. An attempt to energy collection to power production.

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Fig. 1. Solar gas turbine combined cycle with particle-in-tube-receiver and direct thermal storage.

• Modeling of the solar field and the particles-in-tube solar receiver,

• Modeling of the fluidized bed heat exchanger, EiIR = i. . Ti4 + IR
i . Fij . EjIR
• Modeling of the simple gas turbine cycle. j (1)
With Fij the view factor from the surface i to the surface j.
The model of the steam cycle is given in Appendix B. The radiative balance in the solar spectrum is achieved by the ray-
The main assumptions used in the modeling are as follows: tracing SOLSTICE software. The net power absorbed by the element i is
given by,
- Each component is at steady state during each time-step;
- The start-up and shut-down losses are ignored; solabs
- The temperature in the cold and hot tanks is uniform as well as in Qi = Ai . qisol + Fij . EjIR EiIR
j (2)
each stage of the fluidized bed heat exchanger;
- The absorber surface of the solar cavity receiver is flat, tube shape is With qi the solar incident flux density after the radiative balance in
sol

not taken into account; the solar spectrum (W/m2).

- The tower shadow is neglected. The surface heat transfer from the front wall to the particles is
calculated by the following equation,
2.2. Modeling of the heliostat field and the particle-in-tube solar receiver qtr = htr (Tfront Tpart , mean) (3)
2
The models of the solar field and the receiver are presented together With htr the heat transfer coefficient (W/m .K), Tfront the front wall
because they are strongly linked. The solar field is designed using temperature (K) and Tpart,mean the mean particle temperature between
SolarPILOT, a software from NREL [30], with a design power de­ the inlet and the outlet (K).
pending on the desired particle outlet temperature (750 °C or 880 °C). Small-fluidized particles, typically 50 μm mean diameter, are used
The cavity receiver consists of absorber tubes at the back positioned as heat transfer fluid in the receiver tubes. The heat transfer coefficient,
on a curved line when looking at the top view. The tube number and htr, was selected based on experimental results with a single tube
geometry are detailed in Section 3.3. The cavity is made of five re­ achieved at the 1-MW solar furnace at the CNRS-PROMES laboratory
fractory panels and the aperture has a 5.5 m height and a 6 m width, [24,25].
with an angle of 20° relative to the vertical plane. The particle flow rate is adjusted to reach the desired particle outlet
To avoid any deterioration of the receiver due to uneven flux dis­ temperature. Simulations are carried out for different sun positions.
tribution leading to thermal hot spots and unacceptable stresses [31], Then, interpolation is used to find the appropriate particle temperature
an aiming point strategy is applied using the heliostats location opti­ and flowrate for a given sun position.
mized in SolarPILOT. This strategy is based on the TABU search [32]
combined with the convolution-projection method Unizar [33], and is 2.3. Modeling of the FB-HEX
applied at the aperture of the receiver to spread the flux density on the
tubes and reduce the maximum flux density. Typical FB-HEX is a multi-stages tube/shell heat exchanger, in
The heliostat locations, their aiming point, and the receiver geo­ which the compressed air of the GT flows into the tubes [36]. The
metry are introduced as input in the ray-tracing software Solstice [34], fluidized particles in the shell-side flow from higher temperature stages
to get the flux distribution on the absorber tubes. to lower temperature stages. The energy balance on one stage of a FB-
The flux map on each receiver surface (cavity and absorber) is in­ HEX can be expressed as,
troduced into a thermal model based on the net radiation method [35]. Qparticles = Q working _air + Qfluidizing _air (4)
This method relies on the radiative balances in the infrared spectrum.

3
O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Fig. 2. Performance maps of typical gas turbine unit: (a) compressor: compressor ratio and isentropic efficiency, (b) turbine: expansion ratio and isentropic efficiency
[Adapted from Ref. 38, ].

With, (Ffriction/2) × (Re 1000) × Pr Pr

0.11
Nu working _air =
Qparticles = mparticles (hparticles _in hparticles _out ) (5)
1 + 12.7 (Ffriction/2) Pr 3 ( 2
1 ) Prtube
(9)

where Nu is Nusselt umber, Ffriction is the friction coefficient, Re is

Qworking _air = m working _air (h working _air _out h working _air _in ) (6) Reynolds number, and Pr is Prandtl number.
Similarly, the heat released by the particles can be given as,
Qfluidizing _air = mfluidizing _air (hfluidizing _air _out hfluidizing _air _in ) (7) Qparticles = × Dtube _outer × Uparticles (Tparticles _average Ttube _outer ) (10)

where Q, m, and h are the energy, the mass flow rate and the enthalpy where: Dtube_outer is the outer diameter of the HEX’s tubes and Uparticles is
respectively, subscript “working_air” refers to the compressed air of the the heat transfer coefficient between the particles and the tubes (a value
GT, “fluidizing_air” refers to the air used to fluidize the particles, “in” of 800 W/m2.K is considered in this study), and Tparticles_average is the
and “out” refer to the inlet and outlet of the HEX’s stage respectively. mean temperature of the particles.
The FB-HEX is supposed to be well-insulated and installed in-door so The tube outer surface temperature (Ttube_outer) is calculated based
that in Eq. (4) the heat losses to the ambient are neglected. The outlet on energy conservation on the tubes of the HEX. The conduction heat
temperature of the fluidizing air is supposed to be equal to that of the transfer, per unit of length, from the tube outer surface to the tube inner
particles in each stage. surface is,
The heat gained (per unit of tube length) by the working air can be (Ttube _inner Ttube _outer )
calculated by, Qconduction _tube = 2 × ktube

Qworking _air = × Dtube _inner × Uworking _air (Ttube _inner Tworking _air _average )
ln ( Dtube _outer
Dtube _inner ) (11)

(8) The tube inner surface temperature is calculated by combining Eqs.

(6) and (11) while the working fluid outlet temperature is calculated by
Dtube_inner is the inner diameter of the HEX’s tubes and Uworking_air is combining Eqs. (6) and (8). The particle outlet temperature is calcu­
the heat transfer coefficient of the working air. It is calculated using lated by combining Eqs. (6) and (10).
Gnielinski correlation [37],. The above model is used to predict the performance of one stage of

4
O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

the FB-HEX. Combining N stages in series results in a multi-stages FB- is based on the model developed in [40].
HEX. The combustion process in the gas turbine involves the fuel (the
hydrocarbon) and the oxidizer (air) called the reactants, which undergo
2.4. Modeling the gas turbine cycle a chemical process while releasing heat to form the products of com­
bustion such that mass is conserved. Thus, the chemical reaction can be
The typical GT cycle consists of a compressor, a combustion expressed as follows,
chamber, and a turbine section. A practical technique, based on the
performance maps of the turbine and compressor sections, has been Cx Hy + aactual H 2O
H2 O + O2 + N2
N2 NCO2
used to model the GT cycle. This approach enables to predict the tur­ 1 H 2O O2
bine performance for part-load operations, based on similarity and di­ CO2 + NH 2O H2 O + NN2 N 2 + NO2 O2
mensional analyses, and is widely used in turbomachinery [38]. Indeed,
(20)
the maps are graphical representations of the performance of the
components (compressor and turbine sections) for a given set of oper­ actual is the actual air coefficient, χx and Nx represent the fractions
ating conditions [39], which are themselves expressed in terms of and the number of moles respectively.
certain corrected variables with respect to reference inlet pressure and The combustion chamber outlet temperature is calculated based on
temperature (15 °C, 1 atm.). For the compressor, the maps provide the the following equation,
compressor ratio and isentropic efficiency as a function of the corrected
TCC _outlet
mass flow and corrected shaft speed. For the turbine section, the maps
[(mworking_air m cooling_air )CPCC _inlet TCc _in + mfuel Qcv + mfuel CPfuel Tfuel]
provide isentropic efficiency and expansion ratio as a function of the =
cc
[(mworking_air mcooling_air + mfuel )CPCC _outlet ]
same parameters. Fig. 2 represents the components’ maps of a typical
gas turbine unit. (21)
Based on the inlet parameters of the compressor, the corrected shaft
mcooling_air is the mass flow rate of the air that is used to cool the
speed (Ncor _C ) and corrected mass flow rate (mcor _C ) are respectively
turbine blade, subscript CC refers to the combustion chamber, mfuel and
given by,
Tfuel are the mass flow rate and the temperature of the fuel respectively,
Ncor _C =
Nrot cc is the combustion efficiency, and Q cv is the fuel calorific value.
_C (12)
3. Design of the components
_C
mcor _C = mair
_C (13) The design of the components has been carried out as follows. First,
The index “C” refers to the compressor. θ_C and α_C are non-di­ an off-the-shelf gas turbine that is able to work in both hybrid and solar-
mensional factors defined as, only modes was selected. Next, the fluidized bed heat exchanger was
designed with appropriate temperature-approach. The number of stages
TC _in of the FB-HEX was determined based on the temperature approach and
_C =
TSTD (14) with respect to the design cold temperature of the particles (the tem­
perature at the outlet of the FB-HEX). The receiver-loop, comprising the
PC _in
_C = receiver, the storage, and the heliostat field, was then sized to meet the
PSTD (15) heat demand of the GT cycle. Finally, the steam cycle was designed
The index “in” refers to the compressor inlet. PSTD and TSTD are based on the exhaust gases’ parameters of the GT cycle. A flowchart
respectively the pressure and temperature under standard conditions. showing the main design steps of the complete system is given in
The compression ratio and isentropic efficiency of the compressor Appendix A.
are functions of the corrected mass flow rate and the corrected shaft The system is supposed to be installed in Ouarzazate Province in the
speed. Drâa-Tafilalet region of south-central Morocco, at an elevation of
1100 m, in the middle of a bare plateau south of the High Atlas
C (
= f Ncor _C , mcor _C ) (16) Mountains. The coordinates of the site are 31′N and 6.86′W. During the
night, an ambient temperature of 15 °C and a relative humidity of 60%
s
C
(
= f Ncor _C , mcor _C ) (17) are considered.

The following relation provides the exit air temperature of the

3.1. Design data and validation of the GT model
compressor for isentropic process.

TC_out_s = TC _in ( C )
C 1
C (18) Table 1 illustrates the design data of the selected gas turbine. Sie­
mens GT-500 17 MW-gas turbine [41], was chosen because it is suitable
In order to calculate the actual outlet temperature of the com­ and available for the first commercial SGT with a fluidized particles-in-
pressor, the following definition of isentropic efficiency is used. tube solar receiver. Low TIT and high power/weight ratio are the most
hC_out_s hC_in important advantages of GT-500 with respect to the solar application.
C
= The former leads to optimum performance when the GT is working in
(19)
s
hC_out hC_in
solar-only mode.
The same methodology is developed to model the turbine section. It is worth noting that components’ performance maps are subject to
To match the compressor and turbine characteristics, the actual turbine confidentiality because it is the core of the GT design. Thus, the maps
mass flow is compared to the compressor mass flow and the fuel mass have been up-scaled and adapted based on those published in the lit­
flow. An iteration process on the compressor mass flow is applied to erature. The practical technique used to model the GT is driven by the
find the operation point. actual operations of the GT. The technique leads to find the operation
It is worth noting that a closed cooling system is considered, in point of the gas turbine as a function of ambient conditions and turbine
which a fraction of compressed air is extracted for cooling the turbine load. To validate the GT model, the predicted results are compared with
blade. This cooling air is then mixed with the exhaust gases at the outlet the rig-tests published performance [41].
of the turbine section. The modeling of the cooling system in this study Fig. 3 illustrates a comparison between the predicted performance

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Table 1 100 20
Design data of Siemens SGT-500 [41],. 90 18

Electrical output (MW)

80 16
Design data Value Unit

Efficiency (%)
70 14
Compressor 60 12
Compressor ratio 12 – 50 10
Isentropic efficiency (assumed) 0.91 –
Combustion chamber 40 8
Pressure losses (assumed) 4 % 30 6
Turbine Inlet Temperature (TIT) 850 °C 20 4
Combustion efficiency 0.99 –
10 2
Turbine section
Isentropic efficiency (assumed) 0.92 – 0 0
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Gas turbine unit
Nominal shaft speed 3600 rpm Turbine Load (%)
Nominal output (under standard conditions) 17 MWe
Mechanical efficiency 99 % Fig. 4. Electrical output and efficiency as a function of turbine load (the line is
Electrical efficiency 99 % Siemens data, points are model predictions).

efficiency is 20.27% and the corresponding predicted value is 20.32%.

The accurate predictions are obtained thanks to the practical technique
adopted to model the gas turbine. Indeed, the model takes into account
the shaft speed. For each given load and taking into account the am­
bient conditions, the model finds the appropriate shaft speed and
matches the compressor and the turbine sections to produce the desired
power. Thus, the MAD for the part-load performance is minor. It is
4.76% for the heat rate and only 3.74% for the efficiency.
These data confirm the potential of the model to predict both the
full-load and the part-load performance of the gas turbine. The slight
deviation of the gas turbine model is strongly related to unknown
specific design details of the Siemens GT-500 that are not available. The
uncertainties in the correlations used to estimate the thermo-physical
proprieties of gases have a second-order impact.

Fig. 3. Electrical output and heat rate as a function of compressor inlet tem­
perature (lines are Siemens data, points are model predictions). 3.2. Design of the FB-HEX

To design the FB-HEX, the inlet parameters of the particles and the
and Siemens’ rig-tests data, for the case of the heat rate and the elec­
compressed air must be defined first. The nominal inlet parameters of
tricity generation, as a function of compressor inlet temperature. Good
the compressed air correspond to the nominal outlet parameters of the
agreement has been observed thanks to components’ maps, which
compressor. For the hybrid case, particles at a nominal inlet tempera­
consider the effect of ambient temperature on the compressor/expan­
ture of 750 °C is considered, because it is the state-of-the-art based on
sion ratios as well as on the isentropic efficiencies of the compressor
the past experimental results [42]. In the solar-only design, the nominal
and turbine sections.
inlet temperature of the particles is supposed to be 880 °C. This value is
As shown in Table 2, there is a minor difference between predicted
selected based on the TIT and the temperature approach of the FB-HEX.
performance and Siemens’ rig-tests data. For the generated power, the
The FB-HEX is then designed and the number of stages is de­
Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) is about 0.44 MW, which corresponds
termined based on a temperature approach of 30 °C. The particle
to difference of 3.4%. The deviation in the prediction of the heat rate is
temperature at the outlet of the FB-HEX is fixed at 400 °C to keep the
also negligible. The percentage is 3.3%, which corresponds to a MAD of
particles working within the technical specifications (manufacturer
418 kJ/kWh. Accurate results have also been obtained for the case of
technical data).
the mass flow rate and the temperature of the exhaust gases. For the
A sensitivity analysis through varying the number of stages is car­
former, the mean deviation is 3.46% and for the latter, it is less than
ried out to find the appropriate number of stages that meets the spe­
1.55%.
cifications cited above. Fig. 5 indicates that the appropriate number of
The potential of the GT model to predict the part-load performance
stages for the hybrid design is 15 stages while it is 19 stages for solar-
was examined because it is of particular interest for optimum planning
only design. The effect of the number of stages on the outlet tempera­
of the GT operations. Fig. 4 illustrates a comparison between the pre­
tures of the compressed air is presented in Fig. 5 to provide a com­
dicted performance and Siemens rig-tests data, for a wide range of
prehensive analysis. It is apparent that the higher the number of stages,
turbine load, from 30% to 100%. For instance, at 30% load, rig-tests
the higher the outlet temperature of the compressed air and the lower

Table 2
Statistics for the validation of the gas turbine model.
Operation mode Parameter Mean Absolute Deviation Percentage of MAD (%)

Full-load Power generation 0.44 [MW] 3.43

Heat rate 0. 42 [MJ/kW-hr] 3.30
Exhaust gasses mass flow 2.72 [kg/s] 3.46
Exhaust gases temperature 6.04 [°C] 1.54
Part-load Heat rate 0.61 [MJ/kW-hr] 4.76
Efficiency 1.07 [%] 3.74

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Table 4
Main design data of the three considered operation modes.
Case Hybrid GT Solar-only Solar-only GT – Low
GT flowrate

Tower height (m) 120

Heliostat field (m2) 77 518 126 812 77 518
Hot temperature of particles 750 880 880
(°C)
Receiver geometry 382 tubes of 7 m height and an outer diameter of
50 mm

keeping the solar field of the hybrid case and decreasing the particle
mass flow rate to reach a particle outlet temperature of 880 °C. The
three considered cases have the same tower height and receiver geo­
metry. Table 4 illustrates the main design data of the three considered
cases.
The layouts of the heliostat field for the hybrid and solar-only GTs
are presented in Fig. 6. The layout of the heliostat field of the third case
Fig. 5. Effect of the number of stages on the performance of the FB-HEX. is similar to that of hybrid GT.
The wide shape of the heliostat field is voluntary due to the geo­
metry of the receiver shown in Fig. 7. Indeed, Eastern and Western
the outlet temperature of the particles because the increase in the
heliostats are required to reach the side absorber tubes.
number of stages increases the heat transfer area. Nevertheless, the
The solar receiver consists of 382 tubes of 7 m height and with an
higher the number of stages, the lower is the temperature increase in
outer diameter of 50 mm (black surface in Fig. 7). With a nominal mass
the high-temperature stages due to the decrease in the heat transfer
flowrate in the receiver of 90 kg/s and assuming a uniform distribution
coefficient (HTC). Besides, the difference in the HTC between the first
of particle in the tubes, it leads to a mass flow rate per unit surface area
stage and the last stage for the case of solar-only is 21%. Consequently,
per tube of around 60 kg/m2.s. This value lies in the range experi­
15-stages FB-HEX provides an appropriate temperature approach
mentally validated in [18],. The cavity is made of five refractory panels.
(27 °C) for the solar-only case.
The optical properties of the tubes and the panels are given in Table 5.
Table 3 illustrates the design data of the FB-HEX for the hybrid and
Fig. 8 shows the results of the ray-tracing simulation with Solstice
solar-only GTs. The difference between the compressor mass flow rate
displayed in Paraview for the reference hybrid case (vernal equinox at
in the hybrid case and the solar-only case is related to the pressure drop.
noon) with the DNI value from Ouarzazate.
For solar-only, the combustion chamber is by-passed (100% solar-
The maximum flux density on the absorber tubes is 620 kW/m2 and
powered), which reduces the pressure drop and consequently the mass
806 kW/m2 for the hybrid and solar-only cases respectively. Figs. 9–11
flow rate increases. The pressure drop in the FB-HEX (pressurized-air
present, respectively, the evolution of the particle mass flow rate, the
side) is higher in the case of solar-only GT than in the case of hybrid GT
intercepted power, and the optical and thermal efficiency during the
because of the increase in the operating temperature.
21st of March, for the three cases. All the results are shown in solar
time.
The particle mass flowrate follows the same evolution during the
3.3. Design of the heliostat field and the solar receiver
day for the hybrid GT and solar-only GT. It reaches a maximum value of
65 kg/s for the solar-only GT-low flowrate and 90 kg/s for the other two
After the design of the FB-HEX, the solar field’s components have
cases. The intercepted power (power entering the receiver aperture)
been designed including tower, receiver, and heliostats. The tower
varies with the daytime from 6.8 MW to 44 MW for the hybrid GT (and
height is set to 120 m and the heliostats have a reflective surface of
for the solar-only GT-low flowrate) and from 10.1 MW to 61.6 MW for
49 m2 (7 m × 7 m) with a reflectance of 92% and a slope error of 0.9
the solar-only GT.
mrad (high optical quality). The total reflective surface of the heliostat
The tradeoff made on the aperture between the spillage loss and the
field is 77 518 m2 and 126 812 m2 for the hybrid and solar-only GT,
thermal efficiency leads, at solar noon, to an optical efficiency of 67.4%
respectively. In the latter case, the heliostat field is larger because a
(12.9% of the optical losses come from the spillage) and a thermal ef­
constant particle mass flow rate for both cases is considered. The third
ficiency of 83.2% for the hybrid GT. For the solar-only GT, the optical
case (called “Solar-only GT – Low flowrate” in this paper) consists of
efficiency drops down to 57.6% with 20.8% of spillage loss, and the
thermal efficiency is 80.2%. The optical efficiency of the third case
Table 3
Nominal design data of the FB-HEX.
follows the same trend as the hybrid case. The thermal efficiency is
maintained around 80% during the day.
Parameter Hybrid GT Solar-only GT Unit The low thermal efficiency at 7 AM is due to a low particle mass
Compressor mass flow rate 79.445 80.73 kg/s flowrate because of a DNI of only 256 kW/m2.
Compressor outlet temperature 340 341.58 °C At nominal conditions, the power balance is given in Fig. 12.
Compressor outlet pressure 10.07 10.06 bar Table 6 shows the amount of hot particles collected during the
Particles inlet temperature 750 880 °C vernal equinox and the winter/summer solstices and the equivalent
Particles outlet temperature 398 399.87 °C
full-load operation duration for the three cases given in Table 4. The
Particles mass flow rate 82 79.9 kg/s
Length of the stage 0.5 0.5 m amounts collected during summer solstice corresponds to the maximum
Number of stages of the FB-HEX 15 19 – storage capacity of the plant. Compared to the vernal equinox, there are
Heat transfer area 3958.4 5014 m2 around 15% less particles collected at the winter solstice and around
Nominal pressure drop (pressurized air) 188.4 271.0 mbar
3% more particles at the summer solstice.

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Fig. 6. Layout of the heliostat field optimized in SolarPILOT with associated nominal optical efficiency for (a) Hybrid GT (1582 heliostats) and (b) Solar-only GT
(2588 heliostats).

Fig. 7. View of the solar receiver – (a) Front view, (b) 3D view.

Table 5 position is quite similar for the first two cases. For the third case, the
Optical properties of the tubes and refractory panels. amount of hot particles collected corresponds to approximately 70% of
Parameter Tubes Refractory Panels
the amount collected in the first two cases.

Emissivity (–) 0.85 0.93

Absorptance (–) 0.9 0.2 4. Performance evaluation of the complete power plant

The previous sections described the design and performance of the

Simulations are then carried out for different sun positions during system’s components including GT, FB-HEX, solar receiver, and solar
the year, the 21st of each month. Simulations before 8 AM and after 4 field. For the steam cycle, the design and performance are given in
PM are performed if the DNI (average hourly DNI over the month) is Appendix B. The present section describes the performance of the
higher than 150 W/m2 (below this value the particle mass flow rate is complete power plant (illustrated in Fig. 1). A flowchart showing the
too low to gain power from the wall). Between 8 AM and 4 PM, si­ main steps of the methodology used to calculate the performance of the
mulations are achieved every-two hours with an average hourly DNI complete system during typical period is given in Appendix A. The
throughout the year. Then, the results are interpolated as a function of performance metrics used to evaluate the plant are the power output,
the sun azimuth and elevation. Fig. 13 shows the interpolation of the the efficiency, the solar share, the specific fuel consumption, and the
particle flowrate for three cases as a function of the sun position. capacity factor. Two operation strategies are considered: constant
Similar to Fig. 9, the amount of hot particles collected at any sun power production after 18 h and constant power production on

Fig. 8. Results of Solstice displayed in Paraview for the hybrid case – (a) heliostat field (color code: cosine efficiency), (b) absorber (color code: flux density in W/m2).

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

demand. This means that the solar plant is operated as a peaker.

Fig. 14 shows the power production and the thermal efficiency of
the thermodynamic cycles during 21–22 March, for the three cases
(hybrid, solar-only, and solar-only low-flowrate), operating in a con­
stant power production strategy after 18 pm, at the site located in
Ouarzazate. The GT cycle produces about 14.7 MW instead of 17 MW
(output under STD conditions) because of the high elevation of the site
(1100 m). The operation duration for the case of solar-only low-flow­
rate is shorter than for the other two cases because of the low amount of
the particles in the storage (see Table 6). The slight difference in the CC
power production between the solar-only case and hybrid case is re­
lated to the air mass flow of the GT’s compressor (see Table 3). Indeed,
the compressor air mass flow of hybrid GT is slightly lower than that of
solar-only GT (79.445 vs 80.73 kg/s) because of the difference in the
pressure drop. However, the decrease in the pressure drop pushes the
operation point of solar-only GT far further from the nominal point,
compared with that of the hybrid GT, which results in additional effi­
ciency losses, as plotted in Fig. 14b. The thermal efficiency of the GT
cycle for the cases of hybrid and solar-only are 32.09% and 32.43%,
Fig. 9. Particle mass flowrate during the 21st of March for the three studied which corresponds to an output of 14.67 MW and 14.65 MW respec­
cases. tively. The steam turbine efficiency is the same for the three cases
(34.82%) leading to a generation of 3.72 MW. Thus, the CC output
reaches about 18.37 MW for the three cases with 46% efficiency. The
overall efficiency (also known as solar-to-electric efficiency) is the
product of the individual efficiencies of the heliostat field, the receiver,
and the CC. The results illustrated, in green color, in Fig. 14b corre­
sponds to the product of the full-load efficiencies. The overall nominal
efficiency of the hybrid case is 25.80%. This value decreases to 24.70%
for the case of solar-only low flowrate due to the slight decrease in the
thermal efficiency of the solar receiver (from 83.2% for the hybrid case
to 80%). For the solar-only case, the overall efficiency is 21.16%, which
is 4.64 points lower than that of the hybrid case. This is mainly due to
the low optical efficiency of the heliostat field, which drops from 67.4%
(for the hybrid case) to 57.6% for the case of the solar-only. The de­
crease in the thermal efficiency of the receiver has a second-order im­
pact (83.2% for the hybrid case vs 80.2% for the solar-only case).
Fig. 15a shows the solar share for the three cases. The solar share of
the two solar-only cases is 100%, which means no fuel is used. For the
hybrid case, an additional amount of fuel is required to reach the TIT.
The solar share for the hybrid GT is 73.70%, which results in low
Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC), as shown in Fig. 15b. The use of solar
energy in the hybrid case allows reducing the SFC from 11.29 MJ/kWh
Fig. 10. Intercepted power during the 21st of March for the three studied cases.
(for the case fossil fuel GT) to 2.92 MJ/kWh in hybrid GT.
The proposed solar power plant is modular because of its medium
size. Moreover, several solar collection loops (the tower and the re­
ceiver) can be associated in parallele to increase the total power and the
storage capacity of the plant. In this option, the nominal power of the
combined cycle shared by the solar collection loops will increase pro­
portionally.
Thanks to the thermal energy storage the system offers great flex­
ibility for saving solar energy and generatind power when needed.
Fig. 16 shows the performance of each component for the case of solar-
only operating to meet a constant power need during the periods of
peak demand (18 pm-22 pm, then 6 am-8 am). The efficiency of the
components (including heliostat field, receiver, and power conversion
cycles) during 21–22 March is presented in Fig. 16a. The power pro­
duction and the state of the TES are given in Fig. 16b. Flexible power
production management is possible to meet a given objective. Particles
can be stored during a day (8 am to 18 am) to be used when needed
(18 pm-22 pm, then 6 am-8 am). Besides, the remaining energy in the
storage can be saved to the next days, as shown in Fig. 16b. The pro­
posed concept is flexible enough to store energy for the next days. For
instance, particles can be stored to meet the peak demand of a rainy
Fig. 11. Optical and thermal efficiency during the 21st of March for both hy­ day, which can be forecasted even one week before.
brid and solar GT.
Fig. 17a shows the amount of electricity generated during the vernal
equinox and the winter/summer solstices. The operation strategy is a

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Fig. 12. Power balance on the solar receiver (hybrid case) the 21st of March at noon (a) with optical loss (b) only thermal loss.

Table 6
Amount of hot particles collected during the vernal equinox and the winter/summer solstices and equivalent full-load operation duration (see Table 3).
Winter Solstice Vernal Equinox Summer Solstice

Hybrid GT (T particle at 750 °C) 2027 t 2432 t 2510 t

Solar GT (T particle at 880 °C) 2060 t 2431 t 2494 t
Equivalent full-load operation duration(round numbers) 7.1 h 8.4 h 8.6 h
Solar GT (T particle at 880 °C) – Low flowrate 1440 t 1730 t 1766 t
Equivalent full-load operation duration 5h 6h 6.1 h

constant power production after 18 h. The operation duration for the This value corresponds to the maximum capacity factor of the plant and
case of solar-only low flowrate is short according to the amount of it is 10 points higher than that of solar-only low flowrate case. Inter­
particles in the storage (see Table 5). Fig. 17b illustrates the seasonal estingly, the capacity factor during spring (autumn is similar to spring)
and annual capacity factor of the three cases. Solar-only and hybrid is almost similar to that of summer for the three studied cases (the
cases have the same storage capacity so that they have the same ca­ difference is less than 1%). The average capacity factor during winter is
pacity factor. During summer, the capacity factor can reach 35.83%. just 5 points lower than that of equinox. As a result, the annual capacity

Fig. 13. Particle mass flowrate versus sun position– (a) Hybrid GT, (b) Solar-only GT, (c) Solar-only GT – Low flowrate.

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Fig. 14. Power production and efficiency the power block during the 21st-22ed March operating with a constant power production after 18 pm.

Fig. 15. (a) Solar share of the three studied cases (left) and (b) specific fuel consumption of the GT (right).

factor can reach 33.47% for hybrid and solar-only cases, and 23.75% parameter. It decreased from 80.79 kg/s, at the nominal point, to
for the case of solar-only low flowrate. 68 kg/s, at 75% load, which represents a cut of 16%. This results in a
reduction in the pressure at the compressor outlet. Therefore, the
5. Off design performance of a solarized gas turbine pressure drop in the FB-HEX declines (low mass flow rate results in low
Reynolds number). As Fig. 18b illustrates, the compressor outlet pres­
This section focuses on the part-load performance of a solarized gas sure decreases from 10.6 bar to 9.06 bar, which corresponds to a 14.5%
turbine. Because of the similarity, the case of solar-only is considered as loss. The diminution in the FB-HEX outlet pressure is 14.7%. As can be
an example. The selected operation strategy consists of keeping the seen in Fig. 18c, at 75% turbine load, the pressure drop is reduced from
particles mass flow rate at its nominal value and reducing the power 271 mbar to 253 mbar (6.5% decrease).
production of the GT. Consequently, the GT is subjected to the variation At partial load, the outlet temperature of the compressor drops due
in the compressor mass flow rate associated with the variation of TIT. to the decline in the outlet pressure. As shown in Fig. 18d, the com­
Fig. 18 shows the performance of the GT as a function of the generated pressor outlet temperature is reduced from 341 °C to 324 °C. However,
power (percentage of nominal load). The load of the GT is reduced from the TIT raises from 850 °C to 876 °C (but remains acceptable from the
100% to 75%. This is done by reducing the shaft speed of the GT to a safety point of view) thanks to the selected operation strategy that kept
value that corresponds to the desired amount of electricity produced. As the particles mass flow rate in the FB-HEX constant. Nevertheless, the
Fig. 18a demonstrates, a slight decrease in the shaft speed (from its FB-HEX is also affected by the partial load operations. When the turbine
nominal value) results in a significant loss in the GT performance. By load declines from 100% to 75%, the temperature of the particles at the
reducing the GT load from 100% to 75%, the isentropic efficiency of the outlet of the FB-HEX raises from 399.38 °C to 442 °C, because of the low
compressor and the turbine section is significantly reduced from its compressor air mass flow rate.
nominal value (90%, and 91.7% respectively) to 87%, which represents Another important point to mention is the turbine outlet tempera­
5% losses. The mass flow rate of the compressor is the most affected ture, which increases at partial load. This is due to the combined effect

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Fig. 16. Efficiencies and solar share (a), power production and state-of-the-storage (b) of solar-only combined cycle operating on-demand.

of low turbine inlet pressure (due to low compressor outlet pressure) efficiency. When the turbine load reduces to 75%, the GT efficiency
and losses in the isentropic efficiency. The former results in a low ex­ loses 6 points (from 32% to 26%), which represents a decrease of
pansion ratio while the latter induces additional entropy generation so 18.4%.
that the turbine outlet temperature increases. The analysis of the performance of the three studied cases (hybrid,
Table 7 summarizes the losses in the performance of each part of the solar-only, and solar-only low flowrate) shows that the performance of
solarized gas turbine. As can be noticed, all the parts are penalized at the solar part (heliostat field and receiver) has a critical influence on
partial load. As a result, there are significant losses in the overall the overall performance of the solar power plant. In other words, the

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Fig. 17. Seasonal operation duration (left) and capacity factor (right) of the three studied cases.

increase in the operating temperature of the receiver does not obviously example, US DOE 2030 cost targets for CSP is 5c$ per kilowatt-hour for
improve the overall efficiency of the complete power plant. This fact a baseload plant with 12 or more hours of storage and 10c$ per kilo­
can be observed when comparing the hybrid case with a solar-only low watt-hour for a peaker plant with six or fewer hours of storage [45].
flowrate case (high operating temperature of the receiver reduces the
overall efficiency by 4.26%). Besides, the high operating temperature of 7. Conclusion
the receiver requires a large heliostat field (the case of solar-only),
which is associated with a low optical efficiency (large heliostat field The design and the performance of a medium-scale flexible solar
has decreased the overall efficiency from 25.80% to 21.16%, which power plant integrating a combined cycle with a fluidized particle-in-
represents a reduction of 18%). Even though high operation tempera­ tube receiver and direct thermal storage are presented.
ture increases the efficiency of the thermodynamic cycle, it induces a To provide practical technical information, a gas turbine with a low
decrease in the thermal efficiency of the solar receiver. On the other TIT has been selected to describe the performance of the solar combined
hand, the high operating temperature of the receiver requires a large cycle power plant. Besides, the components’ performance maps are used
solar field, which decreases the optical efficiency. The overall efficiency to provide the actual performance of the power conversion cycles and a
is the product of the three cited efficiencies and further studies should rigorous methodology is employed to design the solar receiver, the
identify the optimum operating temperature of the receiver that max­ heliostat field, and the fluidized bed heat exchanger. Both full-load and
imizes the overall efficiency of the complete solar power plant. part-load performance are evaluated and three cases are investigated:
hybrid, solar-only, and solar-only low flowrate.
6. Discussion The evaluation of the performance under different operation stra­
tegies indicates that the solar power plant provides a great flexibility
The proposed solar power plant offers significant improvements in thanks to the direct energy storage. The analysis of the components and
the thermal efficiency with respect to the state of the art even using an the overall plant efficiencies for typical days shows promising perfor­
off-the-shelf gas turbine. Furthermore, the designed solar part (solar mance during summer, spring, and autumn leading to an annual ca­
field and solar receiver) can be considered as a representative module pacity factor above 33%. The efficiency of the power block reaches
of larger plants that associate several modules sharing the same power 46%. The overall nominal efficiency (solar-to-electric efficiency) of the
block (heat exchanger and combined cycle). 100 MW and more solar power plant showed a strong dependence on the optical efficiency of
power plants can be designed on this basis provided an additional study the solar field but a weak function of the receiver’s efficiency. It reaches
on particle conveying between the towers and the power block. An 25.80% for the hybrid case because the solar field is relatively small.
increase of cycle efficiency from 46% to 48.8% is expected for com­ For the case of the solar-only, which has a large solar field, the overall
mercial-scale solar power plants [43],. efficiency drops to 21.16%. Nevertheless, this latter value can be en­
However, there is room for additional improvement using sCO2 hanced up to 24.7% by reducing the power of the collection loop.
cycles that enables 50% cycle efficiency and more with 750 °C particle This paper presents a general methodology for simulating fluidized
temperature and solar-only operation. For example, Rao et al. [44], particles-base solar thermal power plants that can be applied to the
proposed a multi-objective optimization of supercritical carbon dioxide integration of different conversion cycles and be used to design large-
recompression Brayton cycles that resulted in an efficiency ranging scale commercial power plants composed of several modules sharing
from 43 to 53.8%. the same power block. Realistic overall performance calculations are
Further studies should quantify the heat losses associated with the provided on the basis of the use of an off-the-shelf gas turbine with
particle conveying and the parasitic power consumption due to fluidi­ known performance. It is shown that even in this case an increase of
zation air in both the solar receiver and the heat exchanger. Besides, a 10% relative cycle efficiency with respect to current technology is at­
techno-economic assessment, using appropriate economic indicators, is tainable. An increase of 20–25% relative cycle efficiency is expected
necessary to evaluate the competitiveness of the proposed concept. For with advanced sCO2 cycles. With respect to overall plant performance,

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Fig. 18. Part load performance of solarized gas turbine (case of solar-only).

operating a solar receiver at high temperature may result in a decrease the increase of the thermal efficiency from 83% -Fig. 12- to 85%). Fi­
of its efficiency with respect to molten salt technology. Nevertheless, nally, a significant increase of overall solar power plant efficiency with
this decrease can be limited to about 6% relative (from 90% to 85%, respect to state-of-the-art central receiver technology is expected using
because an optimized design of the particle solar receiver may result in the particle technology.

Table 7
Losses in the performance of the solarized gas turbine at part load (percentage of nominal performance).
Turbine Load Losses in shaft speed Losses in compressor isentropic efficiency Losses in turbine isentropic efficiency Losses in overall efficiency

75% 6.76 3.46 14.48 18.37

80% 5.58 2.81 11.39 15.48
85% 2.89 2.45 5.33 12.57
90% 1.73 1.95 2.95 7.86
95% 0.92 0.94 1.56 3.37

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Declaration of Competing Interest Acknowledgments

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influ­ 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No
ence the work reported in this paper. 727762, Next-CSP project. It was also supported by the French
“Investments for the Future” program managed by the National Agency
for Research, under contract ANR-10-LABX-22-01 (labex SOLSTICE).

Appendix A

A.1. Design methodology

The main steps in design the complete solar power plant are illustrated in Fig. A.1

Fig. A1. Main steps in the design of solar power plant.

A.2. Performance methodology

Fig. A.2 shows the main steps that are used to evaluate the performance of the solar power plant during a typical period.

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Fig. A2. Main steps in the performance evaluation of solar power plant.

Appendix B

B.1.1. Modeling the Rankine steam cycle

The selected configuration of the Rankine cycle in this study is illustrated in Fig. B.1. Liquid water is pumped to the Heat Recovery Steam

Fig. B1. Configuration of the steam Rankine cycle.

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Generator (HRSG) though the Condenser pump. The HRSG consists of four main parts, i.e., an economizer, a boiler, a super-heater, and a re-heater.
The superheated steam at the outlet of the HRSG is expanded through the High-Pressure Turbine (HPT). Next, this steam is preheated in the
preheater. The steam is then expanded into the Low-Pressure Turbine (LPT) to the condenser working pressure. At the condenser, the steam is cold
down until saturated liquid conditions.
The modeling of the steam cycle is based on a practical technique similar to the one used to model the GT cycle.

B.1.2. Condenser pump

The Condenser Pump (CDP) performance map is used. Indeed, a typical pump’s map provides the performance as a function of mass flow rate and
rotational speed. At selected shaft speed the isentropic efficiency and head (increase in pressure) can be obtained as a function of mass flow rate.
CDP
s = f (Nrot _CDP , MCDP ) (B1)

PCDP = f (Nrot _CDP , MCDP ) (B2)

Nrot and M are respectively the shaft speed and mass flow rate.
The outlet parameters of the CDP including pressure, temperature and enthalpy are calculated as follows. The outlet pressure is obtained by
adding the increase in pressure (ΔP) to the inlet pressure (Pin).
Pout _CDP = Pin _CDP + PCDP (B3)
subscripts in and out refer to the inlet, the outlet of the CDP.
The actual out enthalpy is calculated based on the concept of isentropic efficiency.

h water _out , s h water _in

h water _out = h water _in +
is (B4)
where h and ηis refer to the enthalpy and the isentropic efficiency. Subscript s refers to the isentropic enthalpy.
The water temperature at the outlet of the pump is calculated as a function of pressure and actual enthalpy.
Twater _out = T (Pwater _out , h water _out ) (B5)

B.1.3. Heat Recovery steam Generator (HRSG)

The HRSG model consists of four sub-programs, i.e., preheater (economizer), evaporator, superheater, and re-heater sub-programs. The input
data of the HRSG model are the exhaust gases inlet parameters (mass flow, temperature, and gases composition) as well as water inlet parameters
(mass flow, pressure, and temperature).
The outlet parameters (water/steam, exhaust gases) are calculated as follows. The outlet pressure of the water/steam is less than that at the inlet
due to pressure drop.
Pwater _out = Pwaterin (1 dpwater _eco) (B6)
dpwater_eco is the pressure drop coefficient of cold fluid side (water) in the economizer.
To estimate the outlet temperatures of the cold and hot fluids, the NTU-Effectiveness method has been applied. The actual heat transfer (Q) in the
economizer is:
Qeco = eco. Qmax_eco (B7)
where: εeco and Qmax are the effectiveness and the maximum heat transfer of the economizer respectively.
The effectiveness of the economizer is given by,
1 exp[ NTU . (1 Cr )]
eco =
1 Cr . exp[ NTU . (1 Cr )] (B8)
where: Cr and NTU are respectively the ratio of the heat capacity rates and the Net Transfer Number of the economizer.
At partial loads, the overall heat transfer conductance-area product (UA) is a function of actual hot fluid mass flow.
0.8
UA m
=
UAref m _ref (B9)
where: m is the exhaust gases mass flow rate. Subscript ref refers to the design parameter.
The actual outlet enthalpy of the cold fluid (water/steam) is calculated as follows,
Qeco
hcold _out = hcold _in +
m water (B10)
A similar approach has been used to model the evaporator, the super-heater, and the re-heater.

B.1.4. Modeling the HPT and LPT sections

The steam turbine performance map is used for determining the expansion ratio and the isentropic efficiency as a function of corrected rotational
speed and corrected mass flow rates. The same methodology that has been applied for the gas turbine is used herein. The expansion ratio and
isentropic efficiency of the steam turbine are a function of the corrected mass flow rate and corrected shaft speed.

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

HPT (
= f Ncor _ HPT , Mcor _ HPT ) (B11)

s
HPT
(
= f Ncor _HPT , Mcor _HPT ) (B12)
The pressure at the outlet of the steam turbine section is then obtained.
Pin _ HPT
Pout _ HPT =
HPT (B13)
In order to calculate the actual enthalpy at the outlet of the turbine section, the concept of isentropic efficiency is used.

HPT hsteam _in hsteam _out

=
(B14)
s
hsteam _in hsteam _out _s

hsteam_out_s is the enthalpy that would have obtained at the outlet of the steam turbine section if the expansion process is isentropic. This ideal
enthalpy is evaluated using the outlet pressure and inlet entropy of the steam.
hsteam _out _s = h (Psteam _out , Ssteam _in) (B16)
So that the actual enthalpy is,

hsteam _out = hsteam _in + [ sHPT (hsteam in hsteamouts )] (B17)

The water/steam temperature at the outlet of the steam turbine section is then calculated as a function of pressure and actual enthalpy.
Tsteam _out = T (Psteam_out , hsteam_out ) (B18)
The steam fraction is also estimated as a function of pressure and actual enthalpy.
Xsteam _out = T (Psteam _out , hsteam _out ) (B19)
A similar approach has been used to model the Low-Pressure Turbine.

B.1.5. Modeling the condenser (CD)

An air-cooling condenser is considered. The model of the condenser is similar to that of the evaporator. The inlet parameters of the condenser
model are the outlet parameters of the LPT.

B.2. Design of the Rankine steam cycle

The Rankine steam cycle is designed based on the temperature and the mass flow rate of the GT’s exhaust gases. The difference between the
parameters of the exhaust gases in the case of hybrid and solar modes are minor (solar mode: 80.73 kg/s, 386.96 °C, hybrid mode: 79.45 kg/s,
387.27 °C). Thus, the solar-mode is taken as a reference to size the components of the steam turbine.
The design has been carried out as follows. First, the nominal inlet pressure of the High-Pressure Turbine section (HPT) is selected based on the
technical data of commercial steam turbines. A temperature approach (at the outlet of the superheated) of 10 °C and a pinch temperature of 5 °C is
considered for the design of the HRSG. The full design input data are summarized in Table B.1.
e-NTU method to used to size the heat exchangers of the HRSG as well as the re-heater. The pressure drop in the heat exchanger is neglected and a
heat loss factor of 1% is considered. The water/steam mass flow rate is then calculated based on the energy balance of the HRSG. The re-heater is
supposed to be installed at the outlet of the HRSG (after the pre-heater) so that to recover as much as possible heat from the exhaust gases. To do so, a
re-heat pressure of 4 bars is chosen. An air condenser is chosen because it is more suitable for a desert climate. The condenser working pressure is
selected based on the commercial steam turbines. The performance maps of the HPT, low-pressure turbine (LPT) and the condenser pump are then
generated. A modular modeling approach is used to link the models’ components (HRSG, re-heater, HPT, LPT, condenser pump, and condenser)
together and to find the nominal operation parameters. A sliding pressure strategy is used to control the steam turbine operation. Tables B.2
illustrates the size of the components as well as the nominal operation parameters of the steam cycle.

Table B1
Input data of the design of the steam cycle.
Design data Value Unit

Mass flow rate of the exhaust gases 80.73 kg/s

Temperature of the exhaust gases 386.96 °C
Inlet pressure of the high-pressure steam section 100 Bar
Re-heat pressure 4 Bar
Approach temperature at the outlet of the HRSG 10 °C
Pinch point 5 °C
Temperature approach at the outlet of the pre-heater 5 °C
Heat loss factor 1 %
Nominal shaft speed the steam turbine 3000 Rpm
Nominal isentropic efficiency of the HPT 0.87
Compressor working pressure 7000 Pa
Nominal isentropic efficiency of the LPT 0.87
Nominal shaft speed the condenser pump 3000 Rpm
Nominal isentropic efficiency of the condenser pump 0.8
Mechanical efficiency of the turbine and the pump 99 %
Electrical efficiency of the turbine and the pump 99 %

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O. Behar, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 220 (2020) 113108

Table B2
Size and nominal performance of steam turbines’ components.
Design data Value Unit

Preheater
Effectiveness 0.9638 –
NTU 3.8636 –
UA 69.0561 W/K
Evaporator
Effectiveness 0.8446 –
NTU 1.8618 –
UA 172.5931 W/K
Super-heater
Effectiveness 0.8681 –
NTU 2.2801 –
UA 40.7185 W/K
Re-heater
Effectiveness 0.7907 –
NTU 1.7939 –
UA 40.7972 W/K
Air condenser
Effectiveness 0.7916 –
NTU 1.5683 –
UA 786.9484 W/K
Air mass flow rate 493.7842 kg/s
Other data
Steam mass flow rate 3.9571 kg/s
Inlet temperature of the HPT 377 °C
Inlet temperature of LPT 224.14 °C
Steam turbine thermal efficiency 32.35 %

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