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TECHBriefs A Burns & McDonnell Publication 2009 No. 4

Concentrating Solar Trough Modeling:

Calculating Efficiency
Method Incorporates Technological Improvements
By Benjamin Munz and James Hays, PE, LEED® AP SCA includes 224 mirrors, an independent
Concentrating solar trough field technology positioning system and local control system.
is an exciting area of renewable energy The Imperial Valley example project will be
development. While the flat photovoltaic panels modeled on the Luz System 3 design of SCAs.
of more-familiar solar energy systems convert
the light of the sun to energy, the parabolic No Smoke; Just Mirrors
mirrored glass panels of a concentrating solar The parabolic trough solar collector is a
trough field collect and concentrate the sun’s mirrored glass reflector that focuses direct
heat. Because thermal energy can be stored, solar radiation on an efficient evacuated
the technology offers the promise of large-scale, receiver, or heat collector element (HCE).
stable power production with no emissions.
The reflector mirrors are made up of hot-formed
A large array of trough-shaped mirrors make up mirrored glass supported by a truss system,
the solar field (see Figure 1). Pipes containing which gives the SCA its structural integrity.
the thermal fluid — a special type of synthetic The aperture, or width, of the parabolic reflector
oil — are positioned at the focal points of the is 5.76 meters and the overall SCA length is
mirrors. Concentrating the heat of the sun 95.2 meters (net glass). The mirrors are sized at
increases the temperature of the thermal fluid 330,016.5 square meters for the 92 loops.
from 291°C to 393°C (555°F to 740°F), which in
turn heats water to make steam. There are 224 reflector panels (mirrors) on
each SCA. Each panel is 3.2 millimeters thick,
This article outlines the
method for calculating the
solar-to-electric efficiency
of a concentrating solar
trough field system.
Sample values and
calculations within this
article are for a typical
49.4-megawatt (MW)
net power plant in the
Imperial Valley of Southern
California, south of the
Salton Sea.

Major Components
and Systems
The basic component of
the solar field is the solar
collector assembly (SCA).
The project in the Imperial
Valley will use 92 loops for
the solar field; each loop
includes six SCAs. Each Figure 1: A concentrated solar trough field as installed.
covering an average of 2.669 square meters in
area. The system efficiencies are identified in
the waterfall analysis presented in Table 1. The
focal point of the HCE (parabola) is 1.71 meters.
Each HCE, manufactured by Schott for this
example, consists of 70 millimeter-diameter
stainless steel tubing through which the
heat collector fluid is pumped. The external
surface of the pipe is ceramic metal-coated,
or CERMET-coated, for high absorptivity,
then encapsulated under a vacuum inside a
glass tube. The CERMET selective surface has
an absorptivity of 0.96 for direct-beam solar
radiation and a design emissivity of 0.19 at
350 degrees Celsius (662 degrees Fahrenheit).
The glass tubes are treated internally and
externally with an anti-reflective coating.
Calculating the projected
efficiency of a field in a specific
location, with the specific
equipment used in the system,
is an important step in sizing
a new field and producing
cost estimates.
Soaking Up the Rays
During operation, the metal bellows take up the
difference of the thermal expansion between
the hot absorber tube and the cool outer glass
envelope as the HCE heats up from the standby
temperature, typically in the morning before
solar field startup, to the normal operating
temperature.
Other primary components of an SCA include
the support structural components, the heat
collector elements and the tracking system
(drive, sensor, controls).
Periodically, commands are sent to the
hydraulic drive system to position the SCAs to
track the movement of the sun. Solar tracking
is achieved using a closed-loop sun tracking
system by optical position sensor to maintain
TECHBriefs 2009 No. 4 2 Burns & McDonnell
accurate alignment. The SCA moves from the
maximum stow position (minus 30 degrees
below sunrise horizon) to plus or minus
2 degrees above the sunset horizon, for a
maximum angle deployed of 178 degrees.
The solar fields for the Imperial
Valley were sized based on
experience gained though
the design and operation of
James P. Hays, PE, LEED®
previous facilities, coupled AP, is manager of engineering in
the Burns & McDonnell San Diego
with knowledge of design and
office. He has more than 25 years
operational improvements of experience in project and
program management, design
implemented by suppliers of and design leadership, and
key equipment components engineering execution. He is a
registered professional engineer
including mirrors, collectors in 12 states.
and the steam cycle.
Site Layout
Solar arrays are aligned parallel with the north-
south axis. Design clearance between
the ends of each mirror assembly is
approximately 1.2 meters for a total design
length of approximately 30.5 meters. Layout
space for the hot oil headers is 6.1 meters from
the ends of the mirror assemblies. Center-to-
center of mirror rows is 17.4 meters, providing
maximum generation.
As the parabolic trough collectors that compose
the solar field individually track the sun from Benjamin G. Munz is an
east to west on a single axis, focusing the solar assistant mechanical engineer
energy on the pipe containing the heat transfer in the Burns & McDonnell
fluid, the fluid reaches 393 degrees Celsius (740 San Diego office. His specialty
degrees Fahrenheit). It is then pumped through is in machine and mechanical
system design, heat transfer and
a series of conventional heat exchangers
HVAC design. He received his
to generate superheated steam powering a bachelor’s degree in mechanical
conventional steam turbine generator. engineering from North Carolina
State University.
The solar fields for the Imperial Valley were
sized based on experience gained though the
design and operation of previous facilities,
coupled with knowledge of design and For more information, please e-mail:
jhays@burnsmcd.com or
operational improvements implemented by bmunz@burnsmcd.com.
 suppliers of key equipment components
including mirrors, collectors and the
steam cycle.
Net Solar-to-Electric Efficiency Calculations
Just as operators of gas- or coal-fired power
plants strive to achieve the greatest production
of electrical power per unit of fuel consumed,
designers and operators of solar-powered
generation facilities are interested in achieving
the highest solar-to-electric efficiency possible.
Calculating the projected efficiency of a field
in a specific location, with the specific
equipment used in the system, is an important
step in sizing a new field and producing
cost estimates.
Solar trough modeling is used to calculate the
efficiency of concentrating solar trough field
systems. The efficiency of the field is calculated
using the total winter on-peak — the amount
of heat energy available on the shortest day of
the year with the sun in the optimum position
(directly overhead) to produce — in this case —
49.4 MW out of the steam turbine generator.
The overall system efficiency is a product of
the efficiency of the collection of sunlight,
called solar optical efficiency (the product of
receiver solar absorbance and transmittance
efficiencies) and the efficiencies of each step of
the heat-to-electrical-power conversion process.

Optimal Expected
Efficiency Efficiency
Factor Energy Unit* Factor Energy
Number of loops 92 92
Gross curved mirror area 330,017 m 2
330,017
Aperture area 91.83% 303,054 m 2
91.83% 303,054
Insulation 1,000 watts per square meter 1000.00 303,054,188 W 1000.00 303,054,188
Reflection 92% 278,809,853 W 87% 263,657,144
Glass envelope transmission losses 96% 267,657,459 W 90% 237,291,429
Receiver spillage 95% 254,274,586 W 86% 204,070,629
Table 1: System efficiency is a
product of efficiency of each step Receiver absorption 95% 241,560,857 W 95% 193,867,098
of the conversion process. System Radiated and convected receiver losses 86% 207,742,337 W 86% 166,725,704
modeling can estimate the effects
of incremental improvements in Piping and storage losses 95% 197,355,220 W 95% 158,389,419
component performance. Oil temperature to reboiler F 731
Oil-to-steam heat exchanger 95% 187,487,459 W 95% 150,469,948
Steam turbine efficiency 36.69% 68,785,722 W 36.69% 55,204,673
Electrical generator efficiency 98% 67,410,007 W 98% 54,100,580
Auxiliary power, HTF pumps: 98.52% 66,410,007 W 98.15% 53,100,580
1 million watts approximately
Auxiliary power, other: 95.48% 63,410,007 W 94.35% 50,100,580
approximately 3 million watts
Net solar-to-electric efficiency 20.92% 16.53%
Plant availability 97.1% 61,571,117 W 97.1% 48,647,663
Overall annual solar-to-electric efficiency 20.3% 16.05%

* m2 = square meters W = watts F = degrees fahrenheit

Burns & McDonnell 3 TECHBriefs 2009 No. 4

 Solar reflectance and optical efficiency
The calculation of solar efficiency at 79.7% The solar industry utilizes the efficiencies of 36.7%
was based on typical optimal data for mirror
reflection, glass envelope transmission losses,
receiver spillage and receiver absorption losses.
92% x 96% x 95% x 95% = 79.7%
Thermal efficiency
Receiver thermal efficiencies represent the radiated
and convected receiver losses. Typical losses are
approximately 86%. Piping and storage losses based
on experience and sound engineering insulation
design and construction practices are approximately
95%. Oil-to-steam thermal losses utilized in the
industry are assumed to be 95%.
86% x 95% x 95% = 77.6%
Calculation of solar-to-thermal efficiency
The total solar-to-thermal efficiency is calculated as
the product of the above efficiencies.
79.7% x 77.6% = 61.8%
Table 2: This sequence of equations uses known and estimated factors to calculate overall system efficiency.
The sequence of equations used to calculate
intermediate efficiencies and finally, overall
solar-to-electric efficiency, are presented
in Table 2. The factors in the equations are
derived from system modeling results as
shown in table 1 on page 3. Together, these
procedures form the basis for determining the
size of the proposed solar trough field in this
example.
Conclusion
The calculations in Table 2 represent a
condition in which all processes are optimized.
Incremental efficiency improvements in each
of these areas will be required to significantly
TECHBriefs 2009 No. 4 4 Burns & McDonnell
Turbine and generator efficiencies
for the steam turbine and 98.0% for the electrical
generator.
36.7% x 98.0% = 36.0%
Auxiliary power loads and plant availability
Plant design studies and good engineering practice
utilize approximately 1% auxiliary load for heat
transfer fluid pumping, approximately 5% for all
remaining miscellaneous loads and plant availability
at 97.1%.
(100% -1%) x (100% - 5%) x 97.1% = 91.3%
Overall solar-to-electric efficiency
The overall efficiency is the product of the above
three efficiencies.
61.8% x 36.0% x 91.3% = 20.3%
improve overall efficiency. Table 2 provides
one example of the calculation, along with the
calculations for expected field conditions.
As development of thermal solar systems
continues, higher solar-to-electric efficiencies
are likely to be achieved. Incentives for
implementation of large-scale renewable
energy will also likely increase. The technique
described in this article for modeling systems
by adjusting existing system data for anticipated
technological improvements may be useful in
determining costs for funding purposes, as
well as in sizing and estimating for the purpose
of design.
Boosting Power Output — Cool!
Options for Inlet Cooling in Gas Turbine Installations
By John Langaker, PE, and Zachary Loehr
Many power generating gas turbine installations
in the U.S. and worldwide have an untapped
resource for extending power output: inlet
air cooling. These turbines can run at higher
efficiency and output using cooled inlet air
compared to hot ambient air. Cooler (or denser)
air increases mass flow per unit volume.
In single-speed, constant-volume machines
such as most large gas turbines, that translates
to higher output.
As demand grows, conditioning the turbine
inlet air is an excellent way to expand a fleet’s
ratings in the critical summer demand season
since this method does not necessarily trigger
a new source of air-polluting emissions. A gas
turbine owner needs to recognize cooling gains
available, the options to get them and ultimately
adopt a solution tailored to the owner’s needs,
independent of manufacturer preferences
or biases.
Gains
Anyone who owns or operates gas turbines
knows that performance improves as the units
consume cooler air. Trends utilizing evaporative
coolers are summarized in Figures 1 and 2.
In general, single-speed frame machines that
do not change the running-flow path geometry
all share roughly the same margin for gain in
comparing hot ambient operation to cooler.
Aero-derivative gas turbines, which operate
using multiple-speed, multi-shaft designs, offer
a slightly different gain profile with cooler inlet
air compared to hot.
As demand grows, conditioning
the turbine inlet air is an
excellent way to expand a fleet’s
ratings in the critical summer
demand season.
All gas turbines will approach a point of
concern, however, as ice forms in the inlet,
which threatens first-stage compressor damage.
Therefore, an ideal air inlet temperature will
avoid temperatures too close to this threshold
yet still offer significant payback for the cooling
system investment.
Existing Cooling Systems
Partial gains with existing systems may
already be the optimum solution, particularly
if an economic cost-benefit analysis was
done initially.

Frame Gas Turbine Typical Gain Aero-Derivative Gas Turbine Typical Gain
180 60
170 50
Megawatts
Megawatts

40
160
30
150 20
140 10
130 0
100°F with 100°F without 100°F with 100°F without
50°F evaporative evaporative 50°F evaporative evaporative
cooling cooling cooling cooling

Figure 1: Performance of gas turbines improves as units Figure 2: Cooling gains are less dramatic for auto-
consume cooler air. derivative gas turbines.

Burns & McDonnell 5 TECHBriefs 2009 No. 4

Many gas turbines are purchased and installed
with economical solutions directly from the Evaporative Cooling
turbine manufacturer. These systems, while (3) Mist Eliminator

Courtesy Donaldson Co. Inc.

well-proven, tend to sacrifice the maximum (1) & (2) Cooling Media
potential of the turbine in presenting a
standardized system at minimal cost. An
unbiased review of existing system design
on a gas turbine should review the benefits
of the system as-is compared to other viable
cooling system options and using the operator/ (1) Clean,
owner’s own values for cost and returns on Warm Air
(4) Cooled Air
the investment. Among other factors, consider
to Turbine Inlet
whether the owners are happy with what they
have (i.e., operability).

New Turbine Installation Opportunities

When a utility is in the market to purchase
installed capacity by means of one or more gas
turbine generator sets, it is wise to understand
the payback opportunity of various systems in
relation to initial cost, complexity and value of
the additional capacity and efficiency. It is also
important to understand the advantages and
disadvantages of the different cooling systems.
Should a risk factor be used in comparing
the options, so availability is considered?
Absolutely.
Cooling Air Methods: Advantages and Challenges
In addition to packaged systems, methods
of cooling gas turbine intake air include
evaporative cooling, fogging, online chilled-
water cooling and thermal energy storage.
The methods vary in cost and complexity —
and each has advantages and challenges.
Summarized below from the simplest and most
familiar to the most complex, these cooling
methods increase gas turbine efficiency.
Evaporative Cooling
Also known as swamp coolers, because they
achieve swamp-like conditions of near-full
humidity in the air passing through, evaporative
coolers are the most common cooling system
that gas turbine manufacturers feature on new
units. The air entering the turbine is pulled
through media saturated with good-quality
water (potable or service-grade). Heat from the
air is transferred to the wetted surfaces of the
media and converts the liquid water to vapor
phase. This removes heat effectively equal to the
How It Works
1. When the filtered air passes through the saturated evaporative cooling media,
water evaporates off the wet media. This evaporation is the process that
reduces the air temperature.
2. Excess water that does not evaporate is directed downward so as not to be
carried along with the cooled air.
3. Cooled air then passes through the integral mist eliminator, where leftover
water droplets are removed.
4. Clean, cooled air is then directed into the turbine inlet.
Figure 3: Evaporative cooling systems are simple and fairly effective, but depending on
conditions, may not achieve optimum results.
latent heat of vaporization of the water
at the conditions present.
Advantages: A simple system that operates
with easily-obtained water quality.
Challenges: Water’s latent heat of
vaporization is the dominant method to
transfer heat from the passing air. Thus, the
wet-bulb temperature is the absolute limit to
which the air can be cooled. Nominal-
effectiveness performance losses bump up
the final air temperature slightly higher.
Typical effectiveness is approximately 85%.

TECHBriefs 2009 No. 4 6 Burns & McDonnell


John Langaker, PE, is an
engineer in the Burns & McDonnell
energy group. He received his
bachelor’s degree in mechanical
engineering from Vanderbilt
University. He has nearly 15 years
of experience as lead mechanical
engineer in power plant design
and construction, and is a licensed
professional engineer in Kansas
and Florida.
Zachary Loehr received
his bachelor’s degree in
mechanical engineering from
the University of Evansville.
He is an engineer in training
in the Burns & McDonnell energy
group. His area of specialization
is coal and gas turbine plant
development.
For more information, please e-mail:
jlangaker@burnsmcd.com or
zloehr@burnsmcd.com.
Fogging
Whereas traditional evaporative cooling has
intrinsic limitations in effective heat transfer,
fogging promises to fully absorb water injected
into the air as a fine mist or fog. There is no
blow-down or discharge from a fogging system;
all is ingested into the gas turbine.
Advantages: Maintained correctly, both
water consumption and the cooling effects
(compared to the ambient wet-bulb
temperature of the air as it enters the
filter house) can be optimized.
Challenges: Water quality must be
demineralized grade and fog nozzles must
be maintained to ensure droplets are
properly atomized as they pass into the
inlet air structure, or costly damage to the
gas turbine can result.
Online Chilled Water Cooling
To cool the inlet air to less than the ambient
wet-bulb temperature, a chilling system can be
installed to circulate coolant in a closed loop
that includes inlet air coils mounted inside or
in front of the filter house to extract heat and
chillers to reject the same heat. Depending
on fluid type used, the work required to chill
the coolant is offset in power output gains to
varying degrees.
Advantages: Gas turbine performance can
be truly optimized by conditioning the inlet
air regardless of the ambient wet-bulb
temperature.
Challenges: The chilled-liquid loop and chiller
systems are more complex than evaporative
cooling or fogging and present inherent
trade-offs between efficiency and
maintenance costs. Mechanical chillers also
require higher auxiliary loads compared to
other cooling options.
Thermal Energy Storage
As the use of online chilling has gained
popularity for gas turbine enhancement in
hotter ambient conditions, thermal storage has
emerged to further reduce the cost of the power
boost of cooler inlet air.
Burns & McDonnell 7 TECHBriefs 2009 No. 4
The tonnage (size) of the chillers can be reduced
when incorporated into an insulated tank
system that is exhausted and replenished in
cycles suited to the optimal periods of cooled
gas-turbine operation. Lower tonnage equates
to lower auxiliary electrical load that otherwise
deducts from plant net output. Timing of the
auxiliary load can also be managed to mitigate
the cost, since electricity billing rates may vary
according to the time of day.
In addition to allowing timing of chiller loads,
thermal storage may present the opportunity to
draw power for smaller chillers from renewable
energy sources, such as wind at night. The
stored thermal energy can then be used to chill
gas turbines or supply chilled-water systems
during dayime peak-demand periods.
Advantages: This is an approach that may
quickly pay for itself and further enhance
the power-output net gains of online
chilling with its concurrent auxiliary-plant
electrical loads.
Challenges: Thermal energy storage
presents the highest degree of complexity
for plant operation compared to its
counterpart technologies and is most
sensitive to changing rates of return on
the investment made.
To capitalize on available gains,
conditioning inlet air should
be studied early in any utility’s
plan to expand a fleet’s ratings.
Owners should recognize what
cooling gains are available and
the options to achieve them.
Packaged Systems
Whether you are building a home for yourself or
constructing a greenfield power plant, packaged
solutions are alluring for several reasons.
 TECHBriefs
Burns & McDonnell • 9400 Ward Parkway • Kansas City, MO • 64114
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

2009 No. 4

• Concentrating Solar
Trough Modeling:
Calculating Efficiency

• Boosting Power
Output — Cool!
For more information, e-mail
techbriefs@burnsmcd.com
To subscribe, go to
www.burnsmcd.com/techbriefs
For address changes,
contact Margaret Chilcoat at
mchilcoat@burnsmcd.com
© 2009 Burns & McDonnell
Engineering Co., Inc.
Printed on recycled paper

To begin with, a packaged system will marry Conclusion

equipment and logic that is (hopefully) time-
tested in other installations, which imparts a
degree of reliability and ease of operation.
It should be recognized that a packaged gas-
turbine inlet air cooling system has taken
measures to unify its mode of construction and
operation among many different customers’
needs. For example, is the pressure drop across
the cooling media or coil bundle optimized for
the loss in power output and gain in heat rate?
The answer depends on owners’ specific costs
of power. Among other factors, the individual
results of a packaged system depend on how
closely an owner’s economic profile matches
the packager’s typical customer.
Owners of gas turbines will enjoy higher
efficiency output with cooled inlet air when the
hotter seasons arrive. However, there are many
installations in the U.S. and the world where
gas turbine inlet-air cooling is an underutilized
or altogether untapped resource for extending
power output.
To capitalize on available gains, conditioning
turbine inlet air should be studied early in
any utility’s plan to expand a fleet’s ratings.
One should recognize what cooling gains are
available and the options to achieve them.
The solution should then be tailored to the
owner’s needs, independent of manufacturer
preferences or biases.

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