Flow measurement in concentrated solar power applications
April 2015
Flow Measurement & Control
In contrast to photovoltaic plants, which rely on silica based panels and the photo-electric effect, concentrated solar thermal power plants (CSP) use the sunlight to heat up certain liquid media and then to generate electricity through heat exchangers and steam generation.
Several different CSP technologies exist, but they all have in common, that the sunlight is reflected and focused to a single point where it is used to heat the medium – commonly thermal oil.
The oil can reach temperatures up to 200°C, therefore it is critical to optimise the flows, especially through heat exchangers for steam generation, or at interchangers where the oil heats up molten salts that can provide heat storage for the overnight operation of the plant.
Flow measurement technologies such as orifice plates, vortex meters or inline ultrasonic meters often face the problem of clogging and thus being unreliable. Clogging tends to occur when either metering the flow of molten salts, which start to freeze if the temperature drops, or on thermal oils, which have a tendency to cracking and coke formation during their lifecycle.
Flexim’s WaveInjector technology is an ideal solution for such extreme temperature applications. Simply clamped on to the pipe, no cutting or welding has to be done and no process interruption occurs.
Aside from the fact, that a clamp on flowmeter is impervious to clogging, operators of CSPs also appreciate Flexim’s high turndown range, its high accuracy especially at low flow velocities, as well as its zero stability, repeatability and reliability.
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