A User's Manual for DELSOL3 - prod.sandia.gov - Sandia National ...

VII. Comparison of DELSOL, MIRVAL and HELIOS ,Performance Predictions
The performance predictions of the MIRVAL, HELIOS and DELSOL com-
puter codes are all in good agreement. A small system comparison is presented
in this section since larger heliostat size/tower height ratios produce greater (but
not necessarily significant) errors in the DELSOL predictions. The agreement of
DELSOL in this more difficult application is good.
The system considered is a preliminary design for the CESA-1 (Central Ener-
gia Solar de Almeria) plant being built in Almeria, Spain. The complete system
description, including heliostat coordinates, and details of the HELIOS and MIR-
VAL calculations are given in Reference 43. A summary of the system is given in
Table VII-1. The DELSOL calculations were performed using the option in which
the individual heliostat coordinates are specified in Namelist FIELD. Two cal-
culational times are considered: 10 AM and 4 PM on winter solstice. The 4 PM
case involves an extreme sun zenith angle of 82', which leads to considerable off-
axis aberration of the canted heliostat images.
TABLE VII-1
SYSTEM USED IN DELSOL, MIRVAL, HELIOS COMPARISON
Site: 37.099' N latitude
Field:
Helios t ats :
Receiver:
Tower Height:
Insolation:
Sunshape:
North 'only
282 Heliostats
6.25 x 6.3 m (overall)
5 (horiz.) x 2 (vert.) cant panels
Canted for noon on equinox
3.4 x 3.4 m square, tilted aperture .
56.345 m
0.7 kW/m2
Rectangular
161