# Exploration of a micro-turbine solar concentrator

Parabolic solar concentrator with regenerative gas micro-turbine

# Introduction

We are going to study the cycle of a parabolic solar concentrator with regenerative gas micro-turbine: the solar hot air receiver is placed upstream of the combustion chamber of a regenerative gas micro-turbine, thus reducing consumption of fuel.

# Loading the micro-turbine solar concentrator model

Let us study the micro-turbine solar concentrator cycle.

## Loading the model

Click on the following link: Open a file in ThermoptimOpen a file in Thermoptim

You can also:

- either open the "Project files/Example catalog" (CtrlE) and select model m16.1 in Chapter 16 model list.
- or directly open the diagram file (BraytonDishMicroGT.dia) using the "File/Open" menu in the diagram editor menu, and the project file (BraytonDishMicroGT.prj) using the "Project files/Load a project" menu in the simulator.

## Settings of the parabolic solar collector

Open the solar collector screen. Models of solar collectors have been established in Thermoptim in the form of external classes, in order to be able to study electro-solar power plants. These models use three parameters:

- the optical efficiency of the collector tau, here equal to 0.7
- two heat exchange coefficients U0 and U1 related to the surface Sc of the collector, here equal to 0.21 and 0.000134.

Two calculation modes are possible: either determining the collector surface knowing the outlet state, or calculating the outlet state given the surface. This is the setting used here.

It has been assumed that the solar irradiance is equal to 1 kW/m2, and that the surface of the paraboloid of revolution is equal to 50 m2. For an outside temperature of 30°C, the efficiency of the solar collector is 0.51.

## Regenerator settings

The regenerator exchanger is quite conventional. We have chosen an effectiveness equal to 0.88.

# Application exercises

You can now perform sensitivity analyzes of the performance of this cycle to its various parameters, such as the compression ratio, the effectiveness of the regenerator, the characteristics of the solar collector or the turbine inlet temperature.

# Conclusion

This exploration introduced you to a model of parabolic solar concentrator with regenerative gas micro-turbine and the specific settings which it requires.