NSTTF Heliocon Wireless Closed-Loop Controls Test Bed Development

A closed loop controls test bed is in development at the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) as part of the U.S. DOE SETO sponsored Heliostat Consortium (HelioCON) program. This work pertains to preliminary development of advanced feedback controls for a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kenneth Armijo, Haden Harper, Zachary Bernius, Claus Danielson, Ansel Blumenthal, Luis Garcia-Maldonado
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: TIB Open Publishing 2024-11-01
Series:SolarPACES Conference Proceedings
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tib-op.org/ojs/index.php/solarpaces/article/view/828
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846161309915152384
author Kenneth Armijo
Haden Harper
Zachary Bernius
Claus Danielson
Ansel Blumenthal
Luis Garcia-Maldonado
author_facet Kenneth Armijo
Haden Harper
Zachary Bernius
Claus Danielson
Ansel Blumenthal
Luis Garcia-Maldonado
author_sort Kenneth Armijo
collection DOAJ
description A closed loop controls test bed is in development at the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) as part of the U.S. DOE SETO sponsored Heliostat Consortium (HelioCON) program. This work pertains to preliminary development of advanced feedback controls for a concentrating solar power (CSP) field of 218 heliostats, and the development of a baseline closed-loop controls extremum seeking control (ESC) algorithm. This algorithm utilizes a batch least squares (BLS) technique to facilitate feedback control automation for heliostat pointing. This allows the determination of the optimal highest flux within a Gaussian profile, for both a four-point (QuadCell) aim point strategy, and a concentric aim point strategy. The results of this work determined that both approaches using the ESC BLS were able to reduce pointing errors to zero for both azimuth and elevation heliostat position movements. This work also reviews progress of the test bed which will allow flexible employment of controls and sensors which will be communicating with both wired and wireless protocols. The solar field distributed control system (DCS) will manage the flux distribution of energy across test articles and solar receivers using real-time programmable logic controllers (PLC) at each heliostat, for aiming and closed-loop feedback. Feedback control will be facilitated with a variety of sensors, located: 1. On the heliostat, 2. On the tower or 3. At an ancillary field tower station. The system is also developed to incorporate environmental information to provide real-time feedback into advanced algorithms for solar field management.
format Article
id doaj-art-d09933a7b05d41d3b6ac6067a2780a99
institution Kabale University
issn 2751-9899
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher TIB Open Publishing
record_format Article
series SolarPACES Conference Proceedings
spelling doaj-art-d09933a7b05d41d3b6ac6067a2780a992024-11-21T09:42:23ZengTIB Open PublishingSolarPACES Conference Proceedings2751-98992024-11-01210.52825/solarpaces.v2i.828NSTTF Heliocon Wireless Closed-Loop Controls Test Bed DevelopmentKenneth Armijo0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4683-2147Haden Harper1Zachary Bernius2Claus Danielson3Ansel Blumenthal4Luis Garcia-Maldonado5Sandia National LaboratoriesSandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories University of New Mexico Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories A closed loop controls test bed is in development at the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) as part of the U.S. DOE SETO sponsored Heliostat Consortium (HelioCON) program. This work pertains to preliminary development of advanced feedback controls for a concentrating solar power (CSP) field of 218 heliostats, and the development of a baseline closed-loop controls extremum seeking control (ESC) algorithm. This algorithm utilizes a batch least squares (BLS) technique to facilitate feedback control automation for heliostat pointing. This allows the determination of the optimal highest flux within a Gaussian profile, for both a four-point (QuadCell) aim point strategy, and a concentric aim point strategy. The results of this work determined that both approaches using the ESC BLS were able to reduce pointing errors to zero for both azimuth and elevation heliostat position movements. This work also reviews progress of the test bed which will allow flexible employment of controls and sensors which will be communicating with both wired and wireless protocols. The solar field distributed control system (DCS) will manage the flux distribution of energy across test articles and solar receivers using real-time programmable logic controllers (PLC) at each heliostat, for aiming and closed-loop feedback. Feedback control will be facilitated with a variety of sensors, located: 1. On the heliostat, 2. On the tower or 3. At an ancillary field tower station. The system is also developed to incorporate environmental information to provide real-time feedback into advanced algorithms for solar field management. https://www.tib-op.org/ojs/index.php/solarpaces/article/view/828Heliostat FieldClosed Loop ControlsTest BedWireless Communications
spellingShingle Kenneth Armijo
Haden Harper
Zachary Bernius
Claus Danielson
Ansel Blumenthal
Luis Garcia-Maldonado
NSTTF Heliocon Wireless Closed-Loop Controls Test Bed Development
SolarPACES Conference Proceedings
Heliostat Field
Closed Loop Controls
Test Bed
Wireless Communications
title NSTTF Heliocon Wireless Closed-Loop Controls Test Bed Development
title_full NSTTF Heliocon Wireless Closed-Loop Controls Test Bed Development
title_fullStr NSTTF Heliocon Wireless Closed-Loop Controls Test Bed Development
title_full_unstemmed NSTTF Heliocon Wireless Closed-Loop Controls Test Bed Development
title_short NSTTF Heliocon Wireless Closed-Loop Controls Test Bed Development
title_sort nsttf heliocon wireless closed loop controls test bed development
topic Heliostat Field
Closed Loop Controls
Test Bed
Wireless Communications
url https://www.tib-op.org/ojs/index.php/solarpaces/article/view/828
work_keys_str_mv AT kennetharmijo nsttfhelioconwirelessclosedloopcontrolstestbeddevelopment
AT hadenharper nsttfhelioconwirelessclosedloopcontrolstestbeddevelopment
AT zacharybernius nsttfhelioconwirelessclosedloopcontrolstestbeddevelopment
AT clausdanielson nsttfhelioconwirelessclosedloopcontrolstestbeddevelopment
AT anselblumenthal nsttfhelioconwirelessclosedloopcontrolstestbeddevelopment
AT luisgarciamaldonado nsttfhelioconwirelessclosedloopcontrolstestbeddevelopment