Calibration and tracking control of heliostats in a central tower receiver solar power plant
US8104893B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 23, 2008 |
| Grant date | Jan 31, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 4, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S126/906
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A suntracking system for a central receiver solar power plant includes a heliostat field for reflecting sunlight to a receiver, cameras directed toward at least a subset of the heliostats, and a controller. The cameras are configured to produce images of sunlight reflected from multiple heliostats. The heliostats include a mirrored surface having a settable orientation and have a geometry modeled by a set of parameters. A method of estimating heliostat parameters for open-loop suntracking includes acquiring pointing samples by setting the direction of reflection of the heliostats and detecting concurrent sunlight reflections into the cameras. The method uses the acquired pointing samples and surveyed locations of the cameras to estimate the heliostat parameters. The method accurately maintains the sun's reflection directed toward the receiver open-loop utilizing the estimated tracking parameters.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.