High Temperature Receiver Design and Analysis Package

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This project team will develop an open-source software module for high-temperature receiver analysis and generic high-temperature design of concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) systems. The objective is to provide a tool that will be usable as a plug-in to existing CSP receiver design suites, such as SolarPILOT, Heliosim, and SolarTherm, to provide a predicted receiver life accounting for component degradation caused by creep-fatigue damage. The package aims to provide a range of analysis and life estimation methods, ranging from simple, computationally inexpensive methods that can sit inside a receiver design optimization loop to more sophisticated, intensive methods suitable for evaluating final design concepts. The acceptance and widespread adoption of such an tool could reduce the cost of receivers in future CSP plants by providing optimized designs that minimize the initial construction capital cost of the receiver and minimize repair and maintenance costs by ensuring structural integrity over the plant design life.