Solar Field Layout and Aimpoint Strategy Optimization

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Using existing software packages to obtain a layout of the solar collection field of a concentrating solar-thermal power plant without accounting for the aiming strategy may yield solutions with heliostats that cannot be used efficiently without compromising the receiver's designed operating limits. This project develops a model that co-optimizes the layout and aiming strategies of a solar field to maximize the thermal energy generated by the field while operating within the design specifications of the receiver. The team utilizes state-of-the-art tools to characterize the thermal input to the receiver when provided a heliostat location and aiming strategy as input. This data is then used as input to an optimization model to obtain the best strategy within given limits. Advanced optimization techniques allow the model to obtain layouts and aiming strategies for commercial-scale plants.