Wind-induced structural behavior and optical performance of a lightweight composite-based paraboloidal solar dish

Hamza Ali, Sulaiman O. Fadlallah, Djamal Eddine Benhadji Serradj

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Among the four available concentrating solar-thermal (CST) power systems, parabolic dish systems show great potential as the preferred technology for renewable electricity generation. Nonetheless, the weight of the support structure poses a major hurdle to its development. As of present, solar dishes utilize steel structures to hold the reflective panels which amount to a lot of weight, necessitating large and expensive drive units and increases energy consumption. Hence, for the dishes to advance and further become economically feasible in the near future, the structures found need to be replaced with cost-effective materials that not only diminish the weight but still maintain the structural integrity found with the steel. Hence, this investigation embodies the first effort in literature to explore the viability of utilizing honeycomb sandwich composites as a lightweight and robust support structure for solar dishes, with the ability to cope with the aerodynamic loads imposed upon them during operation. Through combined fluid-structure interaction (FSI) and ray tracing analysis, the wind-induced structural behavior and optical performance of the sandwich composite-based paraboloidal solar dish were investigated under various loading scenarios at various azimuth and elevation angles. Under dissimilar operational conditions, the proposed system exhibited varying behavior characteristics, with the worst conditions being assessed according to relevant material failure and optical standards. With the worst operational condition taking place at 0° azimuth and 30° elevation, the detailed FSI-ray tracing analysis demonstrated that the dish managed to satisfy the set specifications, highlighting the potential and effectiveness of using honeycomb sandwich composites as a support structure for parabolic dish systems.

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages30
JournalMechanics Based Design of Structures and Machines
Early online date17 Jan 2025
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 17 Jan 2025

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