A Computer Design Tool for Ceramic Receivers

Abstract

Gen3 solar receivers and other components will experience a combination of high temperatures and high stress caused by thermal stress and internal pressure.  Under these conditions metallic components, even those manufactured from nickel-based superalloys, have poor reliability.  Engineering ceramics could be a solution, as these materials have excellent high temperature strength.  However, accurately assessing the reliability of a ceramic component operating in these conditions requires an entirely different approach compared to metallic materials.  This paper describes the implementation of statistical models for evaluating the reliability of high temperature ceramic components in srlife – an open-source software package for estimating the life of high temperature concentrating solar power equipment.  This new capability allows users to make fair comparisons between competing metallic and ceramic component designs and to accurately assess the plant efficiency and economics of ceramic solar receivers and other components.