Modeling and simulation of parabolic trough power plant using molten salt: Case study of NOOR I solar power station in Ouarzazate, Morocco

The practicality of modeling and simulating a parabolic trough power plant (PTPP) through a network-based approach is emphasized over the traditional focus on a single parabolic trough collector (PTC). Lately, molten salt has been utilized as the heat transfer fluid (HTF) in parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) to augment the performance of parabolic trough power plants (PTPP) in lieu of the conventional thermal oil. To this end, a mathematical model to describe the fluid dynamics of molten salt in the solar field of a PTPP and the associated numerical algorithm are presented in order to conduct simulations that closely mirror real-world scenarios by using data from NOOR I Power plant in Morocco.