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Electronic Resource
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SAND Report: SAND81-8017, July 1981.
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ABSTRACT:
Sandia has been evaluating an alternative central receiver that uses molten sodium as the transfer medium. The receiver is composed of panels of tubes, heated on one side by concentrated solar flux, through which the molten sodium flows. Because the tubes are constrained from bending, the
Sandia has been evaluating an alternative central receiver that uses molten sodium as the transfer medium. The receiver is composed of panels of tubes, heated on one side by concentrated solar flux, through which the molten sodium flows. Because the tubes are constrained from bending, the
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thermal gradients induce stresses and strains that have the potential to reduce the desired panel lifetime of 30 years. One part of the evaluation program was to be a test of a reduced-scale panel at Sandia's Central Receiver Test Facility in Albuquerque. The panel incorporates a new way of joining tubes--brazing to intermediate filler strips-which can affect the panel's lifetime. To calculate the stresses and strains for the worst-case section of the experimental panel, we have done a nonlinear elastic-plastic analysis with the MARC finite element computer code, which takes the temperature dependence of the material properties into account. From the results are predicted tube design lifetimes. The analysis shows that concerns for cracking and reduction in lifetime are warranted, but a more detailed fracture analysis is necessary to determine whether there is a stable-crack-growth problem. Show Less