Tower type heliostat structure with load reduction and vibration suppression
By installing guide vanes on the outer edge of the heliostat mirror panel, the wind effect problem of the heliostat in high wind conditions is solved, the wind-induced load and torsional moment are reduced, and the safety and economy of the tower solar thermal power plant are improved.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- 四川大学青岛研究院
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-04
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-09
AI Technical Summary
The existing heliostat structure cannot effectively suppress the wind effect, which makes the mirror panel easy to be damaged, especially in the case of high pressure areas and severe wind vibration in windy environments, affecting the safety and cost-effectiveness of tower solar thermal power plants.
A deflector is installed on the outer edge of the mirror panel of the heliostat structure. The deflector is perpendicular to the mirror panel and installed on the back. The deflector has evenly distributed ventilation holes to guide airflow, reduce the large vortex breakage and high-pressure area at the leading edge of the mirror, and reduce wind-induced load and torsional moment.
It effectively reduces wind-induced load and vibration amplitude on the mirror panel, improves the operational safety of the heliostat structure, and is simple in construction, low in cost, easy to mass-produce and install, without affecting the operation and cleaning of the heliostat.
Smart Images
Figure CN224340360U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model belongs to the field of solar thermal power generation technology and relates to a tower-type solar thermal heliostat structure with load reduction and vibration suppression function. Background Technology
[0002] In recent years, the negative environmental impacts of fossil fuels have highlighted the importance of clean energy. Solar energy is a clean energy source that does not exacerbate global warming, and tower solar thermal power generation systems are one of the most important ways to utilize solar energy. As a core component of tower solar power plants, heliostats not only occupy most of the site area, but their investment also accounts for nearly half of the total investment in the power plant.
[0003] However, heliostats are wind-sensitive structures. When exposed to high wind speeds, a high-pressure area caused by the rupture of large vortices appears at the leading edge of the mirror, inducing the occurrence of peak torsional moments and further severe wind-induced vibrations, which can lead to structural damage, especially to the mirror panel.
[0004] Unlike conventional single-unit structures, tower-type solar thermal power plants typically deploy heliostats in large clusters, covering a wide area. Therefore, the primary requirement for heliostat optimization measures is to ensure low cost and ease of mass production and installation. Currently, a common approach is to construct windbreaks at the outer edge of the heliostat field. However, while these windbreaks are effective in suppressing wind effects at the edge of the field, they offer little to no optimization effect on the heliostats located in the majority of the inner area. Utility Model Content
[0005] The present invention addresses the problem that existing heliostat structures cannot suppress the effects of wind, which leads to easy damage to the mirror panel. It provides a tower-type photothermal heliostat structure to effectively improve the problems of excessive wind-induced load and wind-induced response of heliostats.
[0006] The technical solution adopted by this utility model to solve its technical problem is as follows: a tower-type solar thermal heliostat structure with load reduction and vibration suppression function, comprising a heliostat structure composed of a mirror panel, a supporting truss, a drive mechanism, and a supporting column. A guide vane is fixedly installed at the outer edge of the mirror panel, the guide vane is perpendicular to the mirror panel and installed on the back of the mirror panel; ventilation holes are evenly distributed on the guide vane.
[0007] Preferably, the air deflector is rectangular.
[0008] Preferably, the height of the guide vane is 5% of the length of the long side of the mirror panel.
[0009] Preferably, the air permeability of the air guide vane is 50%.
[0010] The beneficial effects of this utility model are: (1) reducing the wind load on the mirror panel and the amplitude of the further possible vibration, effectively improving the operational safety of the tower-type solar thermal heliostat structure; (2) simple structure, low cost, easy to mass-produce and install; (3) the guide vane is placed on the back of the mirror panel, which has no interference or impact on the operation and cleaning of the heliostat. Attached Figure Description
[0011] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a wind-induced load suppression device for a tower-type photothermal heliostat structure according to the present invention;
[0012] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram comparing the flow characteristics and wind-induced loads of the heliostat structure without any engineering measures (a) and with the addition of the guide vane of this utility model (b);
[0013] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the overall layout and typical characteristic dimensions of an actual heliostat developed by a domestic company.
[0014] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 The diagram shows a comparison of the wind-induced load coefficients of the heliostat after the addition of the guide vane of this utility model and without any engineering measures.
[0015] In the diagram: 1-Mirror panel; 2-Supporting truss and drive mechanism; 3-Supporting column; 4-Guide vane. Detailed Implementation
[0016] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.
[0017] Reference Figure 1 This utility model provides a tower-type solar thermal heliostat structure with load reduction and vibration suppression functions, comprising a heliostat structure consisting of a mirror panel 1, a supporting truss, a drive mechanism 2, and a supporting column 3. A rectangular guide vane 4 is fixedly installed at the outer edge of the mirror panel 1. The guide vane 4 is perpendicular to the mirror panel 1 and installed on the back of the mirror panel 1, i.e., on the same side as the supporting truss and drive mechanism 2. The guide vane 4 is rectangular in shape and has evenly distributed ventilation holes.
[0018] Reference Figure 2 When the incoming airflow blows toward the heliostat, the guide vane 4 guides the airflow so that it flows more smoothly over the mirror panel 1. This reduces the high-pressure area caused by the rupture of large vortices at the leading edge of the mirror, further reducing the peak torsional moment that the structure is subjected to.
[0019] The following example uses an actual heliostat structure developed by a domestic company. A rigid model wind tunnel pressure test is conducted to compare the wind-induced loads experienced by the heliostat after incorporating this novel structure and without any engineering measures. (Refer to...) Figure 3 This heliostat's main mirror panel consists of 12 sub-mirrors in a rectangular shape. The long side of the rectangular panel is 6643mm and the short side is 5492mm (meaning the total area of the main mirror panel is approximately 36.5m²). 2 The height of the supporting column is 4726.7mm.
[0020] Based on the actual heliostat structure described above, a rigid pressure-testing model of the heliostat was fabricated at a certain geometric scale, and pressure tests were conducted on the rigid model in a wind tunnel. During the model design and fabrication process, the aerodynamic shape of the structure was rigorously simulated, ensuring the consistency of the model's wind load characteristics with the prototype structure. For the rigid pressure-testing model of the heliostat, pressure measuring points were arranged on both the front and back of the mirror panel. PVC pressure measuring pipes were embedded at each measuring point and connected to pressure scanning valves to measure the average and pulsating wind pressure on the mirror panel surface. During the experiments, thorough airtightness checks were performed to ensure the model and pressure measuring pipelines were unobstructed, strictly ensuring that the pressure measuring pipelines were not blocked or leaking. Because the wind direction angle is an important parameter affecting the magnitude of the structural wind load, the rigid heliostat model was tested at 0°... º 30 º 60 º 90 º 120 º 150 º and 180 º Pressure test under seven wind angle conditions.
[0021] In addition, to effectively suppress the wind-induced load on the heliostat, a deflector plate of this invention is added to the mirror panel, i.e., referring to... Figure 1 A rectangular airflow guide plate with 50% air permeability and a height equal to 5% of the long side length of the mirror panel was installed at the outer edge of the back side of the mirror panel. Then, a wind pressure comparison test was conducted on a heliostat model with the added structure of this invention. The results are as follows... Figure 4 As shown, the torsional moment coefficient of the heliostat after the addition of guide vanes is significantly suppressed under the action of incoming flow at various wind angles. For example, at 150... º Under the influence of the wind direction angle, the torsional moment coefficient of the heliostat is about 0.15 without any engineering measures. After adding the deflector, its value drops to about 0.11, a reduction of nearly 30%.
[0022] The above description is only one embodiment of the present utility model and is not intended to limit the patent scope of the present utility model. It should be noted that the above embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and not for limiting the present utility model. Furthermore, those skilled in the art can design alternative embodiments or apply them directly or indirectly to other related technical fields without departing from the scope of the appended claims, and all of these are similarly included within the patent protection scope of the present utility model.
Claims
1. A tower-type solar thermal heliostat structure with load reduction and vibration damping effects, comprising a heliostat structure consisting of a mirror panel, a supporting truss, a drive mechanism, and supporting columns, characterized in that: A flow guide plate is fixedly installed at the outer edge of the mirror panel. The flow guide plate is perpendicular to the mirror panel and is installed on the back of the mirror panel. Ventilation holes are evenly distributed on the flow guide plate.
2. The tower-type photothermal heliostat structure with load reduction and vibration suppression function according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air deflector is rectangular.
3. The tower-type photothermal heliostat structure with load reduction and vibration suppression function according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The height of the guide vane is 5% of the length of the long side of the mirror panel.
4. The tower-type photothermal heliostat structure with load reduction and vibration suppression function according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The air permeability of the air deflector is 50%.