On-line heat capacity measurements of a silicone based heat transfer fluid for concentrated solar power applications

Kurzfassung

Aim of this work is the hot commissioning of the flow hrough calorimeter KONTAS-cp at the concentrator test bench KONTAS and the subsequent measurements of the specific heat capacity of the silicon based HTF Syltherm 800. After the verification of the functionality of the calorimeter by a final cp measurement connected to a water circuit, the draining and reconstruction of the pipe network are outstanding. The electrical connection of the system control, a stress analysis and the final checking for leakages, have to be accomplished before the competition of the operational readiness. The hot commissioning will be followed by test measurements and troubleshooting, before final cp measurements at operational conditions can be performed. Besides the practical works, the fault effect analysis, the measurement evaluation as well as the uncertainty estimation are pending. After the completion of this work and the successful hot commissioning, KONTAS-cp will be prepared for operation. Since the calorimeter bypass is portable and its data acquisition system autonomous, it can be connected to any test facility to quantify the specific heat capacity of HTFs such as Therminol VP1, Syltherm 800 and Helisol 5A at CSP relevant operation conditions. It also enables an examination of the natural aging process of the HTF by periodical measurements of the fluid properties and thereby supports an economic management of CSP plants.