DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADAPTIVE HEAT-TRANSFER CONTROL METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CONCENTRATED SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY SYSTEMS

This paper proposes an adaptive concentrated solar thermal system designed to regulate heat transfer from a solar receiver to a heat exchanger by automatically adjusting the distance between these components. The system consists of square reflective plates, a parabolic reflector, a solar receiver, a movable heat exchanger, a temperature monitoring unit, and an automatic control mechanism. Concentrated solar radiation is converted into thermal energy at the receiver and transferred to a working fluid through the heat exchanger. The collected heat can subsequently be used for industrial process heating or boiler feedwater preheating in thermal power plants. The proposed approach aims to adapt heat extraction to variations in solar irradiance and receiver temperature. The paper presents the system architecture, governing energy-balance equations, a proposed control algorithm, and a methodology for experimental validation. Particular attention is given to the relationship between exchanger position and heat-transfer intensity. The proposed device requires numerical modelling and experimental testing to establish its performance, operational safety, and potential energy-saving benefits.