SHM CASE STUDY: MOLTEN SALT TANK MONITORING FOR HIGHLY EFFICIENT CENTRALIZED SOLAR POWER PLANTS

Abstract

Centralized Solar Power has been acknowledged to play an important role in the energy mix of the future. However, some optimizations on designs and development in new materials are needed to obtain highly efficient thermal storage, a stepping stone to be a reliable technology. Thermal storage is done at temperatures that exceed 500ºC with highly corrosive molten salts, in infrastructures that include storage tanks. Therefore, ensuring safety and performance of the infrastructure and sysem through SHM and thermal performance is a key aspect for widespread adoption of the technology. In this paper the VoI implications of a fiber optic sensor-based monitoring system developed at NEWSOL project are discussed as a SHM case study.