Transient thermo-mechanical analysis of steam generators for solar tower plants

An example of this methodology is presented for two start-up initial conditions: the assumption of non-isothermal and isothermal temperature profiles of the heat exchangers. A steam generator train based on conventional shell and tube heat exchangers is analyzed. The analysis shows that the non-isothermal condition takes approximately 50 min to reach nominal conditions, whereas the isothermal condition takes approximately 110 min, requiring 600 tons and 716 tons of hot salt to perform the start-up procedure, respectively.