Adaptive time-warped control of molten salt distributed collector solar fields

This paper concerns the temperature control of a new class of distributed collectors solar fields, which employ molten salt as heat transfer fluid (HTF). Distinctive characteristics of these plants are the high operating temperatures, close to the thermal limits of receiver pipes, and the high solidification temperature of HTF. By means of a novel hybrid adaptive control scheme, based on the Unscented Kalman Filter and on a time-warped predictive controller, the HTF temperature can be effectively controlled within prescribed constraints also in presence of uncertainty in model parameters and faults on collectors. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.