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Control valves constitute a critical component in a concentrated solar thermal power plant. They have the role of maintaining the flow, the pressure or the temperature. These valves have to be compatible with the properties of the fluids used to transfer the heat from the solar field to the plant power conversion system, or with those used to store the energy for the non-sunny periods. A malfunctioning valve or a leakage can stop the plant’s production. The present paper gives an overview of the main aspects of the valves used for the different fluids and in the different parts of a solar thermal electricity plant. Finally, an example of validating tests is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a preliminary control scheme for a molten salt - thermal oil heat exchanger. This controller regulates the molten salt mass flow rate to reach and maintain the desired thermal oil temperature at the outlet of the heat exchanger. The controller architecture has been tested using an object-oriented heat exchanger model that has been validated with data from a molten salt testing facility located at CIEMAT-PSA. Different simulations are presented with three different goals: i) to analyze the controller response in the presence of disturbances, ii) to demonstrate the benefits of designing a setpoint generator and iii) to show the controller potential against electricity price variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]