![Page 1: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostats
Sulaiman Fadlallah1, Timothy Anderson1 and Roy Nates1
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
![Page 2: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Introduction
2
• The sun emits energy at an extremely highand relatively constant rate.
oIf all of this energy could be converted intousable forms on earth, it would be morethan enough to supply the world’s energydemand.
• This demand significantly encouraged thedevelopment of solar power generationtechnologies.
![Page 3: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Introduction
3
Central tower concentrating solar power (CSP) systems
![Page 4: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Central Tower CSP System
4
• This emerging technology holds muchpromise for countries with plenty ofsunshine and clear skies.
• Its electrical output matches well the shifting daily demand for electricity.
A huge obstacle prevents the expansion of these systems
COST
![Page 5: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Central Tower CSP System
5
Heliostats contribute around 50% to the plant’s cost (Kolb et al., 2007)
• Heliostats are the most crucial cost element of central tower CSP systems
![Page 6: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
6
Impact of heliostat primary elements on the total cost (Kolb et al., 2011)
Heliostat Cost Reduction Opportunities
![Page 7: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
7
• Focusing on large-scale heliostats:
• Heavyweight mirror support structure(Steel)
(high-torque drive)
Less structural weight
How can we accomplish this weight reduction ???
Heliostat Cost Reduction Opportunities
Drive cost as a function of torque
capacity (Kolb et al., 2007)
Less drive torque
Less heliostat cost
![Page 8: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Sandwich Composites
8
• Sandwich composites are becoming anessential part of today’s materials.
• They offer various advantages including:
Aircraft structures
Automotive industry
Satellites
Lightweight.
High fatigue strength.
Corrosion resistance.
Faster assembly.
![Page 9: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
9
Honeycomb Sandwich Composites
Facing
Adhesive
Honeycomb
core
Facing
• High stiffness to weight ratios.
• formed by adhering two thin-facesheets to a low-density honeycombcore.
• The honeycomb core is capable ofwithstanding transverse normal andshear loads, while the faces handleboth compressive and tensile loadsdue to bending. Honeycomb sandwich structure (Abbadi et al., 2009)
![Page 10: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
How can honeycomb sandwich composites be utilized to
develop a robust, lightweight heliostat mirror support
structure that is capable of withstanding wind loads at
various tilt angles ?????
10
Research Question
![Page 11: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Method
11
![Page 12: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
12
Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI)
CFD FEA
![Page 13: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Stage 1: Heliostat Structure Modelling
13
Stage 2: Modelling the Flow of Air around the Heliostat Structure
Stage 3: Fluid-Structure Interaction
![Page 14: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Heliostat Structure Modelling
14
• Considering a typical heliostatconfiguration, the full structure ofthe heliostat have been visualized.
Existing ATS 150 Heliostat
(Mancini, 2000; Kolb et al., 2007)
(a) Full-scale (b) Sandwich composite structure
Figure 1. Sandwich composite-based heliostat
Mirror Glass
Aluminum
Honeycomb Core
Aluminum Sheet
Sandwich composite-based heliostat
![Page 15: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Stage 1: Heliostat Structure Modelling
15
Stage 2: Modelling the Flow of Air around the Heliostat Structure
Stage 3: Fluid-Structure Interaction
![Page 16: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
65 m
100 m
45 m
70 m
Fluid Domain
16
Air
( 20 m/s )
> Steady state
> Pressure-based solver
> SST K-ω model
Solver Settings
![Page 17: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Stage 1: Heliostat Structure Modelling
17
Stage 2: Modelling the Flow of Air around the Heliostat Structure
Stage 3: Fluid-Structure Interaction
![Page 18: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Importing Pressure Loads from Fluid Solver to Mechanical Solver
18
One-way FSI
![Page 19: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
19
Mechanical properties’ calculation(Nast 1997; Gibson and Ashby 1997)
𝐸1 =𝑡3 1 + sin𝜑
12 𝑎3 cos3𝜑cos𝜑3 −
1 + cos𝜑8 1 − 𝑣2
𝐸
𝐸2 =𝑡3 cos𝜑
1 + sin𝜑 𝑎3 sin2𝜑 1 − 𝑣2𝐸
𝐸3 =2 𝑡
𝑎 cos𝜑 1 + sin𝜑𝐸
𝐺12 =𝑡3 1 + sin𝜑
𝑎3 1 − 𝑣2 cos𝜑 6.25 − 6 sin𝜑𝐸
𝐺23 =10 𝑡
9 𝑎 cos3𝜑 1 + sin𝜑𝐺
𝐺13 =2 𝑡
𝑎 cos𝜑 1 + sin𝜑𝐺
𝑣12 =sin2𝜑 1 + sin𝜑 2
12 𝑎3 cos2𝜑cos𝜑3 −
1 + cos𝜑8
𝑣23 =𝑡2 cos2𝜑
2 𝑎2 sin2𝜑 1 − 𝑣2𝑣
𝑣13 =𝑡2 1 + sin𝜑 2
24 𝑎2 cos𝜑cos𝜑3
−1 + cos𝜑
8
∗𝑣
1 − 𝑣2
𝜌ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑏 =3
2 𝑎 cos𝜑 1 + sin𝜑𝜌
Honeycomb sandwich composite material properties
Aluminum Mechanical Properties
Mechanical Property Value Unit
Modulus of elasticity (E) 6.9E10 Pa
Poisson’s ratio (v) 0.33 -
Shear modulus (G) 2.7E10 Pa
Density (ρ) 2700 kg/m3
Aluminum honeycomb core calculated mechanical properties
Ho
ne
yc
om
b
ce
ll g
eo
me
try
Core angle (φ) 30 deg
Cell wall length (a) 6 mm
Sheet thickness (t) 0.03 mm
Calc
ula
ted
mec
ha
nic
al p
rop
ert
ies
Modulus of elasticity in direction 1 (E1)
2.91E04 Pa
Modulus of elasticity in direction 2 (E2)
2.23E04 Pa
Modulus of elasticity in direction 3 (E3)
5.31E08 Pa
Poisson’s ratio in plane 1–2 (v12)
1.14 -
Poisson’s ratio in plane 2–3 (v23)
1.39E-5 -
Poisson’s ratio in plane 1–3 (v13)
1.81E-5 -
Shear modulus in plane 1–2 (G12)
5.16E03 Pa
Shear modulus in plane 2–3 (G23)
1.54E08 Pa
Shear modulus in plane 1–3 (G13)
2.08E08 Pa
Density of honeycomb core (ρhoneycomb)
15.59 kg/m3
![Page 20: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Validation
20
![Page 21: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Validation of CFD model
21
Drag coefficient
Lift coefficient
![Page 22: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Validation of FEA model
22
Modal frequency results
![Page 23: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Results and Discussion
23
![Page 24: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
24
Reflective surface Back surface
θ =
90°
θ =
60
θ =
30°
θ =
0°
θ =
-30°
θ =
-60°
θ =
-90°
Figure 7. Pressure distribution on the heliostat at wind speed of 20 m/s
Pressure distribution on the heliostat Heliostat surface structural behaviour
(a) θ = 90° (b) θ = 60°
(c) θ = 30° (d) θ = 0°
(e) θ = -30° (f) θ = -60°
(g) θ = -90°
Figure 8. Displacement distribution of the heliostat surface at wind speed of 20 m/s for different tilt angles
![Page 25: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
25
The maximum allowable deflection = ±21.3 mm.
tan ±3.6 𝑚𝑅𝑎𝑑 =𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
12 (𝐻𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
Simplified interpretation of the wind load displacement requirement
(Björkman, 2014).
![Page 26: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
26
Highly stressed
regions
Back surface
(θ=30°)
![Page 27: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
27
20%Weight Reduction
Steel-based heliostat Composite material-based heliostat
Total weight of
the mirror support
structure (tonnes)
1.5 1.2
Honeycomb sandwich composite-based
heliostatSteel-based heliostat
![Page 28: Structural deformation of sandwich composite heliostatsapvi.org.au/solar-research-conference/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2… · Honeycomb core Facing •High stiffness to weight ratios](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022040616/5f113537da73451c92292dde/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
28