Simulation of a thermal solar power plant operating on Mars under clear sky and dust storm conditions

The power plant analyzed in this work consists of a selective solar collect or-thermal engine combination. The paper focuses on solar power plant opera tion under various weather conditions during all seasons on Mars. Meteorolo gical data measured at Viking Landers (VL) sites were used in computations. Two strategies to collect solar radiation were analyzed: a solar horizonta l (H) collector and a solar collector whose tilt and orientation are contin uously adjusted to keep the receiving surface perpendicular to Sun rays (P) . Both a low and a high efficiency thermal engine were considered. All the computations were performed for a selective solar flat-plate collector simi lar in size to the Mars Pathfinder's Sojourner. Results show that generally the influence of latitude on performance is important. In some situations, the meteorological effects compensate the latitudinal effects and the outp ut power is quite similar at both VL1 and VL2 sites. In case a low-efficien cy engine is coupled to a horizontal collector, the solar efficiency does n ot exceed 0.13 at VL2 site. It is lower during summer and higher during win ter dust storms. In case the low-efficiency engine is coupled to a P collec tor, the solar efficiency increases during summer. The solar efficiency is as high as 0.18 in case of a horizontal collector attached to a high-effici ency engine. If the high-efficiency thermal engine is connected to a P coll ector the solar efficiency increases significantly during summer and spring but does not exceed 0.18. The power provided by a system consisting of a h orizontal collector and a low-efficiency engine does not exceed 7 W. Using a high engine coupled to a horizontal collector leads to a power output up to 13 W during spring, autumn and winter. The P collector is recommended ma inly during summer and spring in combination with high-efficiency engines. In this case the solar efficiency could be as high as 25 W. The performance of PV cell power systems and properly designed dynamic solar power plants operating on Mars is comparable. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.