Hierarchical Control of a Distributed Solar Collector Field

This article presents a hierarchical control structure aimed at optimizing the electricity production process in solar power plants with distributed collectors. In these systems, a fluid is heated using the energy provided by the solar irradiation until a desired outlet temperature range is achieved, despite of the effect of disturbances (mainly radiation and inlet temperature),using as manipulated variable the fluid flow. The heated fluid is then used for feeding a heat exchanger where steam is produced for electricity generation using a turbine. Nonlinear models are used in the design of the different layers of the control architecture.