A simplified dynamic model of integrated parabolic trough concentrating solar power plants: Modeling and validation

[Display omitted] •A system-scale dynamic model of parabolic trough concentrating solar power plants was first integrated.•A new analytical dynamic model of heat exchanger trains was developed.•Comparisons of two simulations and an experiment were conducted. An analytical dynamic model can deepen our understanding of system characteristics. However, no system-scale dynamic model of integrated parabolic trough concentrating solar power (CSP) plants currently exists due to lack of a dynamic model of heat exchanger trains and proper integration of different subsystems. To solve the problems, this work developed a new analytical dynamic model of heat exchanger trains. Furthermore, a simplified analytical model of an integrated parabolic trough CSP consisting of a parabolic trough solar field, thermal energy storage, and power block subsystem is first proposed here. To demonstrate the fidelity of the integrated model, the simulation presented here was compared with the simulation built on a software platform and the corresponding measured data from the Andasol II plant. All the validation results of a steady-state case and two dynamic cases prove that the proposed model can capture the system dominant processes with satisfactory accuracy and computational efficiency. Considering the advantages of reliability, simplicity, and robustness, the integrated model can be applied to design and test system controllers of CSP plants, and various other areas related to the CSP.