Automated Heliostat Installation

A concept for the automated installation of heliostats for solar tower power plants was developed with the primary objective of reducing installation costs. Following a discussion on the various types of foundations available for installation, the pile foundation was selected on account of its favourable cost per heliostat. The feasibility of this approach was assessed by calculating the wind loads and the structural stability. Vibratory pile driving was selected as the method for driving the pylons into the ground, as it enables the pile driving of very thin-walled pylons with minimal stress on the component. The installation of a heliostat is a two-step process, involving the piling of the pylons and the subsequent fastening of the concentrator with the tracking device. The fastening is facilitated by thin sheet metal screws, which were determined to be the optimal joining method, considering the requirements. In order to facilitate the efficient transportation of the components and the subsequent installation of several thousand heliostats on the solar field, various installation and material flow concepts were developed and evaluated, with particular attention to the resulting installation cost. Consequently, vehicle concepts for the automatic execution of the two process steps and for the material transport were derived and a design proposal is presented: The first is a heavy tracked vehicle for the purpose of pylon piling, and the second is two smaller vehicles for transporting and assembling the concentrators, with tracking devices.