The MOSAIC project has reached a new important milestone: the first access of the receiver to the oven for heating-up procedure testing. On 15th June, the prototype site was ready for this manoeuvre, which allows the receiver to be placed inside the oven for heating process or to prevent high temperature losses from the receiver (during night, for example).
The complete manoeuvre in this specific installation consists of the following steps:
- The receiver is placed by means of the tracking system control in a vertical position, just in front of the oven. The upper crossbars of the receiver are laid on a specific retractable support.
- This support moves to the oven, placing the receiver in its right position.
- The doors of the oven close. The isolation parts of the receiver at its ends fit with the oven doors, so the receiver is kept in an isolated space, where the heating-up process can take place.
When the receiver is needed to move from the oven to the workspace, the inverse manoeuvre is carried out.
See the whole process in this video (accelerated 20 times):
From now onwards, the prototype can be tested with HTF preheating at intermediate temperatures, a previous step before the solar field is built and the higher temperatures are reached.