The employment of liquid metal as a primary heat transfer fluid in solar thermal energy conversion systems has been identified by the Department of Energy as a potential alternative to the use of water/steam. Designs for central receiver power generation plants employing liquid sodium have been developed. Material concerns associated with the use of liquid metal and enhanced by the cyclic thermal nature of solar energy systems have been identified and include: creep/fatigue behavior, general corrosion and mass transport behavior, and thermal fatigue behavior of container materials; alloy development and code qualification of receiver materials; caustic cracking of steam generator tubes; and a number of secondary concerns.

Subject
Costs, Materials, Tubes, Liquid metals, Containment, Storage, Steam generators, Thermal stress, Liquids, Fluids, Sodium, Heat, Steam
© 1981 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1981
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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