Abstract :
As we need adapted software to calculate the solar flux concentration through a tower-heliostat field system, an overview of computer
codes was performed, detailing their features, strengths and weaknesses. For this a questionnaire was sent to developers or heavy users of
codes that are currently used in the concentrated solar power (CSP) community. Answers to this questionnaire make it possible to determine
which tool is relevant depending on the objectives of the simulation. Modeling tools for central receiver systems (CRS) can be
divided into two main categories, corresponding to two kinds of problems: on one hand those dedicated to system optimization and
on the other hand those designed to detailed analysis of the optical performances. A bibliographic study on first generation and developing
codes complements this overview of tools that may be interesting for CSP research or industry.
2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
