The National Solar Thermal Test Facility recently hosted Dimitri Madden of Sandia National Laboratories for its latest Concentrating Solar Thermal Power Seminar.
Madden presented “Advanced Heat Exchanger Demonstrations for High-Temperature Energy Systems,” showcasing Sandia’s high-temperature heat exchanger test facility. The facility is designed to test advanced heat exchanger technologies for next-generation thermal energy systems.
Madden provided an overview of the facility’s design, capabilities, instrumentation, and operating range, focusing on testing under high-temperature conditions.
He also shared initial experimental results from a particle-to-supercritical CO₂ heat exchanger and compared them with analytical predictions, highlighting key performance trends and lessons learned.
The seminar ended with a look at planned upgrades to the facility, including molten salt capabilities and future uses for advanced concentrating solar power and other high-temperature energy systems.
Watch a recording of the Advanced Heat Exchanger Demonstrations for High-Temperature Energy Systems webinar.
Dimitri Madden is a senior member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories, where he focuses on developing and experimentally evaluating high-temperature energy systems. His research includes advanced heat exchanger technologies, supercritical CO₂ power cycles, and thermal energy systems. He has led the development and operation of experimental test capabilities to evaluate heat exchanger performance under representative high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, including particle-to-sCO₂ and molten-salt systems. His work combines experimental testing, thermal-fluid analysis, and system development to advance technologies for next-generation power and energy conversion systems.
October 5, 2026