The primary objective of testing in this work is to achieve
steady operating conditions and then observe the system response
to perturbations in operating conditions, thereby simulating a
transient solar environment. When operating a power cycle in
combination with a solar resource, the potential exists that the direct
normal insolation (DNI) used to heat the working fluid may
decrease drastically during periods of cloud cover. These transients
may last for as short as seconds or as long as hours and days. While
thermal storage can mitigate the effects of drastic transients, usage
of thermal storage to level the power output will be dependent on