Solar boiler tube panel supports

A solar boiler panel support system comprising:

• a) a first hanger rod and a second hanger rod, each configured and adapted to be rotatably mounted to a stationary boiler support in parallel orientation relative to the other throughout a range of motion of the first and second hanger rods;
• and
• b) a bracket rotatably mounted to each of the first and second hanger rods, the bracket including a panel clip plate configured and adapted to engage a clip mounted to a solar boiler panel, wherein the hanger rods are configured and adapted to connect between a boiler support and the bracket to form a parallelogram linkage and to support the weight of a solar boiler panel therethrough, wherein the hanger rods and bracket are configured and adapted to maintain a substantially horizontal orientation of the bracket during inboard and outboard horizontal movement of the bracket relative to the boiler support, and wherein the first and second hanger rods are each configured to be substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of a solar boiler panel in a cold state.

A method of supporting a receiver panel of a solar boiler comprising:

• a) supporting a bracket on a boiler support including hanging the bracket from the boiler support by a pair of hanger rods, wherein the hanger rods, the boiler support and the bracket form a parallelogram linkage, and wherein the bracket is moveable relative to the boiler support in an inboard-outboard direction;
• and
• b) supporting a solar boiler receiver panel with the bracket, thereby supporting the weight of the receiver panel with the bracket, wherein inboard-outboard movement of the panel relative to the boiler support due to thermal expansion and contraction is accommodated by the bracket moving inboard and outboard relative to the boiler support, and wherein the pair of hanger rods is substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the solar boiler receiver panel in a cold state.