A high-temperature pressurized-air solar receiver, designed for driving a Brayton cycle, consists of a cylindrical SiC cavity and a concentric annular reticulated porous ceramic (RPC) foam enclosed by a steel pressure vessel. Concentrated solar energy is absorbed by the cavity and transferred to the pressurized air flowing across the RPC by combined conduction, convection, and radiation. The governing mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations are numerically solved by coupled Monte Carlo (MC) and finite volume (FV) techniques. Model validation was accomplished with experimental data obtained with a 50 kWth modular solar receiver prototype. The model is applied to elucidate the major heat loss mechanisms and to study the impact on the solar receiver performance caused by changes in process conditions, material properties, and geometry. For an outlet air temperature range 700–1000 °C and pressure range 4–15 bar, the thermal efficiency—defined as the ratio of the enthalpy change of the air flow divided by the solar radiative power input through the aperture—exceeds 63% and can be further improved via geometry optimization. Reradiation is the dominant heat loss.
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December 2015
Technical Briefs
Numerical Heat Transfer Analysis of a 50 kWth Pressurized-Air Solar Receiver
Peter Poživil,
Peter Poživil
Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering,
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
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Simon Ackermann,
Simon Ackermann
Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering,
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
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Aldo Steinfeld
Aldo Steinfeld
Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering,
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
e-mail: aldo.steinfeld@ethz.ch
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
e-mail: aldo.steinfeld@ethz.ch
Search for other works by this author on:
Peter Poživil
Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering,
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
Simon Ackermann
Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering,
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
Aldo Steinfeld
Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering,
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
e-mail: aldo.steinfeld@ethz.ch
ETH Zürich,
Zürich 8092, Switzerland
e-mail: aldo.steinfeld@ethz.ch
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Solar Energy Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF SOLAR ENERGY ENGINEERING: INCLUDING WIND ENERGY AND BUILDING ENERGY CONSERVATION. Manuscript received January 26, 2015; final manuscript received August 13, 2015; published online September 23, 2015. Editor: Robert F. Boehm.
J. Sol. Energy Eng. Dec 2015, 137(6): 064504 (4 pages)
Published Online: September 23, 2015
Article history
Received:
January 26, 2015
Revised:
August 13, 2015
Citation
Poživil, P., Ackermann, S., and Steinfeld, A. (September 23, 2015). "Numerical Heat Transfer Analysis of a 50 kWth Pressurized-Air Solar Receiver." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. December 2015; 137(6): 064504. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4031536
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