Analysis and design of a radial waveguide concentrator for concentrated solar thermal applications

Nithyanandam, Karthik; Narayan, Aditya; Pitchumani, R.

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2018.03.015

Cited by 1 publication

(4 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…To the authors' knowledge, there is no investigation of the concept for concentrated solar thermal applications. Nevertheless, the optical model that was developed in this study was based on the methodology presented by Nithyanandam et al [22], which was verified through a comparison of the analytical results alongside the results that were obtained from the ray-tracing simulations performed using TracePro [41]. In addition, the analytical solution obtained for I t in Equation ( 3) is verified with physical consistency checks.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…From the Dittus-Boelter equation [30], the assumed convective heat transfer coefficient for thermal oil-based HTF flow in the receiver corresponds to a Reynolds number of~15,000, which is typically observed in solar thermal systems [42]. The value for absorptivity (β) of the receiver surface is considered as 0.95 [21,22]. The feasible design space for waveguide is dictated by the maximum allowable temperature in the waveguide due to irradiation absorption during operation.…”

Section: Parametric Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure 8 represents the design windows for ZK7 and PC with maximum permissible temperature (T max ) as a constraint. Figure 8a represents the design window for ZK7 waveguide material considering I 0 = 1000 W/m 2 , R r = 0.01 m, and t wg = 0.025 m. For ZK7 glass, the tensile strength constrains the maximum recommended operating temperature to about 86 • C [22], which is shown by the red line depicted in Figure 8a. The solid lines represent the iso-contour lines for various power density values.…”

Section: Design Of Numerical Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nithyanandam et al [21] recently conducted a coupled optical and thermal analysis on a planar waveguide solar concentrator for CST applications. The study was further extended for the radial waveguide concentrator [22]. In the present study, the analysis has been conducted for the hexagonal waveguide solar concentrator coupled to a linear receiver.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis and Optimization of a Novel Hexagonal Waveguide Concentrator for Solar Thermal Applications

2021

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This paper analyzes a novel, cost-effective planar waveguide solar concentrator design that is inspired by cellular hexagonal structures in nature with the benefits of facile installation and low operation and maintenance cost. A coupled thermal and optical analysis of solar irradiation through an ideal hexagonal waveguide concentrator integrated with a linear receiver is presented, along with a cost analysis methodology, to establish the upper limit of performance. The techno-economic model, coupled with numerical optimization, is used to determine designs that maximized power density and minimized the cost of heat in the temperature range of 100–250 °C, which constitutes more than half of the industrial process heat demand. Depending on the incident solar irradiation and the application temperature, the cost of heat for the optimal design configuration ranged between 0.1–0.27 $/W and 0.075–0.18 $/W for waveguide made of ZK7 glass and polycarbonate, respectively. A techno-economic analysis showed the potential of the technology to achieve cost as low as 80 $/m2 and 61 $/m2 for waveguide made of ZK7 glass and polycarbonate material, respectively, which is less than half the cost of state-of-the-art parabolic trough concentrators. Overall, the hexagonal waveguide solar concentrator technology shows immense potential for decarbonizing the industrial process heat and thermal desalination sectors.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 64%