Optimized volumetric solar receiver: Thermal performance prediction and experimental validation

Capuano, Raffaele; Fend, Thomas; Stadler, Hannes; Hoffschmidt, Bernhard; Pitz‐Paal, Robert

doi:10.1016/j.renene.2017.07.071

Cited by 63 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Volumetric absorption of concentrated solar radiation using ceramic receivers has been intensively investigated . Of special interest are structures featuring a porosity gradient obtained, e.g., by composites with different pore dimensions, by introducing spikes, and more recently by hierarchically layered fractal‐like structures . The latter was fabricated by the additive manufacturing technique.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Additive‐Manufactured Ordered Porous Structures Made of Ceria for Concentrating Solar Applications

et al. 2019

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Porous structures made of redox active ceria are attractive for high‐temperature concentrating solar applications and particularly for the thermochemical splitting of H2O and CO2 as their enhanced heat and mass transport properties lead to fast reaction rates, especially with regard to the absorption of concentrated solar radiation during the endothermic reduction step. Hierarchically ordered porous structures, fabricated by the Schwartzwald replica method on 3D‐printed polymer scaffolds, are experimentally assessed for their ability to volumetrically absorb high‐flux irradiation of up to 670 suns. Temperature distributions across the porosity‐gradient path are measured (peak 1724 K) and compared with that obtained for a reticulated porous ceramic (RPC) structure with a uniform porosity. To assist the analysis, a Monte Carlo ray‐tracing model is developed for pore‐level numerical simulations of the ordered geometries and applied to analyze the absorbing–emitting–scattering exchange and determine the radiation attenuation and the temperature distribution at a radiative equilibrium. In contrast to the Bouguer's law exponential‐decay attenuation of incident radiation observed for the RPC, the ordered structures with a porosity gradient exhibit a step‐wise radiative attenuation that leads to a more uniform temperature distribution across the structure. This in turn predicts a superior redox performance.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Additive‐Manufactured Ordered Porous Structures Made of Ceria for Concentrating Solar Applications

et al. 2019

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“…While the characteristics used in the current model have been calculated for the HiTRec honeycomb structure, characteristics for other structures like foams, wire meshes (Fend et al, 2004), or printed structures (Capuano et al, 2017) can easily be integrated in the boundary condition.…”

Section: Characteristic Maps Of Absorber Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

CFD model for the performance estimation of open volumetric receivers and comparison with experimental data

Stadler¹,

Maldonado²,

Offergeld³

et al. 2019

Solar Energy

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Obtaining reliable information on the thermal performance of a receiver in a solar thermal power plant during the design phase is essential for optimisation purposes and for the determination of the economic performance of the entire power plant. In open volumetric receivers, where the heat transfer circuit is open to the environment, this task is particularly challenging due to the influence of convection phenomena on the air return ratio and thus the heat losses. These losses can only be estimated by means of CFD simulations, however, since the small scale absorber structure is several orders of magnitude smaller than the receiver itself, the required computational grid becomes too large to be economically viable. In this paper a modeling approach is presented, which for the first time allows the effiicient simulation of the entire receiver including the flow in front of and around the receiver while at the same time considering internal heat transfer within the absorber. A set of boundary conditions has been developed for the absorber surface of open volumetric receivers in which the characteristic behaviour of the aborber is modeled without the need of detailed resolution of the absorber structure. The model has been validated against new measurements at the solar tower Jülich. Moreover, in comparison with literature data of air return ratio measurements a very good agreement was found. A characteristic map of the receiver efficiency has been simulated showing peak efficiencies of the open volumetric receiver of the solar tower Jülich of 70.9 % at a hot air temperature of 650 • C and 75.4 % at 450 • C. The model can now be used for the assessment of design concepts for commercial power plants.

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“…Some authors [ 6 , 7 , 8 ] report on the porous microstructure of the volumetric solar receivers; the use of porous ceramic material can offer several advantages as those above listed, for instance, thin walls, high geometric surface area and, as a consequence, good gas–solid contact, accommodation of high gas flow rates combined with low-pressure drop and good mass transfer performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Performance SiC–Based Solar Receivers for CSP: Component Manufacturing and Joining

et al. 2021

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Concentrated solar power (CSP) is an important option as a competitive, secure, and sustainable energy system. At the moment, cost-effective solutions are required for a wider-scale deployment of the CSP technology: in particular, the industrial exploitation of CSP has been so far hindered by limitations in the materials used for the central receiver—a key component in the system. In this context, the H2020 NEXTOWER project is focused on next-generation CSP technologies, particularly on advanced materials for high temperatures (e.g., >900 °C) and extreme applications environments (e.g., corrosive). The research activity described in this paper is focused on two industrial solutions for new SiC ceramic receivers for high thermal gradient continued operations: porous SiC and silicon-infiltrated silicon carbide ceramics (SiSiC). The new receivers should be mechanically tough and highly thermally conductive. This paper presents the activity related to the manufacturing of these components, their joining, and characterization.

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Optimized volumetric solar receiver: Thermal performance prediction and experimental validation

Cited by 63 publications

References 14 publications

Additive‐Manufactured Ordered Porous Structures Made of Ceria for Concentrating Solar Applications

Additive‐Manufactured Ordered Porous Structures Made of Ceria for Concentrating Solar Applications

CFD model for the performance estimation of open volumetric receivers and comparison with experimental data

High-Performance SiC–Based Solar Receivers for CSP: Component Manufacturing and Joining

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