Performance-properties and fabrication of the reaction sintered Si/SiC honeycomb materials for solar absorber application

Abstract

Reaction sintered Si/SiC composite was fabricated to apply to a solar absorber and the fabricated material was evaluated on its basic properties and performance. SiC and carbon black were mixed to shape a honeycomb with a multi-channel via vacuum extrusion process. The Si/SiC honeycomb material was also fabricated with less than 5% of pores by molten silicon infiltration in vacuum. The sintered density and porosity of the fabricated material, and the 3-point bending strength at room temperature and high temperature (11001300°C) were measured and the thermal conductivity at room temperature and 1100°C were also analyzed. In addition, the fabricated honeycomb material was modulized and installed to a solar absorber system to measure the outlet air temperature and thermal efficiency and evaluate the performance of honeycomb material as a solar absorber material.

Experimental evaluation of the performance of solar receivers for compressed air

“…New receivers will eventually be created based on the circular and metal foam receivers, while the rectangular receiver will be eliminated because of the difficulties encountered in its flow control. In addition, a multi-channel absorption material was developed for the use of the volumetric receiver at high temperatures [22]. Thus, when the fabrication and evaluation of the volumetric receiver for compressed air are completed, the performance evaluation of a multi-stage coupled receiver system can be conducted.…”