Transient Thermal Analysis of a Refractive Secondary Solar Concentrator

Geng, Steven M.; Macosko, R. P.

doi:10.4271/1999-01-2680

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 3 publications

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“…There are a number of potential concentrators that are being considered, including an inflatable design and rigid designs with single or multi-faceted mirrors and refractive secondary concentrators. Testing of a refractive secondary concentrator was conducted at NASA (Geng and Devarakonda, 2002). A refractive secondary concentrator was inserted into a rhenium cavity and tested using the lamps from Tank 6 at NASA/GRC.…”

Section: Heat Pipe Solar Receiver Thermal Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat Pipe Solar Receiver for Oxygen Production of Lunar Regolith

Hartenstine¹,

Anderson²,

Walker³

et al. 2009

AIP Conference Proceedings

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A heat pipe solar receiver operating in the 1050°C range is proposed for use in the hydrogen reduction process for the extraction of oxygen from the lunar soil. The heat pipe solar receiver is designed to accept, isothermalize and transfer solar thermal energy to reactors for oxygen production. This increases the available area for heat transfer, and increases throughput and efficiency. The heat pipe uses sodium as the working fluid, and Haynes 230 as the heat pipe envelope material. Initial design requirements have been established for the heat pipe solar receiver design based on information from the NASA In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) program. Multiple heat pipe solar receiver designs were evaluated based on thermal performance, temperature uniformity, and integration with the solar concentrator and the regolith reactor(s). Two designs were selected based on these criteria: an annular heat pipe contained within the regolith reactor and an annular heat pipe with a remote location for the reactor. Additional design concepts have been developed that would use a single concentrator with a single solar receiver to supply and regulate power to multiple reactors. These designs use variable conductance or pressure controlled heat pipes for passive power distribution management between reactors. Following the design study, a demonstration heat pipe solar receiver was fabricated and tested. Test results demonstrated near uniform temperature on the outer surface of the pipe, which will ultimately be in contact with the regolith reactor.

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Section: Heat Pipe Solar Receiver Thermal Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%