CFD-simulation of a new receiver design for a molten salt solar power tower

► We presented a novel receiver idea for solar towers with surrounding heliostats. ► We investigated the thermal performance of the novel receiver design. ► Reflections and emissions are reduced by the design comparable to a radiation trap. ► The study features coupled CFD-simulations of radiation a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Solar energy 2013-04, Vol.90, p.94-106
Main Authors: Garbrecht, Oliver, Al-Sibai, Faruk, Kneer, Reinhold, Wieghardt, Kai
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Central receiver
CFD
Concentrated solar power
Electric power plants
Electrical engineering. Electrical power engineering
Electrical power engineering
Energy
Energy efficiency
Exact sciences and technology
Heat transfer
Molten salt
Natural energy
Non classical power plants
Photovoltaic power plants
Power tower
Radiation
Simulation
Solar collectors
Solar energy
Solar radiation
Solar thermal conversion
Solar thermal power plants
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Summary:► We presented a novel receiver idea for solar towers with surrounding heliostats. ► We investigated the thermal performance of the novel receiver design. ► Reflections and emissions are reduced by the design comparable to a radiation trap. ► The study features coupled CFD-simulations of radiation and molten salt flow. ► The obtained thermal efficiency (92.2%) is higher compared to conventional designs. A novel design for a molten salt solar central receiver is presented and investigated with regard to its thermal efficiency. The new receiver is for a surrounding heliostat field and consists of many hexagonal pyramid-shaped elements that are arranged alveolarly with their apexes pointing to the heliostats. Concentrated solar radiation is absorbed on the surfaces while the elements are cooled by a molten salt flow on the inside. As most of the radiative losses are re-absorbed by the neighboring pyramids, the system can almost be considered as a radiation trap. The new receiver’s efficiency has been investigated using coupled CFD-simulations for the radiation and for the heat transfer into the molten salt flow. Presuming a concentrated incident power of 1MW/m2, a thermal efficiency of 91.2% was obtained. Losses by reflection could be reduced to 1.3% of the incoming radiation, while losses by emission accounted for 2.8%. The efficiency was compared to literature values of existing solar receivers, showing that the new concept is promising from the heat transfer point of view. Further simulations were performed to investigate part load behavior and the influence of geometry variations.
ISSN:0038-092X
1471-1257
DOI:10.1016/j.solener.2012.12.007