PRELIMINARY DEVELOPMENT, TESTING, AND OPTIMIZATION OF AN ALL-REFRACTORY PARTICLE HEATING RECEIVER

The solar energy receiver is an essential component of particle-based Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants. Particle based CSP systems promise higher operating temperatures and more cost-effective thermal energy storage than existing gas and molten salt systems. Two general types of Particle Heating Receivers (PHR) are under development: the free-falling curtain concept being developed by Sandia National Labs (SNL) and an obstructed flow concept being developed by King Saud University (KSU) and Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT). This research focuses on the work that has been done to improve and implement the obstructed flow PHR concept. Recent work has been devoted to developing a Discrete Structure Refractory Particle Heat Receiver (DS-RPHR) suitable for cavity installation in a 6.6 MWth pre-commercial CSP demonstration plant. The simplest suitable configuration is 5 flat ceramic plates, or absorber panels, arranged in an arc, with a 15° angle of inclination, to improve particle retention in the system. To increase particle residence time various obstructions have been considered; and in the design considered in this thesis, quartz rods are placed onto the back plane of the DS-RPHR. A lab scale prototype has been constructed and tested with induced particle flow. This design has been extensively modeled using both SolTrace and ANSYS FLUENT to evaluate thermal and optical performance. This paper will discuss integration of SolTRACE generated heat flux, free convection, and thermal performance analysis in ANSYS FLUENT. The results of this work will offer a predictive model to calculate the thermal losses in the DS-RPHR. Overall modeling and experimental results show the suitability of the DS-RPHR design for potential use in the proposed 6.6 MWth pre-commercial demonstration plant.M.S