The current trend in volumetric solar receiver technology is to build modular receivers cooled by air (Hitrec I and II, Solair and ) in order to facilitate the replacement of broken absorber modules (cups) and to simplify the upscaling of the receiver. In addition, the modular designs include an air return circuit to cool down the structure supporting the cups. Usually, the air outlet temperature from each module is characterized by measurements taken from a single thermocouple. However, the air temperature distribution behind the volumetric absorber module is not homogeneous, as it can be seen in some specific tests where several thermocouples were added behind different absorber modules. The radial distribution of outlet air temperatures shows very high temperature gradients. The goal of this work is to explain the inhomogeneous thermal maps behind the metallic absorbers by comparing some experimental results with numerical simulations performed using the computational fluid dynamics FLUENT code. The results show the wind influence over the air recirculation flow and its effects on the outlet air temperature radial distribution. Thus, the simulations suggest different ways to reduce the temperature gradients behind each cup.
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e-mail: silvia.palero@ciemat.es
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February 2008
Research Papers
Comparison of Experimental and Numerical Air Temperature Distributions Behind a Cylindrical Volumetric Solar Absorber Module
Silvia Palero,
Silvia Palero
Researcher
Renewable Energy Division,
e-mail: silvia.palero@ciemat.es
DER-CIEMAT
, Avenida Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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Manuel Romero,
Manuel Romero
Doctor Director
Renewable Energy Division,
DER-CIEMAT
, Avenida Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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José L. Castillo
José L. Castillo
Professor
Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias,
UNED
, Senda del rey 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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Silvia Palero
Researcher
Renewable Energy Division,
DER-CIEMAT
, Avenida Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid, Spaine-mail: silvia.palero@ciemat.es
Manuel Romero
Doctor Director
Renewable Energy Division,
DER-CIEMAT
, Avenida Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid, Spain
José L. Castillo
Professor
Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos, Facultad de Ciencias,
UNED
, Senda del rey 9, 28040 Madrid, SpainJ. Sol. Energy Eng. Feb 2008, 130(1): 011011 (8 pages)
Published Online: December 28, 2007
Article history
Received:
September 29, 2006
Revised:
August 20, 2007
Published:
December 28, 2007
Citation
Palero, S., Romero, M., and Castillo, J. L. (December 28, 2007). "Comparison of Experimental and Numerical Air Temperature Distributions Behind a Cylindrical Volumetric Solar Absorber Module." ASME. J. Sol. Energy Eng. February 2008; 130(1): 011011. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2807046
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