IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v57y2016icp648-658.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Thermal and hydrodynamic behavior of ceramic volumetric absorbers for central receiver solar power plants: A review

Author

Listed:
  • Gomez-Garcia, Fabrisio
  • González-Aguilar, José
  • Olalde, Gabriel
  • Romero, Manuel

Abstract

This paper presents an extensive review of the thermal and hydrodynamic behavior of conventional ceramic volumetric absorbers, i.e. monolithic honeycombs and open-cell foams. It is intended to provide scientific support to the design of more efficient absorbers with novel structures and materials, based on a further understanding of how the characteristics of conventional absorbers modify their performance. This review identifies radiative and thermal properties that a good absorber must have, providing reference values for SiC absorbers. An overview on how the typical manufacturing process modifies their properties is also presented. Significance of geometrical parameters and radiative and thermal properties of both type of absorbers, as well as the effects of incoming light direction on the solar radiation propagation and the solid-air temperature distributions within their structure are discussed. Typical operating conditions of these elements are given. Their characteristic outlet air temperature and thermal efficiency are compared and discussed. The different mechanisms that are responsible for the pressure drop in these elements are identified, and their influence on the heat transfer mechanisms is analyzed. To conclude, factors that promote the appearance of flow instabilities are described.

Suggested Citation

  • Gomez-Garcia, Fabrisio & González-Aguilar, José & Olalde, Gabriel & Romero, Manuel, 2016. "Thermal and hydrodynamic behavior of ceramic volumetric absorbers for central receiver solar power plants: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 648-658.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:57:y:2016:i:c:p:648-658
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.106
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032115014896
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.106?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fend, Thomas & Hoffschmidt, Bernhard & Pitz-Paal, Robert & Reutter, Oliver & Rietbrock, Peter, 2004. "Porous materials as open volumetric solar receivers: Experimental determination of thermophysical and heat transfer properties," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 823-833.
    2. Wu, Zhiyong & Caliot, Cyril & Bai, Fengwu & Flamant, Gilles & Wang, Zhifeng & Zhang, Jinsong & Tian, Chong, 2010. "Experimental and numerical studies of the pressure drop in ceramic foams for volumetric solar receiver applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 504-513, February.
    3. Xu, Chang & Song, Zhe & Chen, Lea-der & Zhen, Yuan, 2011. "Numerical investigation on porous media heat transfer in a solar tower receiver," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1138-1144.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Avila-Marin, Antonio L. & Fernandez-Reche, Jesus & Gianella, Sandro & Ferrari, Luca & Sanchez-Señoran, Daniel, 2022. "Experimental study of innovative periodic cellular structures as air volumetric absorbers," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 391-404.
    2. Hongyan Lu & Lixin Yang & Zhiyong Wu & Siqi Xu, 2020. "Numerical and Experimental Study on Convective Heat Transfer Characteristics in Foam Materials," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-14, January.
    3. Navalho, Jorge E.P. & Pereira, José C.F., 2020. "A comprehensive and fully predictive discrete methodology for volumetric solar receivers: application to a functional parabolic dish solar collector system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    4. Sedighi, Mohammadreza & Padilla, Ricardo Vasquez & Rose, Andrew & Taylor, Robert A., 2022. "Optical analysis of a semi-transparent packed bed of spheres for next-generation volumetric solar receivers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    5. Pitot de la Beaujardiere, Jean-Francois P. & Reuter, Hanno C.R., 2018. "A review of performance modelling studies associated with open volumetric receiver CSP plant technology," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3848-3862.
    6. Merchán, R.P. & Santos, M.J. & Medina, A. & Calvo Hernández, A., 2022. "High temperature central tower plants for concentrated solar power: 2021 overview," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    7. Barreto, Germilly & Canhoto, Paulo & Collares-Pereira, Manuel, 2019. "Three-dimensional CFD modelling and thermal performance analysis of porous volumetric receivers coupled to solar concentration systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Chen, Xue & Lyu, Jinxin & Sun, Chuang & Xia, Xinlin & Wang, Fuqiang, 2023. "Pore-scale evaluation on a volumetric solar receiver with different optical property control strategies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(PB).
    9. Avila-Marin, Antonio L., 2022. "CFD parametric analysis of wire meshes open volumetric receivers with axial-varied porosity and comparison with small-scale solar receiver tests," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 1094-1105.
    10. Barreto, Germilly & Canhoto, Paulo & Collares-Pereira, Manuel, 2018. "Three-dimensional modelling and analysis of solar radiation absorption in porous volumetric receivers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 602-614.
    11. Avila-Marin, A.L. & Fernandez-Reche, J. & Martinez-Tarifa, A., 2019. "Modelling strategies for porous structures as solar receivers in central receiver systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 15-33.
    12. Kasaeian, Alibakhsh & Barghamadi, Hossein & Pourfayaz, Fathollah, 2017. "Performance comparison between the geometry models of multi-channel absorbers in solar volumetric receivers," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 1-12.
    13. Nakakura, Mitsuho & Matsubara, Koji & Cho, Hyun-Seok & Kodama, Tatsuya & Gokon, Nobuyuki & Bellan, Selvan & Yoshida, Kazuo, 2017. "Buoyancy-opposed volumetric solar receiver with beam-down optics irradiation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 2337-2350.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. He, Y.L. & Cheng, Z.D. & Cui, F.Q. & Li, Z.Y. & Li, D., 2012. "Numerical investigations on a pressurized volumetric receiver: Solar concentrating and collecting modelling," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 368-379.
    2. Li, Qing & Bai, Fengwu & Yang, Bei & Wang, Zhifeng & El Hefni, Baligh & Liu, Sijie & Kubo, Syuichi & Kiriki, Hiroaki & Han, Mingxu, 2016. "Dynamic simulation and experimental validation of an open air receiver and a thermal energy storage system for solar thermal power plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 281-293.
    3. Roldán, M.I. & Smirnova, O. & Fend, T. & Casas, J.L. & Zarza, E., 2014. "Thermal analysis and design of a volumetric solar absorber depending on the porosity," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 116-128.
    4. Nimvari, Majid Eshagh & Jouybari, Nima Fallah & Esmaili, Qadir, 2018. "A new approach to mitigate intense temperature gradients in ceramic foam solar receivers," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 206-215.
    5. Wang, P. & Li, J.B. & Xu, R.N. & Jiang, P.X., 2021. "Non-uniform and volumetric effect on the hydrodynamic and thermal characteristic in a unit solar absorber," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    6. Zaversky, Fritz & Aldaz, Leticia & Sánchez, Marcelino & Ávila-Marín, Antonio L. & Roldán, M. Isabel & Fernández-Reche, Jesús & Füssel, Alexander & Beckert, Wieland & Adler, Jörg, 2018. "Numerical and experimental evaluation and optimization of ceramic foam as solar absorber – Single-layer vs multi-layer configurations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 351-375.
    7. Rashidi, Saman & Esfahani, Javad Abolfazli & Rashidi, Abbas, 2017. "A review on the applications of porous materials in solar energy systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 1198-1210.
    8. Navalho, Jorge E.P. & Pereira, José C.F., 2020. "A comprehensive and fully predictive discrete methodology for volumetric solar receivers: application to a functional parabolic dish solar collector system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    9. Liu, Yun & Xie, Ling-tian & Shen, Wen-ran & Xu, Chao & Zhao, Bo-yang, 2023. "Relative flow direction modes and gradual porous parameters for radiation transport and interactions with thermochemical reaction in porous volumetric solar reactor," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 612-621.
    10. Li, J.B. & Wang, P. & Liu, D.Y., 2022. "Optimization on the gradually varied pore structure distribution for the irradiated absorber," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    11. Roldán, M.I. & Monterreal, R., 2014. "Heat flux and temperature prediction on a volumetric receiver installed in a solar furnace," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 65-74.
    12. Avila-Marin, A.L. & Fernandez-Reche, J. & Martinez-Tarifa, A., 2019. "Modelling strategies for porous structures as solar receivers in central receiver systems: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 15-33.
    13. Nakakura, Mitsuho & Matsubara, Koji & Cho, Hyun-Seok & Kodama, Tatsuya & Gokon, Nobuyuki & Bellan, Selvan & Yoshida, Kazuo, 2017. "Buoyancy-opposed volumetric solar receiver with beam-down optics irradiation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 2337-2350.
    14. Barreto, Germilly & Canhoto, Paulo & Collares-Pereira, Manuel, 2020. "Parametric analysis and optimisation of porous volumetric solar receivers made of open-cell SiC ceramic foam," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    15. Reddy, K.S. & Nataraj, Sundarraj, 2019. "Thermal analysis of porous volumetric receivers of concentrated solar dish and tower systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 786-797.
    16. Barreto, Germilly & Canhoto, Paulo & Collares-Pereira, Manuel, 2018. "Three-dimensional modelling and analysis of solar radiation absorption in porous volumetric receivers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 602-614.
    17. Yamani, Noureddine & Khellaf, Abdallah & Mohammedi, Kamal & Behar, Omar, 2017. "Assessment of solar thermal tower technology under Algerian climate," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 444-460.
    18. Zhang, Shengchun & Wang, Zhifeng & Wu, Zhiyong & Bai, Fengwu & Huang, Pingrui, 2019. "Numerical investigation of the heat transport in a very loose packed granular bed air receiver with a non-uniform energy flux distribution," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 987-998.
    19. Pitot de la Beaujardiere, Jean-Francois P. & Reuter, Hanno C.R., 2018. "A review of performance modelling studies associated with open volumetric receiver CSP plant technology," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3848-3862.
    20. Xu, Yang & Ren, Qinlong & Zheng, Zhang-Jing & He, Ya-Ling, 2017. "Evaluation and optimization of melting performance for a latent heat thermal energy storage unit partially filled with porous media," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 84-95.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:57:y:2016:i:c:p:648-658. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.