Optical performance of bladed receivers for CSP systems

Ye Wang, Charles Alexis Asselineau, Joe Coventry, John Pye

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

    22 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Bladed structures offer an approach to improve the efficiency of conventional concentrating solar power (CSP) cylindrical receivers, due to improved light-trapping via the cavity effect, and by allowing more tubes to be compressed into a smaller aperture, enabling the flux on the aperture to be increased without exceeding the peak flux limitation on individual tubes. In this paper, we present an optical model of a hypothetical bladed receiver mounted on the tower of the Sandia National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF). We examine the impact of receiver geometric parameters including receiver width, receiver height, number of blades, blade depth and blade angle, through analysis using 'Tracer', an open-source Python-based Monte Carlo ray tracing library. Validation of Tracer is provided, through comparison with results from other tools. At the optimal configuration, 15 blades with a depth of 4.5 m and angle of 63.9° from the vertical are spaced vertically over a 9.6×9.6 m back wall. In this configuration, the peak flux occurs on the back plane and is considerably lower than a corresponding flat receiver. The design-point receiver optical efficiency increases from 93.8% for a flat receiver to 98.5% for the bladed configuration, and is shown to be robust to sun position changes.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationBiofuels, Hydrogen, Syngas, and Alternate Fuels; CHP and Hybrid Power and Energy Systems; Concentrating Solar Power; Energy Storage; Environmental, Economic, and Policy Considerations of Advanced Energy Systems; Geothermal, Ocean, and Emerging Energy Technologies; Photovoltaics; Posters; Solar Chemistry; Sustainable Building Energy Systems; Sustainable Infrastructure and Transportation; Thermodynamic Analysis of Energy Systems; Wind Energy Systems and Technologies
    PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers
    ISBN (Electronic)9780791850220
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2016
    EventASME 2016 10th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, ES 2016, collocated with the ASME 2016 Power Conference and the ASME 2016 14th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology - Charlotte, United States
    Duration: 26 Jun 201630 Jun 2016

    Publication series

    NameASME 2016 10th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, ES 2016, collocated with the ASME 2016 Power Conference and the ASME 2016 14th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology
    Volume1

    Conference

    ConferenceASME 2016 10th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, ES 2016, collocated with the ASME 2016 Power Conference and the ASME 2016 14th International Conference on Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    CityCharlotte
    Period26/06/1630/06/16

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