Optimizing the efficiency of a solar receiver with tubular cylindrical cavity for a solar-powered organic Rankine cycle

In this study, a solar collector was considered with a cylindrical cavity receiver. The receiver was a type of coated copper closed-tube open cylindrical cavity. Thermal oil was used as the working fluid in the cavity receiver. The affecting parameters including the concentrator shape, concentrator reflectivity, concentrator optical error, solar tracking error, receiver aperture area, receiver tube diameter, cavity receiver depth, inlet temperature and the mass flow rate of the thermal oil through the receiver were investigated. Also, R141b was considered as the working fluid of the ORC system in the condition of saturated vapor. The main focus of this study was on the thermal modeling and optimization of cylindrical cavity receiver. With the help of the ray-tracing software, SolTrace, and the receiver modeling techniques, the optimum aspect ratios are identified. It is conducted that for attaining higher collector efficiency, higher overall efficiency and higher network smaller tube diameter, optimum height of cavity and lower thermal oil inlet temperature are necessary.

[1]  Liang Yan,et al.  Experimental Study of an Air Tube-cavity Solar Receiver☆ , 2014 .

[2]  Vincent Lemort,et al.  Thermo-economic optimization of waste heat recovery Organic Rankine Cycles , 2011 .

[3]  R. Y. Ma.  Wind effects on convective heat loss from a cavity receiver for a parabolic concentrating solar collector , 1993 .

[4]  Bertrand F. Tchanche,et al.  Fluid selection for a low-temperature solar organic Rankine cycle , 2009 .

[5]  Technology of China,et al.  Prediction and optimization of the performance of parabolic solar dish concentrator with sphere receiver using analytical function , 2011, 1112.1747.

[6]  Josua P. Meyer,et al.  Operating conditions of an open and direct solar thermal Brayton cycle with optimised cavity receive , 2011 .

[7]  A. Steinfeld,et al.  Heat Transfer Analysis of a Novel Pressurized Air Receiver for Concentrated Solar Power via Combined Cycles , 2009 .

[8]  Richard Perez,et al.  Time Specific Irradiances Derived from Geostationary Satellite Images , 2002 .

[9]  Thomas A Davidson,et al.  Design and analysis of a 1 kw Rankine power cycle, employing a multi-vane expander, for use with a low temperature solar collector. , 1977 .

[10]  Sendhil Kumar Natarajan,et al.  Experimental performance investigation of modified cavity receiver with fuzzy focal solar dish concentrator , 2015 .

[11]  Thorsten Denk,et al.  Test and evaluation of a solar powered gas turbine system , 2006 .

[12]  Richard B. Diver,et al.  Comparison of a cavity solar receiver numerical model and experimental data , 1990 .

[13]  C. Estrada,et al.  Influence of the size of facets on point focus solar concentrators , 2011 .

[14]  Josua P. Meyer,et al.  The efficiency of an open-cavity tubular solar receiver for a small-scale solar thermal Brayton cycle , 2014 .

[15]  Antonio L. Avila-Marin,et al.  Volumetric receivers in Solar Thermal Power Plants with Central Receiver System technology: A review , 2011 .

[16]  G. Burgess,et al.  SPHERICAL AND ASYMMETRIC MIRROR PANELS FOR PARABOLOIDAL CONCENTRATORS , 2008 .

[17]  Abraham Kribus,et al.  A Multistage Solar Receiver , 1999 .

[18]  E. Sparrow,et al.  Radiation Heat Transfer , 1978 .

[19]  Peter Schwarzbözl,et al.  Solar-Hybrid Gas Turbine-based Power Tower Systems (REFOS)* , 2001 .

[20]  F. Huang,et al.  Optical analysis and optimization of parabolic dish solar concentrator with a cavity receiver , 2013 .

[21]  Mahmood Yaghoubi,et al.  Thermoeconomic Methodology for Analysis and Optimization of a Hybrid Solar Thermal Power Plant , 2013 .

[22]  Li Jing,et al.  Optimization of low temperature solar thermal electric generation with Organic Rankine Cycle in different areas , 2010 .

[23]  Aldo Steinfeld,et al.  Optimum aperture size and operating temperature of a solar cavity-receiver , 1993 .

[24]  Lourdes García-Rodríguez,et al.  Analysis and optimization of the low-temperature solar organic Rankine cycle (ORC) , 2010 .

[25]  Josua P. Meyer,et al.  Optimum performance of the small-scale open and direct solar thermal Brayton cycle at various environmental conditions and constraints☆ , 2012 .

[26]  Terry G. Lenz,et al.  Thermal performance of solar concentrator/cavity receiver systems , 1985 .

[27]  Hohyun Lee,et al.  Design of a high temperature cavity receiver for residential scale concentrated solar power , 2012 .