Evaluation and application of solid thermal energy carriers in a high temperature solar central receiver system

The use of small refractory pebbles or sand as the working fluid in a high temperature solar central receiver system has been examined. Such a receiver appears to have significant advantages over current designs for high temperature receivers which use air or gas as the working fluid. A conceptual design is proposed and analyzed to determine the optimum particle material and size as well as the system configuration and thermodynamics.