Absorber Tube Shielding for Glass-Metal Transition Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing absorber tube designs for solar power stations have a relatively large overall length, leading to reduced efficiency due to a large free aperture, and the glass-metal transition element is unprotected during transport and installation, making it prone to damage and reducing the service life.
Innovation Solution
The absorber tube features a central metal tube with a glass sleeve tube and a glass-metal transition element connected via an expansion compensating device, which includes an annular disc-shaped shielding device to protect against radiation and enhance thermal dissipation, allowing for improved protection and increased service life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the absorber tube uses a bellows configuration with glass-metal transition element and multiple shield elements, then the glass-metal transition element is protected against radiation, but the overall length increases significantly reducing free aperture and efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the bellows configuration and multiple shield elements from the absorber tube design. By removing these components, the overall length is significantly reduced, increasing the free aperture and efficiency while maintaining protection of the glass-metal transition element through a simplified attachment element design.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment element is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical attachment between the glass sleeve tube and metal tube, compensates for thermal expansion, and protects the glass-metal transition element from radiation. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate bellows and shield elements, resolving the contradiction between protection and efficiency.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the absorber tube uses a bellows configuration with internal radiation shield, then radiation protection is provided, but the device complexity increases and service life is reduced due to insufficient thermal coupling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the internal radiation shield and support arms from the design. The attachment element itself is designed to provide adequate thermal coupling and radiation protection without requiring additional internal shielding components, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining necessary protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective and thermal coupling functions are merged into the attachment element itself. The attachment element provides both the mechanical connection and sufficient thermal coupling between the glass sleeve tube and metal tube, eliminating the need for separate internal radiation shields and support structures.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the absorber tube uses externally fitted shielding plates after installation, then radiation protection is provided, but the glass-metal transition element remains unprotected during transport and installation leading to damage
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment element is designed and installed during manufacturing to provide protection of the glass-metal transition element before transport and installation. This preliminary protective action prevents damage during handling and installation, eliminating the need for post-installation shielding plates and ensuring the element is protected from the outset.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective function is merged into the attachment element that is already required for mechanical connection. The attachment element serves dual purposes: providing mechanical attachment and protecting the glass-metal transition element during transport, installation, and operation, eliminating the need for separate protective plates.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The annular disc-shaped shielding device effectively protects the glass-metal transition element and expansion compensating device from radiation, reducing damage and increasing the absorber tube's service life by maintaining vacuum integrity and improving thermal management.
Implementation Method 1
The attachment element can extend in the annular space between the expansion compensating device and the metal tube, so that with a conical configuration of the attachment element the directly impinging radiation as well as the radiation from the metal tube is reflected back onto the metal tube.
Implementation Method 2
The glass-metal transition element and the metal tube are disposed so as to be movable relative to one another in the longitudinal direction via the expansion compensating device
Implementation Method 3
improving thermal management
Data Source
AI summary
An absorber tube is provided that includes a metal tube, a glass sleeve tube surrounding the metal tube, and a glass-metal transition element is disposed on at least one end. The metal tube and the transition element can be moved relative to one another in the longitudinal direction and connected to one another by an expansion compensating device. An inner end of the expansion compensating device is fastened to an attachment element, which is connected to the transition element. An outer end of the expansion compensating device is fastened to the metal tube. An annular space section of the annular space is constructed between the transition and attachment elements. The attachment element has an annular disc on which the expansion compensating device is fastened. The absorber tube has at least one shielding device that has a first annular disc-shaped section disposed on at least one end in the annular space.