Solar Receiver Absorber Core for Thermal Shock Mitigation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Solar receivers in concentrated solar power systems face severe operating conditions, including high service temperatures, thermal gradients, and rapid temperature variations, which can lead to deformations and ruptures, especially when handling gases like water vapor or air, due to significant temperature differences between illuminated and non-illuminated faces.
Innovation Solution
An absorber design featuring a rigid casing with a core made of material with good thermal conductivity, where tubes are integrated, providing mechanical support and heat transfer through conduction and storage, reducing thermal gradients and managing sudden temperature variations by utilizing thermal inertia to gradually change temperatures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If tubes are juxtaposed to receive solar radiation, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but thermal gradients cause deformations and ruptures
Solution Approach 1:
A core made of material with good thermal conductivity is introduced as an intermediary between the solar radiation and the tubes. The core absorbs radiation and distributes heat uniformly through conduction, preventing direct localized heating of tubes and eliminating thermal gradients that cause deformations and ruptures.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the thermal conductivity parameter of the absorber structure by using a core material with high thermal conductivity. This parameter change enables uniform heat distribution throughout the structure, preventing localized overheating and thermal stress in the tubes.
2Power
If high solar flux is concentrated on tubes, then heating efficiency is improved, but rapid temperature variations cause thermal shocks
Solution Approach 1:
The core acts as a thermal buffer and intermediary, absorbing concentrated solar flux and releasing heat gradually to the tubes. This mediation smooths rapid temperature variations and prevents thermal shocks while maintaining high heating efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The core provides beforehand cushioning by storing thermal energy during periods of high solar flux and releasing it during periods of low flux or cloud passage. This pre-stored thermal energy cushions the system against rapid temperature changes and thermal shocks.
3Use of energy by moving object
If volumetric absorber with needles is used, then transfer efficiency is improved, but design complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of a complex forest of needles throughout the volume, the invention concentrates the absorptive function in a localized core region with good thermal conductivity. This local quality approach achieves efficient heat transfer while maintaining simple overall design and structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the essential heat transfer function from the complex needle structure and concentrates it in a simplified core. By taking out only the necessary thermal conduction function and implementing it through a simple high-conductivity core, the design achieves efficiency without complexity.
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
This design reduces thermomechanical stresses, protects downstream components, simplifies thermodynamic conversion module regulation, and allows for the use of pressurized fluids, enhancing the stability and efficiency of solar receivers.
Implementation Method 1
a core in a material with good thermal conductivity and in which the tubes are integrated... The core ensures heat transfer by conduction
Implementation Method 2
The casing ensures the mechanical support of the tubes and the core ensures heat transfer by conduction and heat storage, making it possible to reduce the effects of a sudden variation in temperature. Indeed, during the passage of a cloud, due to the thermal inertia of the core, the temperature within the absorber gradually and relatively slowly drops
Implementation Method 3
The solar receiver is the seat of the conversion of solar radiation into sensible heat
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 2D~4B
AI summary
The invention relates to an absorber for a solar receiver (R) of a solar power tower, comprising a housing (8), at least one wall (9) of which is to be irradiated by the solar radiation, a core (12) made of at least one material having good thermal conductivity and at least partially surrounded by the housing (8), and a plurality of tubes (10) extending through the core (12) and distributed into a plurality of layers, wherein the tubes extend substantially in a direction parallel to the wall (9) to be irradiated, said tubes (10) being intended for circulating a fluid to be heated, for example a gas for operating a gas turbine.