Solar receiver for receiving solar rays and for heating a medium
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Solution Overview
Problem
Solar power plants face high operating and maintenance costs, as well as high investment costs, due to inefficiencies in energy conversion and the risk of hot spots that lead to thermal stresses, which are not effectively addressed by existing technologies.
Innovation Solution
A solar receiver design featuring a hollow body with an outer and inner annular space, where air flows in one direction through the outer space and opposite direction through the inner space, utilizing heat-insulated partition walls and turbulence-generating elements like sawtooth profiles to enhance heat transfer and distribute heat uniformly, reducing the need for specialized materials and insulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional solar receiver design is used, then the structure is simple, but hot spots occur causing thermal stresses and reduced efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The solar receiver is divided into multiple zones with different wall thicknesses and insulation properties. The wall thickness varies radially, creating segments that distribute thermal loads more evenly and prevent hot spot formation while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the solar receiver are assigned different thermal and structural properties. The wall thickness and insulation materials are optimized locally based on the thermal load distribution, allowing efficient heat absorption in high-radiation zones while reducing material usage in lower-stress areas.
2Productivity
If higher temperatures are achieved in the solar receiver, then energy efficiency increases, but thermal stresses and hot spots increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wall thickness parameter is varied continuously or in steps through the radial direction of the solar receiver. This parameter change allows the structure to adapt to varying thermal gradients, enabling higher operating temperatures while distributing thermal stresses within safe limits.
Solution Approach 2:
The solar receiver employs composite wall structures combining materials with different thermal and mechanical properties. This allows the outer layers to withstand high temperatures and thermal stresses while inner layers provide thermal insulation and stress relief, enabling higher efficiency operation.
3Reliability
If specialized materials and insulation are used to prevent hot spots, then reliability improves, but material costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using expensive specialized materials throughout the entire solar receiver, the design applies enhanced insulation and protective layers only in critical zones where hot spots are most likely to occur. This partial application reduces material costs while maintaining reliability where it is most needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The design uses conventional, cost-effective materials with optimized geometries rather than expensive specialized materials. The varied wall thickness design compensates for using simpler materials, achieving hot spot prevention through geometric optimization rather than material cost.
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 configuration increases the temperature of the heated medium to 700-800°C, reduces material costs, and minimizes hot spots, allowing for efficient energy conversion with commercially available components and lower mechanical stresses, while maintaining low pressure and heat transfer efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
Solar energy is collected and bundled here in a collector array. The energy is then irradiated into one or more solar receivers.
Implementation Method 2
the two annular spaces are in conductive connection with one another in the area of the opening
Implementation Method 3
The partition wall between the outer annular space and the inner annular space may be heat-insulated, so that the two annular spaces are thermally separated from one another.
Data Source
AI summary
A solar receiver includes a hollow body, which has a longitudinal axis (8.4), a wall (8) surrounding the longitudinal axis (8.4), an opening (9) disposed in the wall (8) for the entry of heat rays, and an end region opposite the opening (9). The wall (8) includes an outer wall (8.1), an inner wall (8.2), and a partition wall (8.3) disposed therebetween. The outer wall (8.1) and the partition wall (8.3) enclose an outer annular space (8.1.1). The inner wall (8.2) and the partition wall (8.3) enclose an inner annular space (8.2.1). The outer annular space (8.1.1) has, in the end region, an inlet (12) for a free-flowing medium. The two annular spaces (8.1.1, 8.2.1) are conductively connected to one another in the region of the opening (9), and the inner annular space (8.2.1) has an outlet (11) for a free-flowing medium in the end region.