Numerical Study of Solar Receiver Tube With Modified Surface Roughness for Enhanced and Selective Absorptivity in Concentrated Solar Power Tower

Authors

Shawn Hatcher
Mathew Z. Farias
Jianzhi Li, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Peiwen Li
Ben Xu

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

9-26-2023

Abstract

Concentrated solar power (CSP) is a reliable renewable energy source that is progressively lowering its cost of energy. However, the heat loss due to reflected and emitted radiation hinders the maximum achievable thermal efficiency for solar receiver tubes on the solar tower. Current solar selective coatings cannot withstand the high temperatures that come with state-of-the-art CSP towers often needing to be recoated soon after initial operation. We intend to use Inconel 718 with different additive manufacturing (AM) practices to construct surfaces that allow for more light-trapping to occur. By adjusting printing parameters, we can tailor a surface to allow for more absorption while diminishing emitted radiation heat loss. By using COMSOL Multiphysics, we can generate these theoretical surfaces to emulate a printed surface, and using the coupled Multiphysics we can simulate how the surface dictates radiation properties. Our results show that by having a rougher surface we can enhance the absorptivity of Inconel 718 (IN718) by 38.8%. We expect this work to transform how solar absorber tubes are manufactured without using selective coatings and supplement the US Department of Energy (DOE) 2030 SunShot Initiative.

Comments

Copyright © 2023 by ASME

Recommended Citation

Hatcher, S, Farias, M, Li, J, Li, P, & Xu, B. "Numerical Study of Solar Receiver Tube With Modified Surface Roughness for Enhanced and Selective Absorptivity in Concentrated Solar Power Tower." Proceedings of the ASME 2023 17th International Conference on Energy Sustainability collocated with the ASME 2023 Heat Transfer Summer Conference. ASME 2023 17th International Conference on Energy Sustainability. Washington, DC, USA. July 10–12, 2023. V001T05A002. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/ES2023-106936

Publication Title

Proceedings of the ASME 2023 17th International Conference on Energy Sustainability collocated with the ASME 2023 Heat Transfer Summer Conference

DOI

10.1115/ES2023-106936