Comparison of Direct Pore-Scale and Volume-Averaging Methods for the Performance Evaluation of Porous Volumetric Solar Receiver

DU Shen, HE Yaling, LI Dong, LIU Zhanbin, LI Mengjie

热科学学报 ›› 2024, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (5) : 1607-1617.

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热科学学报 ›› 2024, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (5) : 1607-1617. DOI: 10.1007/s11630-024-2019-8  CSTR: 32141.14.JTS-024-2019-8

Comparison of Direct Pore-Scale and Volume-Averaging Methods for the Performance Evaluation of Porous Volumetric Solar Receiver

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Comparison of Direct Pore-Scale and Volume-Averaging Methods for the Performance Evaluation of Porous Volumetric Solar Receiver

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摘要

直接孔隙尺度和体积平均数值模拟是研究多孔介质太阳能吸热器性能的两种有效方式。为了阐明不同数值方法在预测传热过程中的差异,本文在稳态和瞬态条件下开展了两种方法的对比研究。数值模型分别基于X射线计算机断层扫描和局部热非平衡模型建立,体积平均数值模拟中不可或缺的经验参数通过蒙特卡罗光线追踪法和直接孔隙尺度数值模拟确定。体积平均数值模拟方法预测的吸热器出口空气温度与直接孔隙尺度模拟结果吻合良好,随着吸热器工作温度升高,预测差异逐渐增大,稳态和瞬态数值模拟的最大相对误差分别为5.5%和3.68%。然而,体积平均方法无法捕捉空气和多孔骨架的局部温度信息,低估了吸热器的入口温度,导致对吸热器热效率的高估,最大相对误差为6.51%。比较结果表明,在准确地选取经验参数的基础上,体积平均方法能够实现吸热器瞬态和稳态性能的快速、准确预测。

Abstract

Direct pore-scale and volume-averaging numerical simulations are two methods for investigating the performance of porous volumetric solar receivers. To clarify the difference in the prediction of heat transfer processes, a direct comparison between these two methods was conducted at both steady state and transient state. The numerical models were established based on X-ray computed tomography scans and a local thermal non-equilibrium model, respectively. The empirical parameters, which are indispensable to the volume-averaging simulation, were determined by Monte Carlo ray tracing and direct pore-scale numerical simulations. The predicted outlet air temperature of the receiver by the volume-averaging simulation method corresponded satisfactorily to that in the direct pore-scale simulation. The largest discrepancies were observed when the receiver’s working temperature was elevated, with differences of 5.5% and 3.68% for the steady state and transient state simulations, respectively. However, the volume-averaging method is incapable of capturing the local temperature information of the air and porous skeleton. It underestimates the inlet temperature of the receiver, leading to an overestimation of the receiver’s thermal efficiency, with the largest difference being 6.51%. The comparison results show that the volume-averaging model is a good approximation to the pore-scale model when the empirical parameters are carefully selected.

Key words

porous media / volumetric solar receiver / pore-scale method / volume-averaging method / thermal performance

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导出引用
DU Shen , HE Yaling , LI Dong , LIU Zhanbin , LI Mengjie. Comparison of Direct Pore-Scale and Volume-Averaging Methods for the Performance Evaluation of Porous Volumetric Solar Receiver[J]. 热科学学报, 2024, 33(5): 1607-1617 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-024-2019-8
DU Shen , HE Yaling , LI Dong , LIU Zhanbin , LI Mengjie. Comparison of Direct Pore-Scale and Volume-Averaging Methods for the Performance Evaluation of Porous Volumetric Solar Receiver[J]. Journal of Thermal Science, 2024, 33(5): 1607-1617 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-024-2019-8

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基金

This study is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52306272 and No. 52293413). 
The authors would also like to thank the Postdoctoral Research Project Funding in Shaanxi Province (No. 2023BSHYDZZ40).

版权

Science Press, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024
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