Numerical Study of New-Type Receiver with Axially-Hollow Spiral Deflector for Parabolic Trough Direct-Steam-Generation Loop of Concentrating Solar Power System

Expand
  • 1. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
    2. Adv Energy Sci & Technol Guangdong Lab, Foshan Xianhu Lab, Xianhu Hydrogen Valley, Foshan 528200, China

Online published: 2023-11-28

Supported by

This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52176202) and the Foshan Xianhu Laboratory of the Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory (41200101).

Copyright

Science Press, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023

Abstract

The thermal stress-induced deformation issue of receiver is crucial to the performance and reliability of a parabolic-trough (PT) concentrating solar power (CSP) system with the promising direct steam generation (DSG) technology. The objective of the present study is to propose a new-type receiver with axially-hollow spiral deflector and optimize the geometric structure to solve the above issue. To this end, optical-flow-thermal multi-physics coupling models have been established for the preheating, boiling and superheating sections of a typical PT-DSG loop. The simulation results show that our proposed new-type receiver demonstrates outstanding comprehensive performance. It can minimize the circumferential temperature difference through the spiral deflector while lower the flow resistance cost through the axially hollow structure at the same time. As quantitatively evaluated by the temperature uniformity improvement (ε∆T) and the performance evaluation criteria (PEC), different designs are achieved based on different optimal schemes. When ε∆T is of primary importance, the optimal design with torsional ratio of 1 is achieved, with ε∆T=25.4%, 25.7%, 41.5% and PEC=0.486, 0.878, 0.596 corresponding to preheating, boiling, superheating sections, respectively. When PEC is of primary importance, the optimal design with torsional ratio of 6–6.5 is achieved, with PEC=0.950, 2.070, 0.993 and ε∆T=18.2%, 13.3%, 19.4% corresponding to preheating, boiling, superheating sections, respectively.

Cite this article

SHI Yaolu, SUN Jie, WEI Jinjia . Numerical Study of New-Type Receiver with Axially-Hollow Spiral Deflector for Parabolic Trough Direct-Steam-Generation Loop of Concentrating Solar Power System[J]. Journal of Thermal Science, 2023 , 32(2) : 597 -610 . DOI: 10.1007/s11630-023-1760-8

References

[1] Wang F.Q., Cheng Z.M., Tan J.Y., Yuan Y., Shuai Y., Liu L.H., Progress in concentrated solar power technology with parabolic trough collector system: a comprehensive review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017, 79: 1314–1328.
[2] Awan A.B., Khan M.N., Zubair M., Bellos E., Commercial parabolic trough CSP plants: research trends and technological advancements. Solar Energy, 2020, 211: 1422–1458.
[3] Quezada García S., Sánchez Mora H., Polo Labarrios M.A., Cázares Ramírez R.I., Modeling and simulation to determine the thermal efficiency of a parabolic solar trough collector system. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, 2019, 16: 100523.
[4] Sun J., Zhang Z., Wang L., Zhang Z.W., Wei J.J., Comprehensive review of line-focus concentrating solar thermal technologies: parabolic trough collector (PTC) vs linear Fresnel reflector (LFR). Journal of Thermal Science, 2020, 29: 1097–1124.
[5] Vignarooban K., Xu X., Arvay A., Hsu K., Kannan A.M., Heat transfer fluids for concentrating solar power  systems—A review. Applied Energy, 2015, 146: 383–396.
[6] Li L., Sun J., Li Y., He Y.L., Xu H., Transient characteristics of a parabolic trough direct-steam- generation process. Renewable Energy, 2019, 135: 800–810.
[7] Sun J., Liu Q.B., Hong H., Numerical study of parabolic-trough direct steam generation loop in recirculation mode: characteristics, performance and general operation strategy. Energy Conversion and Management, 2015, 96: 287–302.
[8] Wang L., Sun J., Zhang Z., Wei J.J., A trans-dimensional multi-physics coupled analysis method for direct-steam- generation parabolic-trough loop. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2021, 193: 117011.
[9] Said Z., Rahman S., Sharma P., Hachicha A.A., Issa S., Performance characterization of a solar-powered shell and tube heat exchanger utilizing MWCNTs/water-based nanofluids: An experimental, numerical, and artificial intelligence approach. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2022, 212: 118633.
[10] Sharma P., Said Z., Kumar A., Nižetic S., Pandey A., Hoang A.T., Huang Z.H., Afzal A., Li C.H., Le A.T., Nguyen X.P., Tran V.D., Recent advances in machine learning research for nanofluid-based heat transfer in renewable energy system. Energy Fuels, 2022, 36: 6626–6658.
[11] Said Z., Sharma P., Tiwari A.K., Le V.V., Huang Z.H., Bai V.G., Hoang A.T., Application of novel framework based on ensemble boosted regression trees and Gaussian process regression in modelling thermal performance of small-scale Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) using hybrid nanofluid. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2022, 360: 132194.
[12] Mustafa J., Alqaed S., Sharifpur M., Numerical study on performance of double-fluid parabolic trough solar collector occupied with hybrid non-Newtonian nanofluids: Investigation of effects of helical absorber tube using deep learning. Engineering Analysis with Boundary Elements, 2022, 140: 562–580. 
[13] Leong K.Y., Ong H.C., Amer N.H., Norazrina M.J., Risby M.S., Ku Ahmad K.Z., An overview on current application of nanofluids in solar thermal collector and its challenges. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016, 53: 1092–1105.
[14] Diwan K., Soni M.S., Heat transfer enhancement in absorber tube of parabolic trough concentrators using wire-coils inserts. Universal Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2015, 3(3): 107–112.
[15] Jamal-abad M.T., Saedodin S., Aminy M., Experimental investigation on a solar parabolic trough collector for absorber tube filled with porous media. Renewable Energy, 2017, 107: 156–163.
[16] Bellos E., Tzivanidis C., Tsimpoukis D., Multi-criteria evaluation of parabolic trough collector with internally finned absorbers. Applied Energy, 2017, 205: 540–561.
[17] Ghadirijafarbeigloo Sh., Zamzamian A.H., Yaghoubi M., 3-D numerical simulation of heat transfer and turbulent flow in a receiver tube of solar parabolic trough concentrator with louvered twisted-tape inserts. Energy Procedia, 2014, 49: 373–380.
[18] Liu Q.B., Wang Y.J., Lei J., Jin H.G., Numerical investigation of the thermophysical characteristics of the mid-and-low temperature solar receiver/reactor for hydrogen production. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2016, 97: 379–390.
[19] Lee W.H., A pressure iteration scheme for two-phase flow modeling. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, 1979, pp. 407–431.
[20] Lobón D.H., Baglietto E., Valenzuela L., Zara E., Modeling direct steam generation in solar collectors with multiphase CFD. Applied Energy, 2014, 113: 1338–1348.
[21] Sun J., Liu Q.B., Hong H., Numerical study of parabolic-trough direct steam generation loop in recirculation mode: Characteristics, performance and general operation strategy. Energy Conversion and Management, 2015, 96: 287–302.
[22] Lei Y.G., Zheng F., Song C.F., Lyu Y.K., Improving the thermal hydraulic performance of a circular tube by using punched delta-winglet vortex generators. International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2017, 111: 299–311.
[23] Peng H., Li M.L., Hu F.F., Feng S.Y., Performance analysis of absorber tube in parabolic trough solar collector inserted with semi-annular and fin shape metal foam hybrid structure. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering, 2021, 26: 101112.
[24] Raheem A., Siddique W., Farooqui Z.H., Salameh T., Haq I., Waheed K., Qureshi K., Performance evaluation of adding helical-screw tape inserts in parabolic solar trough collectors as a source of cleaner energy production. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2021, 297: 126628.
[25] Eck M., Schmidt H., Eickhoff M., Hirsch T., Field test of water-steam separators for direct steam generation in parabolic troughs. Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, 2008, 130: 011002.
[26] Rawani A., Sharma S., Singh K., Enhancement in performance of parabolic trough collector with serrated twisted-tape inserts. International Journal of Thermodynamics, 2017, 20: 111–119.
[27] Bellos E., Daniil I., Tzivanidis C., Multiple cylindrical inserts for parabolic trough solar collector. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2018, 143: 80–89.
[28] Bellos E., Tzivanidis C., Enhancing the performance of evacuated and non-evacuated parabolic trough collectors using twisted tape inserts, perforated plate inserts and internally finned absorber. Energies, 2018, 11: 1129.
[29] Ahmed K.A., Natarajan E., Thermal performance enhancement in a parabolic trough receiver tube with internal toroidal rings: A numerical investigation. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2019, 162: 114224.

Outlines

/