Flow Distribution in Molten Salt Receiver Panels at High Flux Gradients

Abstract

This paper presents a simulation study on critical mass flow distributions in receiver panels of commercial-scale molten salt towers (MST). Despite sophisticated aimpoint optimizations, the flux density distribution on an MST receiver in actual operation contains significant vertical and horizontal gradients. This study investigated how the latter affects the mass flow distribution among the parallel absorber tubes in each panel. A parametric study applied a discretized dynamic thermohydraulic model of a commercial scale receiver design, highlighting at which mass flow rates, flux density gradients and mean flux densities the flow distribution can become critical. Excessive temperature developments were observed, suggesting maintaining appropriate minimal mass flow rates to avoid damaging tube walls and the molten salt chemistry.