Abstract

The present numerical simulation investigates the effect of inserting metal foams in receiver tube of parabolic trough collector on heat transfer. The effects of layout (top/bottom), geometrical parameter (H), and porosity (φ) of metal foams on the flow resistant, heat transfer and thermo-hydraulic performance are analyzed. Optimum thermo-hydraulic performance considering the flow resistance increase is obtained when H=0.25 (bottom), Nu increases about 5–10 times with the increase of f 10–20 times and the PEC range from 1.4 to 3.2. Optimum thermal performance is obtained when H=0.75 (top), Nu increases about 10–12 times with the increase of f 400–700 times and the PEC range from 1.1 to 1.5. The maximum circumferential temperature difference on the out surface of receiver tube decreases about 45% which will greatly reduce the thermal stress. The result shows that for constant layout and φ, the H effects on the thermal performance greatly, but for constant layout and H, the φ effects on the thermal performance slightly. Moreover, the layout in view of no-uniform heat flux boundary affects the heat transfer significantly. These methods and results can be extended to the heat transfer enhancement of all the solar concentrated receivers.

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