Numerical study on the transient thermal performance of a lab-scale molten salt receiver

Abstract

The non-uniformity of temperature distribution and thermal stress distribution in the on-site high-temperature molten salt receiver is frequently reflected in the receiver's unstable operating circumstances. As a result, the focus of this research is on the transient thermal performance of the receiver in non-steady-state situations. An in-house software was used to estimate the transient temperature distribution of a lab-scale receiver using a three-dimensional transient model built for the receiver's thermal performance calculation. The transient thermal performance of a lab-scale receiver was studied under some variable operating conditions, such as the startup process, varying mass flow rate, varying radiation flux, and varying ambient wind speed, using a combination of numerical prediction and variable-condition experiment on a lab-scale receiver. When the working environment changed, the temperature distribution of the receiver took around 12 s to return to a stable condition. In addition, when the working environment changed, the transient temperature fluctuations of the receiver were given and evaluated in depth in this study.