Optical and thermal performance of a high-temperature spiral solar particle receiver

Abstract

A spiral solar particle receiver (SSPR) with a conical cover was proposed, and the performance was experimentally and numerically investigated. The SSPR was heated by a concentrated radiant flux of ∼5kW over a 10cm-diameter aperture with a maximum irradiance of over 700kW/m2. The experimental results indicated the particle temperature increase reached over 625°C in a single pass with an optical and a thermal efficiency of ∼87% and ∼60%, respectively, when the mass flow rate was 0.21kg/min. The optical performances of the solar simulator and the receiver were combined and simulated by the Monte-Carlo ray-tracing method. Based on the optical model, a dynamic thermal conversion model was built, which indicated the particle temperature and the overall efficiency of SSPR would reach 628–673°C and 58.9–63.7%, respectively, when the SSPR was coupled with a 3m two-stage dish concentrator with a solar inclination angle ranging from 60° to 120°.