Central Tower Solar Receiver Structures: Construction and Performance Comparison

¹ Department of CSE, GRIET, Bachupally, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
² Department of Computer Science Engineering (Date Science), New Horizon College of Engineering, Bangalore, India.
³ Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, India.
⁴ Saveetha School of Engineering, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India.
⁵ Lloyd Institute of Engineering & Technology, Knowledge Park II, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
⁶ Hilla University College, Babylon, Iraq.
⁷ Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, MLR Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India - 500091

^* Corresponding author: baswarajuswathi@gmail.com

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the design and thermal performance of various configurations of central tower solar receivers, with an emphasis on spiral tube receivers. Specifically, it addresses the challenges of cost-effectiveness and efficiency within Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems. Multiple designs are assessed using a combination of analytical models and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools to assess thermal efficiency, heat transfer, and convective losses. Spiral tube receivers demonstrate superior thermal characteristics across various metrics as a result of the grid independence tests. Additionally, we discuss the effects of various mass flow rates on the outlet temperatures of the heat transfer fluid (HTF), in order to improve solar energy capture and conversion by optimizing the receivers.