Numerical Simulation of Quartz Tube Solid Particle Air Receiver

The quartz tube solid particle air receiver is a new type of solar receiver in which fluidized particles absorb the solar radiation directly and heat the air effectively, improving the efficiency of solar thermal power generation and reducing costs. In this article, transient numerical simulation was conducted to simulate the heat transfer and flow processes in single quartz tube under concentrated solar radiation. The results showed that the distribution of solid particles temperature was uniform in the fluidized region, which could overcome the problem of overheating in the volumetric solar receiver. The temperature difference between solid particles and air was no more than 25K, indicating that heat transfer between particles and air was very effective. Further, as the direct solar radiation increased, the average air temperature in the outlet increased while the thermal efficiency decreased. The high tube wall temperature caused heat loss to the environment by radiative and convective heat transfer. With the air inlet velocity increasing, the averaging air temperature in the outlet decreased while the efficiency of the receiver increased. The simulation results provided important reference for improving the performance of the quartz tube solid particle air receiver.