Experimental study of a single quartz tube solid particle air receiver

•Experiments of the single quartz tube solid particle air receiver focus on both cold fluidization and thermal performance.•Determining proper average diameter and initial packed height of solid particles for receiver operation.•Higher outlet air temperature can be obtained by small size solid particles.•Less area of receiving concentrated solar radiation results in higher thermal efficiency but lower outlet air temperature.

The quartz tube solid particle air receiver is a new type of receiver in which fluidized particles absorb the solar radiation directly and heat the air effectively, improving the efficiency of solar thermal electricity and reducing costs. In this article, the experiments of the single quartz tube solid particle air receiver focus on both cold fluidization and thermal performance. The results of cold fluidization experiment show that when the average diameter of solid particle is between 0.5 mm and 1 mm and initial relative particle packed height is between 0.3 and 0.4, the gas–solid fluidization meets the operating requirements of the receiver. In the thermal performance testing experiments, the results show that less area in which solid particle absorbs the concentrated sunlight can improve the efficiency of receiver and stabilize outlet air temperature. The highest temperature is 867 °C in the thermal performance testing experiment. The results mentioned above provide important reference for improving the performance of the quartz tube solid particle air receiver.