Parabolic trough receivers typically account for 30% of the cost of a solar field. Furthermore, experiences show the cost of operation and maintenance of parabolic trough receivers over the lifetime of the system can be quite high as regular maintenance is required. Therefore, the receiver’s...

In this paper, a comprehensive transient, two-dimensional, two-phase model for heat transfer and fluid dynamics within the packed-bed molten salt thermocline thermal storage system is presented. After model validation, the developed model is used to investigate the general thermal behavior of a...

Wind loads greatly affect the mechanical performance and tracking accuracy of heliostats. Therefore, the wind load must be accurately known to assure the operational reliability of heliostats. A simple wind load model was developed based on experiments on an actual heliostat rather than a wind...

Parabolic trough receivers are the key component of parabolic trough solar plants, and they typically account for 30% of the cost of the construction of a solar field. The receiver’s reliability is still a major item which affects the plant’s cost. The temperature distribution of the...

This paper presents experimental and numerical studies of the pressure drop in ceramic foams for solar air receiver applications. There are three main aims in this study. The first is to measure the pressure drop in the studied ceramic foams, and to build an empirical model based on the...

The strong flux variations distributed on the surfaces of receiver during its service life can intensify material aging and thus deteriorate the thermal performance of material. Generally, the single focal point heliostat field, i.e., focusing at the centre of the aperture of a cavity receiver,...

Solar air heaters are becoming more and more popular in space heating and industrial processes due to their cost effectiveness and easy maintenance. However, how to increase thermal efficiency of solar air heaters becomes a major challenge. In this paper, the design of a solar air heater with...

Solid sensible heat storage is an attractive option for high-temperature storage applications in terms of investment and maintenance costs. Typical solid thermal energy storage systems use a heat transfer fluid to exchange heat as the fluid flows through a tubular heat exchanger embedded in the...