A simple analytical thermal model to solar cavity receivers

TL;DR

This paper introduces a straightforward analytical thermal model for solar cavity receivers, providing solutions for temperature estimation and validating the model through applications to different cavity geometries and experimental data.

Contribution

It offers a new simple analytical model for solar cavity receiver temperatures, including an approximation with defined validity, applicable to various cavity shapes.

Findings

Model accurately estimates surface and fluid temperatures.

Applicable to cylindrical and hemispherical cavities.

Provides a domain of validity for the approximation.

Abstract

This article presents a closed form analytical solution to estimate solar receiver surface and fluid temperatures. An approximation and its domain of validity (in term of the value of a small parameter) are also proposed. These simple models are then applied to a large and a small cylindrical cavity. Finally, the model is applied to an experimental hemispherical coiled cavity.