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Numerical study of conduction and radiation heat losses from vacuum annulus in parabolic trough receivers

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Abstract

Parabolic trough receiver is a key component to convert solar energy into thermal energy in the parabolic trough solar system. The heat loss of the receiver has an important influence on the thermal efficiency and the operating cost of the power station. In this paper, conduction and radiation heat losses are analyzed respectively to identify the heat loss mechanism of the receiver. A 2-D heat transfer model is established by using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method for rarefied gas flow and heat transfer within the annulus of the receiver to predict the conduction heat loss caused by residual gases. The numerical results conform to the experimental results, and show the temperature of the glass envelope and heat loss for various conditions in detail. The effects of annulus pressure, gas species, temperature of heat transfer fluid, and annulus size on the conduction and radiation heat losses are systematically analyzed. Besides, the main factors that cause heat loss are analyzed, providing a theoretical basis for guiding the improvement of receiver, as well as the operation and maintenance strategy to reduce heat loss.

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Abbreviations

c r :

Relative velocity

C 0 :

−0.57

C 1 :

6.8/(g·mol−1)

d :

Molecular diameter

I 0 :

First kind zero order modified Bessel function

Kn:

Knudsen number

L :

Characteristic length of the space/mm

M *g :

The molar mass for monatomic gases, 1.4 times the molar mass for diatomic/polyatomic gases

p :

Average pressure of gas in annulus/Pa

\({Q_{\rm{c}}}\prime \) :

Model values of conduction heat transfer rate from absorber tube to glass envelope/(W·m−1)

Qc:

Conduction heat transfer rate from the absorber tube to glass envelope/(W·m−1)

Q cond,abs :

Conduction heat transfer rate through the absorber tube wall /(W·m−1)

Q cond,g :

Conduction heat transfer rate through the glass envelope wall /(W·m−1)

Q loss :

Total heat loss rate from the PTR to the surroundings/(W·m−1)

Q obtain :

Heat obtained by HT/(W·m−1)

Q r :

Radiation heat transfer rate from the absorber tube to glass envelope/(W·m−1)

Q solar :

Solar irradiation rate into the absorber pipe/(W·m−1)

R :

Radius/mm

r :

Heat transfer resistance

T :

Temperature

T0:

273 K

u :

Normal velocity

v :

Tangential velocity

α:

Thermal accommodation coefficient

αt :

Accommodation coefficient of the kinetic energy of the tangential velocity component

αn :

Energy accommodation coefficient of the normal velocity component

εg :

Emissivity of glass envelope

εs :

Emissivity of solar selective coatings

εt :

Relative translational energy

\(\mathcal{R}\) :

Scatter kernel

Λ:

Molecular mean free path/mm

μ:

Viscosity

σ:

Stefan-Boltzmann constant, 5.67×10−8 W/(m2·K4)

σT :

Total cross section

ω:

Viscosity temperature index

abs,o:

Outer surface of absorber tube

g,i:

Inner surface of glass envelope

g,o:

Outer surface of glass envelope

i:

Incident flows

r:

Reflected flows

ref:

When the relative velocity is cr,ref

s:

Surface

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2019YFE0102000) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51476165).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Solar Thermal Energy and Photovoltaic System, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Dongqiang Lei, Yucong Ren & Zhifeng Wang

  2. Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Dongqiang Lei, Yucong Ren & Zhifeng Wang

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Dongqiang Lei, Yucong Ren & Zhifeng Wang

  4. Beijing Engineering Research Center of Solar Thermal Power, Beijing, 100190, China

    Dongqiang Lei, Yucong Ren & Zhifeng Wang

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  1. Dongqiang Lei
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Correspondence to Dongqiang Lei.

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Lei, D., Ren, Y. & Wang, Z. Numerical study of conduction and radiation heat losses from vacuum annulus in parabolic trough receivers. Front. Energy 16, 1048–1059 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-020-0670-7

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