The numerical simulation of enhanced heat transfer on a Linear Fresnel molten salt-type receiver tube filled with porous media

Abstract

In this paper, three-dimensional numerical simulation was taken on a Linear Fresnel solar receiver tube using molten salt as heat transfer fluid (HTF), in which the porous media was filled to enhance the heat transfer efficiency. The simulation was to analyze the influence of the different conditions (filling rate, porosity and thermal conductivity) on heat transfer effect and wall temperature difference. The results revealed that the Nu (Nusselt number) increased firstly and then decreased with the increasing filling rate in both center filling and annular filling types. The optimal thermal performance were obtained when filling rate were 0.8 and 0.2 in center filling and annular filling, respectively. The Nu were about 1.7 and 1.5 times as the clear receiver. The circumferential temperature difference decreased firstly and then increased with filling rate increasing in both center filling and annular filling types. The lowest circumferential temperature differences were achieved at the filling rate 0.8 and 0.4 in center filling and annular filling types, and temperature difference decreased 15.88°C and 22°C compared with clear receiver, respectively. The Nu and PEC both decreased with porosity increasing. However, the thermal conductivity of porous media had little influence to the Nu and circumferential wall temperature.