Thermal analysis and design of a solar prototype for high-temperature processes

The thermal evaluation of different prototype configurations for a volumetric solar receiver system designed for the Plataforma Solar de Almería’s Solar Furnace has been carried out by means of commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software for 3D numerical simulation. Simulation results for proposed solar-prototype configurations are discussed and compared to find the optimum configuration by which the interior of the prototype is uniformly heated to 1300–1373K by an air stream as it passes through the solar receiver. The concentrated solar radiation produces the temperature increase of the air flow. Different geometries and insulation materials with several different thicknesses have been analyzed in order to select the most appropriate prototype configuration in which high-temperature industrial processes can be carried out.