scholarly journals Modeling of natural convection of a concentrated solar power receiver absorber tube in interaction with neighbouring absorbers

Author(s):  
Olanrewaju Miracle Oyewola ◽  
Niyi Ezekiel Olukayode ◽  
Olusegun Olufemi Ajide

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology stands out among other renewable energy sources not only because of its ability to address current energy security and environmental challenges but because its energy can be stored for future use. To ensure optimum performance in this system, the heat losses need to be evaluated for better design. This work studies the natural convection in the receiver absorber tube of a CSP plant taking into consideration the influence of neighboring absorbers. A 2-Dimensional model was adopted in this study. Initially, a single absorber tube was considered, it was subjected to heat flux at the top wall, the bottom wall was insulated and a temperature differential was set up at the lateral walls. The dimensionless forms of Navier-Stokes and energy equations were solved using the finite element formulation of COMSOL Multiphysics software. The result obtained for a single absorber tube showed good agreement with existing research works. This validated model was then extended to multiple absorber tubes (two to six absorber tubes). On the basis of the study, there is an observed increase in the intensity and dominance of convective heat transfer with an increase in the number of absorber tubes. This is occasioned by an increase in the average surface temperature as well as average Nusselt number. For the Rayleigh number of 104, 105 and 106, the average Nusselt number increases with the number of absorber tubes by 13.87 %, 6.26 %, and 1.55 %, respectively. This increment suggests effect of thermal interactions among the neighboring absorber tubes

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1063
Author(s):  
Catalina Hernández Moris ◽  
Maria Teresa Cerda Guevara ◽  
Alois Salmon ◽  
Alvaro Lorca

The energy sector in Chile demands a significant increase in renewable energy sources in the near future, and concentrated solar power (CSP) technologies are becoming increasingly competitive as compared to natural gas plants. Motivated by this, this paper presents a comparison between solar technologies such as hybrid plants and natural gas-based thermal technologies, as both technologies share several characteristics that are comparable and beneficial for the power grid. This comparison is made from an economic point of view using the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) metric and in terms of the systemic benefits related to flexibility, which is very much required due to the current decarbonization scenario of Chile’s energy matrix. The results show that the LCOE of the four hybrid plant models studied is lower than the LCOE of the gas plant. A solar hybrid plant configuration composed of a photovoltaic and solar tower plant (STP) with 13 h of storage and without generation restrictions has an LCOE 53 USD/MWh, while the natural gas technology evaluated with an 85% plant factor and a variable fuel cost of 2.0 USD/MMBtu has an LCOE of 86 USD/MWh. Thus, solar hybrid plants under a particular set of conditions are shown to be more cost-effective than their closest competitor for the Chilean grid while still providing significant dispatchability and flexibility.


1970 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumon Saha ◽  
Noman Hasan ◽  
Chowdhury Md Feroz

A numerical study has been carried out for laminar natural convection heat transfer within a two-dimensional modified square enclosure having a triangular roof. The vertical sidewalls are differentially heated considering a constant flux heat source strip is flush mounted with the left wall. The opposite wall is considered isothermal having a temperature of the surrounding fluid. The rest of the walls are adiabatic. Air is considered as the fluid inside the enclosure. The solution has been carried out on the basis of finite element analysis by a non-linear parametric solver to examine the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics. Different heights of the triangular roof have been considered for the present analysis. Fluid flow fields and isotherm patterns and the average Nusselt number are presented for the Rayleigh numbers ranging from 103 to 106 in order to show the effects of these governing parameters. The average Nusselt number computed for the case of isoflux heating is also compared with the case of isothermal heating as available in the literature. The outcome of the present investigation shows that the convective phenomenon is greatly influenced by the inclined roof height. Keywords: Natural convection, triangular roof, Rayleigh number, isoflux heating. Doi:10.3329/jme.v39i1.1826 Journal of Mechanical Engineering, vol. ME39, No. 1, June 2008 1-7


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 4130-4141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulmajeed Mohamad ◽  
Mikhail A. Sheremet ◽  
Jan Taler ◽  
Paweł Ocłoń

Purpose Natural convection in differentially heated enclosures has been extensively investigated due to its importance in many industrial applications and has been used as a benchmark solution for testing numerical schemes. However, most of the published works considered uniform heating and cooling of the vertical boundaries. This paper aims to examine non-uniform heating and cooling of the mentioned boundaries. The mentioned case is very common in many electronic cooling devices, thermal storage systems, energy managements in buildings, material processing, etc. Design/methodology/approach Four cases are considered, the left-hand wall’s temperature linearly decreases along the wall, while the right-hand wall’s temperature is kept at a constant, cold temperature. In the second case, the left-hand wall’s temperature linearly increases along the wall, while the right-hand wall’s temperature is kept a constant, cold temperature. The third case, the left-hand wall’s temperature linearly decreases along the wall, while the right-hand wall’s temperature linearly increases along the wall. In the fourth case, the left-hand and the right-hand walls’ temperatures decrease along the wall, symmetry condition. Hence, four scenarios of natural convection in enclosures were covered. Findings It has been found that the average Nusselt number of the mentioned cases is less than the average Nusselt number of the uniformly heated and cooled enclosure, which reflects the physics of the problem. The work quantifies the deficiency in the rate of the heat transfer. Interestingly one of the mentioned cases showed two counter-rotating horizontal circulations. Such a flow structure can be considered for passively, highly controlled mechanism for species mixing processes application. Originality/value Previous works assumed that the vertical boundary is subjected to a constant temperature or to a sinusoidal varying temperature. The subject of the work is to examine the effect of non-uniformly heating and/or cooling vertical boundaries on the rate of heat transfer and flow structure for natural convection in a square enclosure. The temperature either linearly increases or decreases along the vertical coordinate at the boundary. Four scenarios are explored.


Author(s):  
T. W. Lin ◽  
M. C. Wu ◽  
C. H. Peng ◽  
P. L. Chen ◽  
Y. H. Hung

In the present study, an experimental setup with stringent measurement methods for performing the natural convection from a horizontal heated chip mounted with a silicon heat spreader coated with diamond film has been successfully established. The parametric studies on the local and average effective heat transfer characteristics for natural convection from a horizontal smooth silicon wafer, rough silicon wafer or silicon wafer coated with diamond film spreader have been explored. The influencing parameters and conditions include Grashof number and spreader material with different surface treatment conditions. From the results, an axisymmetric bowl-shaped Nu profile is achieved, and the highest heat transfer performance occurs at the location near the rim of the heated surfaces for various heat spreaders. The local Nusselt number for a specified convective heat flux decreases along the distance from the disk rim toward the center. The local or average Nusselt number increases with increasing Grashof number for various heat spreaders. As compared with the average Nusselt number for smooth water surface (Ra=5.69nm), the heat transfer enhancements for rough silicon surface (Ra=516.61nm) and rough diamond surface (Ra=319.51nm) are 10.42% and 7.69%, respectively. Furthermore, new correlations for local and average Nusselt numbers for various heat spreaders are presented, respectively. As compared with the smooth silicon surface, the external thermal resistance for rough silicon surface and rough diamond surface are reduced to 91.18% and 90.73%, respectively; and the maximum thermal resistances for rough silicon wafer and silicon wafer coated with diamond film are reduced to 90.43% and 92.61%, respectively.


2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasan Sajjadi ◽  
Reza Kefayati

In this paper Lattice Boltzmann simulation of turbulent natural convection with large-eddy simulations (LES) in tall enclosures which is filled by air with Pr=0.71 has been studied. Calculations were performed for high Rayleigh numbers (Ra=107-109) and aspect ratios change between 0.5 to 2 (0.5<AR<2). The present results are validated by finds of an experimental research at Ra=1.58x109. Effects of the aspect ratios in different Rayleigh numbers are displayed on streamlines, isotherm counters, vertical velocity and temperature at the middle of the cavity, local Nusselt number and average Nusselt number. The average Nusselt number increases with the augmentation of Rayleigh numbers. The increment of the aspect ratio causes heat transfer to decline in different Rayleigh numbers.


Author(s):  
L Jeddi ◽  
M El Khlifi ◽  
D Bonneau

A numerical procedure is developed for the analysis of thermohydrodynamic behaviour of the hydrodynamic (HD) flow in the groove of a journal bearing. The Navier-Stokes and energy equations are written in terms of the primitive variables u, v, p, and T and solved simultaneously using the incremental load method and the finite element formulation. The numerical model is applied to the analysis of the velocities, the pressure, and the temperature patterns that characterize the lubricant flow in the HD groove. The effects of the runner velocity and the feeding pressure are investigated.


2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamil Kahveci

This numerical study looks at laminar natural convection in an enclosure divided by a partition with a finite thickness and conductivity. The enclosure is assumed to be heated using a uniform heat flux on a vertical wall, and cooled to a constant temperature on the opposite wall. The governing equations in the vorticity-stream function formulation are solved by employing a polynomial-based differential quadrature method. The results show that the presence of a vertical partition has a considerable effect on the circulation intensity, and therefore, the heat transfer characteristics across the enclosure. The average Nusselt number decreases with an increase of the distance between the hot wall and the partition. With a decrease in the thermal resistance of the partition, the average Nusselt number shows an increasing trend and a peak point is detected. If the thermal resistance of the partition further declines, the average Nusselt number begins to decrease asymptotically to a constant value. The partition thickness has little effect on the average Nusselt number.


1985 ◽  
Vol 107 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. A. Arnas ◽  
M. A. Ebadian

Convective heat transfer for steady laminar flow between two concentric circular pipes with walls heated and/or cooled independently and subjected to uniform heat generation is presented in analytical closed form utilizing the linearized Navier-Stokes and energy equations. The flow field is hydrodynamically and thermally fully developed. The effect of heat generation is depicted in Fig. 1 where the ratio of the Nusselt number with heat generation to without heat generation is plotted against the radius ratio, the core size ω. It is seen that heat generation may have positive as well as negative effect on the Nusselt number.


2012 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Z. Hossain ◽  
J. M. Floryan

Heat transfer resulting from the natural convection in a fluid layer contained in an infinite horizontal slot bounded by solid walls and subject to a spatially periodic heating at the lower wall has been investigated. The heating produces sinusoidal temperature variations along one horizontal direction characterized by the wave number α with the amplitude expressed in terms of a suitably defined Rayleigh number Rap. The maximum heat transfer takes place for the heating with the wave numbers α = 0(1) as this leads to the most intense convection. The intensity of convection decreases proportionally to α when α→0, resulting in the temperature field being dominated by periodic conduction with the average Nusselt number decreasing proportionally to α2. When α→∞, the convection is confined to a thin layer adjacent to the lower wall with its intensity decreasing proportionally to α−3. The temperature field above the convection layer looses dependence on the horizontal direction. The bulk of the fluid sees the thin convective layer as a “hot wall.” The heat transfer between the walls becomes dominated by conduction driven by a uniform vertical temperature gradient which decreases proportionally to the intensity of convection resulting in the average Nusselt number decreasing as α−3. It is shown that processes described above occur for Prandtl numbers 0.001 < Pr < 10 considered in this study.


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