Experimental and simulation study on wind affecting particle flow in a solar receiver

The solid particle receiver (SPR) is a direct absorption central receiver that can provide a solar interface with thermal storage for thermo-chemical hydrogen production processes requiring heat input at temperatures up to 1000 °C. In operation, a curtain made up of approximately 697 μm ceramic particles is dropped within the receiver cavity and directly illuminated by concentrated solar energy. Since the SPR has an open aperture, the flow may be disturbed by high ambient winds. Therefore, the objective of this study was to gain insight into the wind effect on the curtain. Experiments were conducted to understand the wind influence on the particle flow and loss. The experimental results showed that winds from certain angles of the attack could cause a critical loss of particles. A MFIX simulation model was developed to validate the experimental results and observation. The simulation has provided us with better understanding on the wind effects.