(753f) Thermal Model of a Solar Porous Media Receiver for a Thermochemical Reactor

Solar receivers containing high porosity materials are a promising option due to higher efficiency compared with tubular receivers. In this system, concentrated solar radiation is absorbed on the porous media in a volumetric manner, then the absorbed heat is transferred to a working fluid when passes through the porous chanels. One critical issue when designing or optimizing volumetric solar absorbers is the knowledge of the temperatures of the solid matrix and fluid. These temperatures are linked with the efficiency and operability of the solar receiver. Hence, this work presents a 3D model of heat transfer and computational fluid dynamics in a porous media receiver subject to concentrated solar flux. This model allow us to analyze the temperature distribution both in the fluid phase and the solid phase, by applying the local thermal non- equilibrium model. The macroscopic model was then used to analyze the impact of geometric properties and operational conditions on the temperature distribution.