Heat transfer enhancement in pressurized solar cavity receivers with densely packed metallic wire mesh

Sasidharan, S and Dutta, P (2024) Heat transfer enhancement in pressurized solar cavity receivers with densely packed metallic wire mesh. In: Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 55 .

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Abstract

Pressurized solar receivers are promising candidates as heat sources for integration with high-efficiency closed-loop air and supercritical carbon-dioxide based Brayton cycles. This paper focuses on the heat transfer enhancement of such a solar receiver using inline stacked wire mesh fibers in the heat transfer fluid flow path. The study involves modelling, characterization, and performance evaluation of a cavity-receiver with densely packed wire meshes. A new experimentally validated hybrid numerical approach is presented for modelling the inline stacked wire mesh layers. Initially, a direct numerical simulation at the pore scale on a representative elementary volume (REV) of the wire mesh geometry is performed for determining the hydrodynamic and thermal characteristics of the medium. Subsequently, these hydrodynamic and thermal properties are used to define a volume-averaged macroscopic porous medium. Experiments are performed using a rectangular channel stacked with stainless steel wire meshes, heated using a plate heater, and pressurized air supplied using a reciprocating compressor. Both numerical and experimental studies are performed for a Reynolds number range of 28 to 213 resulting in a Nusselt number range of 7.2 to 213. The porous medium model predictions for pressure gradient are within 17 , while predictions for outlet air temperature are within 5 of the experimentally obtained values. The study predicts a maximum heat transfer enhancement of five times in a channel stacked with wire meshes compared to the case of a clear channel, but incurring a peak pressure drop of only about 1.1 kPa. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Thermal Science and Engineering Progress
Publisher:	Elsevier Ltd
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs to publishers.
Keywords:	Brayton cycle; Heat transfer performance; Nusselt number; Reynolds number, Closed-loop; Heat sources; Heat Transfer enhancement; Higher efficiency; Metallic wire; Porous medium; Pressurized; Solar cavity receiver; Solar receiver; Wire meshes, Reciprocating compressors
Department/Centre:	Division of Interdisciplinary Sciences > Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research
Date Deposited:	30 Oct 2024 03:54
Last Modified:	30 Oct 2024 03:54
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/86594

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