Numerical study on complex coupled heat transfer mechanism of the pressurized volumetric receiver

In this work, an axisymmetric computation model was built for the pressurized volumetric solar receiver (PVSR). The concentrating process and the transport process of the solar energy in the secondary concentrator (SC) and the pressurized volumetric receiver (PVR) are simulated by a home-written program based on Monte Carlo Ray-Trace (MCRT) Method. By combing the MCRT and the finite volume methanol (FVM), the complicated heat transfer processes in the receiver with high temperature and pressure can then be numerically investigated. Based on the above model, the mechanisms of different heat transfer processes are revealed, and the effects of the tilted angle, the inlet temperature and the mass flow rate on heat transfer performance of PVR are detailedly examined.