HEAT PIPES CAPILLARY STRUCTURES FOR SOLAR RECEIVERS

Description
Concentrating solar power plants produce electric power by
converting the sun's energy into high-temperature heat using
various mirror configurations. The heat is then channelled
through a conventional generator. The plants consist of two GENERATOR
parts: one that collects solar energy and converts it to heat,
and another that converts heat energy to electricity. A concen-
trator, is the primary solar component of the system. The dish
structure must track the sun continuously to reflect the beam
into the thermal receiver.
The thermal receiver is the interface between the dish and the
engine/generator. It absorbs the concentrated beam of solar Fig.1 Concentrating solar power system with the use of a sodium
energy, converts it to heat, and transfers the heat to the cooling fluid.
engine/generator. Alternate thermal receivers are heat pipes
wherein the boiling and condensing of an intermediate fluid is
used to transfer the heat to the engine. Improvement of
design of heating zone by use of high temperature heat pipe
allows to enlarge the total efficiency by 2-5%.
The National Technical University of Ukraine (NTUU “KPI”)
has addressed solar receiver heat pipe problems and has
developed a new technology of heat pipe wicks fabrication Dome #1, R177 appearance
allowing to automate the process of capillary system
formation and applying to a substrate. Dome #1, R244 appearance
Innovative Aspect and Main Advantages
The team has worked out a novel solar receiver capillary struc-
Fig.2 A new type of capillary system (Solar Heat Pipe Wicks) for
ture design. The technology of wick applying to concave and
sodium evaporation, made of discrete metal fibers.
convex surface of the solar receiver heat exchange elements
is one of key questions for reliability of operation. Uniform
mechanical contact between wick and substrate, uniform and
Stage of Development
specified wick properties are obligatory technical require-
ments to wick structures for solar receivers. NTUU “KPI” has Samples of heat pipe heating zone for a stirling machine,
concentrated its efforts on developing wick fabrication development of technology of capillary system fabrication with
techniques for concave cylindrical and convex spherical spherical, flat and cylindrical surface are transferred to Sandia
surfaces. Typical parameters for cylinders are: length 470 National laboratories, DOE USA .
mm, tube inner diameter 73 mm; for spherical segments are:
curvature radii 177 mm and 244 mm, 70-degree half angle.
The improvement and optimization of wick designs and Contact Details
study of heat/mass transfer processes inside of porous media
The National Technical University of Ukraine
of solar receiver had supplemented a technological part.
"Kyiv
Areas of Application Polytechnical Institute", Kyiv
Contact person: Volodymyr Baturkin
Transformation of solar energy into electricity in areas with
Phone: (380) 044 241-75-97; +380675038220
good solar resources, limited fossil fuel supplies, and no
Fax: (380) 044 241-75-97;
power distribution network.
E-mail: baturkinvm@mail.ru