Modular Design and Experimental Testing of a 50 kWth Pressurized-Air Solar Receiver for Gas Turbines

Abstract

A high-temperature high-concentration pressurized-air solar receiver is considered for driving a power generation Brayton cycle. The modular design consists of a cylindrical SiC cavity surrounded by a concentric annular reticulated porous ceramic (RPC) foam contained in a stainless steel pressure vessel, with a secondary concentrator attached to its windowless aperture. Experimentation was carried out in a solar tower for up to 47 kW of concentrated solar radiative power input in the absolute pressure range of 2-6 bar. Peak outlet air temperatures exceeding 1200 °C were reached for an average solar concentration ratio of 2500 suns. A notable thermal efficiency—defined as the ratio of the enthalpy change of the air flow divided by the solar radiative power input through the aperture—of 91% was achieved at 700 °C and 4 bar.

A review on solar‐assisted gas turbines

“…Results indicated its reliable performance and favorable levelized cost of electricity generated by this cycle. In another study, a 50 kW pressurized air solar receiver was experimentally investigated in order to run a Brayton cycle. The experimental apparatus had a cylindrical cavity which was made of SiC (silicone carbide).…”

Investigation of thermodynamic performances for two solar-biomass hybrid combined cycle power generation systems

“…The first prototype solar powered gas turbine system has been tested during 2002 at Plataforma Solar de Almería (PSA) of Spain, the system could be operated at 230 kW e power to grid without major problems [34,35]. Meanwhile, a high-temperature pressurized-air solar receiver with an annular reticulate porous ceramic foam concentric has been experimentally investigated, and the peak outlet air temperatures exceeding 1200°C were reached [34][35][36]. The detailed off-design assessment of the solarized gas turbine and the solarized combined cycle plant configurations have been conducted, and the annual behavior implies that the most valuable advantage of high power generation efficiency is the hybrid solar gas turbine technology [37][38][39][40].…”

A pressurized high-flux solar reactor for the efficient thermochemical gasification of carbonaceous feedstock

“…However, its window became critical component during scale-up and pressurized operation because of the structural and thermal stresses [22]. This prompted us to consider converting the directlyirradiated configuration to an indirectly-irradiated one by replacing the window with a SiC cavity, since this configuration was recently applied successfully for heating pressurized air to 1200 °C at 6 bar using a 250 mm-inner diameter SiC cavity for a solar radiative power input of 50 kW [23].…”